Ashton Keynes

The Thames at Waterhay

This was rather an unusual walk in that much of it was over flat paths around not very photogenic gravel pit lakes, but on the other hand there was a wealth of flowers, butterflies, dragonflies and other wildlife to see. So I am going to describe it in a different way to my usual model.

You leave the Waterhay car park and follow the Thames Path between fields and then gravel pits towards the village of Ashton Keynes. The Thames Path starts a few miles away at the Source,  near Kemble, and travels 184 miles to the Thames Barrier. The first sighting was a pair of Small Tortoiseshells engaged in a mating dance.

You skirt the village by means of an enclosed track and as it opened out into more open country, I caught sight of a fox prowling along the edge of a field.

The next section, towards Clayhill was quite productive of wild flowers. I noticed these two previously unidentified species:  Cut-leaved Cranesbill ...

... and Smooth Hawksbeard.

On the way, there was a rather sad collection of unused gravel extraction equipment.

Just before the Clayhill car park, a large meadow of low flowers and grasses, yielded an opportunity to spot and photograph a Brown Argus.

After the park, the route required walking along a section of road, but even here there was something new for me: this striking Common Toadflax.

Next was a right turn along a road in the direction of Ashton Keynes, which featured a sign to several numbered lakes. I was slightly shocked that there were too many lakes for them all to have names. Quickly however the route turned left along an overgrown path through a veritable wasteland. I did see this Banded Demoiselle, which made a nice change from the clouds of Common Blue Damselflies which had accompanied most stages of the walk so far.

Eventually this path gave way to a pleasant rural field ...

... and soon after, the route joined a fine track parallel to a disused railway line. This in turn met the Thames Path, which became the route back to the start. I was startled by three fallow deer which appeared from the right of the path and daintily leaped across a fence to the left. After a mile or so the embryonic river itself appeared beside the track.

However, the path soon left it to again pass through gravel pits. The largest and prettiest was Manor Brook Lake, which was home to swans, coots and great crested grebe.

However, their peace and mine was soon disturbed by a speed boat racing round the otherwise calm surface of the lake.

As the end approached, I was amused to see a field containing an odd mixture of cows and greylag geese. The cows seemed to be enjoying a game of chase-the-goose.

Conditions: sunny and warm, even into the evening.

Distance: just over 6 miles.

From: walkingworld.com [ID 2069].

Map: Explorer 179 (Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud).

Rating: four stars - for the rich variety of wildlife.