Day 4—Tadpole Bridge to Bablock Hythe

We slept well last night at the Trout.
Our minor aches and pains have remained just that for the time being.

We are still walking through a lot of farmland.

The river is still quite narrow, and the banks are overgrown with trees and bushes.

The trees and bushes and flowers are all blooming. We can see pollen and seeds floating through the air.

And everyone is sneezing, including Anne and me. Our noses have become stuffier with each day on the Path.

Every few miles, we arrive at a lock on the river, and a lock house. 

The locks are operated by hand. Long poles swing open and shut large wooden doors at either end of the lock to contain and release water from the lock. 

Some locks have lock masters overseeing this operation. Some don’t, and we have seen boaters jump out of their boats and swing open the locks to let their boats in.

We had another long walk today, almost 12 miles but we feel pretty good. We are spending the night at the Ferryman an inn right on the river, and the site of a now defunct ferry. There is a lovely view of the river from our window.