Berkshire sits along one of the most walked rivers in England. The Thames Path travels its length, yet visitors often stick to familiar short stretches, visit well-known locks, and leave without seeing the river’s less-trodden sections.

The most popular stretches draw crowds for good reason. Henley impresses with its riverside charm, Windsor stands alike in grandeur, and Cookham is steeped in Stanley Spencer history and offers a classic Thames-side pub. Yet the river features quiet sections where the path falls silent, and nature dominates, where you can glimpse a medieval watermill in operation or climb a chalk hillside to gaze down upon a timeless valley.

These ten walks do not require specialist kit or unusual fitness. They require only that you ignore the obvious starting points and look slightly further along the map.

Quick Facts

Region: Berkshire, Thames Valley

Best for: Walking, wildlife, history, quiet river scenery

Getting there: Great Western Railway serves Pangbourne, Goring, Maidenhead, and Reading; some walks are accessible from Twyford and Cookham stations.

Time needed: Half a day to a full weekend

1. Hartslock Nature Reserve, Above Goring

Many who arrive at Goring stroll into the village, glance at the weir, and stay on the flat Thames Path. The steep chalk slope across the water is usually left unexplored.

Hartslock is a south-facing chalk hillside overlooking the Thames, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is famous for a colony of monkey orchids that grow in only a handful of locations across the entire UK. When the Trust first took over the site, seven plants were recorded. There are now more than 400. In 2006, a hybrid of the monkey orchid and the lady orchid was discovered here, the only place in Britain where this cross has been found.

From Goring station, head south along the Thames Path for about 1.5 miles. When you see the sign for Hartslock, turn onto the marked path that leads up the hillside. The climb is quite steep, so take your time. In late May, you may notice the scent of wild marjoram on the ground. The path offers clear views back to the Goring Gap and the valley beyond on both sides. If visiting in July, expect the hillside to turn pale mauve as the marjoram blooms.

The walk out and back from Goring station takes about three hours at an easy pace. Carry water and wear decent footwear. The chalk path becomes slippery after rain.

Where to Stay: The Miller of Mansfield, Goring. A well-regarded inn with rooms above the pub, close to the station.

Worth Knowing: The name Hartslock derives from the Hart family, who in the 15th century owned a lock, probably a wooden fish weir, across the river below the woods.

2. Pangbourne to Whitchurch Toll Bridge

Pangbourne is a village often passed through rather than lingered in. The station is practical, the high street is brief, and walkers frequently set out east along the Thames Path toward Reading, rarely considering the quieter route west to Whitchurch.

Whitchurch Toll Bridge has existed in some form since 1792, originally built to replace the ferry that transported people and goods between the two riverbanks. The current structure was rebuilt in 2014 to replicate the 1902 design, and it remains one of only a few toll bridges on the Thames, charging 60p per vehicle. Pedestrians cross for free.

Exit Pangbourne station and walk straight towards the Thames Path. Follow it west, not east, and stay alongside the river for a flat, well-surfaced walk to Whitchurch Toll Bridge—this takes around 25 minutes. Cross the bridge into Whitchurch-on-Thames, then continue along the lane leading into the village centre. If you want to return, join the Thames Path on the Oxfordshire side to loop back across the bridge.

Where to Stay: The Elephant Hotel, Pangbourne. Comfortable riverside inn with good food and direct access to the Thames Path.

Worth Knowing: Records of the Hartslock Bridleway, connecting Whitchurch-on-Thames with Hartslock Woods and Goring, date to the 13th century. In 2012, new steps on a steep section were officially named the Hartley Steps, after a local resident whose 16-month campaign persuaded the council to restore the path.

3. Mapledurham Lock from Purley-on-Thames

The section of the Thames Path between Tilehurst and Pangbourne is one of the least-walked in Berkshire, partly because the route leaves the river for a stretch through Purley-on-Thames, and the signage is patchy. Most walkers skip it entirely. That is worth reconsidering.

Mapledurham Watermill dates from the 16th and 17th centuries and is the last operational watermill on the River Thames. It appeared on the cover of Black Sabbath’s 1970 debut album and served as a filming location for The Eagle Has Landed. The Elizabethan house alongside has connections to Alexander Pope, appears in Midsomer Murders, and has remained in the same family since the 15th century.

Start at Tilehurst station and follow the signs for the Thames Path. The path takes you through village streets, then rejoins the river near Mapledurham Lock. Continue walking along the riverside meadow to take in views of Mapledurham House across the Thames. If the mill is operating, you can hear the water from the path. The estate grounds are open for visits on weekends and bank holidays between April and September.

This is a five-mile out-and-back. The return is the same route.

Where to Stay: Airbnb, Purley-on-Thames. Search Purley-on-Thames for the most practical options on this stretch.

Worth Knowing: When the original Purley Park estate was sold, some of the land was broken into camping and caravan plots in 1930 for professional families from London. A handful of original wooden huts remain visible from the Thames Path today.

4. Sonning Lock and the Meadows East of the Village

Although Sonning appears on every list, the meadow trail east of the lock is easily overlooked. This path follows the river through seamless pastureland, gently rising as it approaches Shiplake.

The Bull Inn at Sonning was traditionally owned by the Bishop of Salisbury, whose palace once stood nearby. The present 16th-century timber-framed building is thought to have served as a hospitium for pilgrims visiting the relics of St Sarik at the adjoining St Andrew’s Church. Jerome K. Jerome wrote of Sonning in Three Men in a Boat in 1889, calling it the most fairylike little nook on the whole river.

To begin the walk, cross the Thames at Sonning Bridge. Walk through the churchyard and turn upstream onto the Thames Path until you reach Sonning Lock. From here, continue east through the meadows as the path follows the river. Walk as far as you wish, keeping the river on your left. On your return, follow the same route back to Sonning village. The entire round trip is about 4 miles with little elevation change.

Where to Stay: The Bull Inn, Sonning-on-Thames. Seven rooms with original beams; the bar has been on this site since the 16th century.

Worth Knowing: The pub’s name comes from the bulls on Sir Henry Neville’s coat of arms, who served as steward at the nearby bishop’s palace after it was sold to Queen Elizabeth I.

5. Cock Marsh and Cookham Moor.

Most visitors to Cookham stop at the Stanley Spencer Gallery and miss the riverside paths heading north. Cock Marsh rises above the village, a rare example of common land still grazed under ancient rights.

Kenneth Grahame lived in nearby Cookham Dean as a child and returned to the village in later life, writing The Wind in the Willows in 1908. The stories are said to have been inspired by the nature of this stretch of the Thames valley and his childhood memories of the river. Cookham Moor, the open meadow beside the Thames, was donated to the National Trust in 1934.

Park at the National Trust car park at Cookham Moor. Set out north on the Thames Path, keeping the Thames on your right. After about 1 km, you’ll come to Cock Marsh, where cattle often graze—please keep dogs on leads. Keep following the river edge path, pass beneath the railway bridge, and look for a trail looping back uphill through the chalk grassland above. From this higher ground, you have views south over the Thames Valley. The full loop is five miles and takes about two hours at a relaxed pace.

Where to Stay: The Bel and the Dragon, Cookham. A well-maintained pub with rooms a short walk from the river.

Worth Knowing: Fleet Bridge, built in 1929, was a gift from Mrs Balfour Allen in memory of her husband, Edward. Both the bridge and the moor appear in several of Stanley Spencer’s paintings.

6. Bray Village to Monkey Island.

The walk from Bray village along the Thames south bank to Monkey Island is less than a mile each way. Because it’s short, many overlook what sets this stretch apart. The river here, between Windsor and Maidenhead, displays a quiet formality: broad bends, moored boats, and flat late-summer sunlight shining over the water.

From the centre of Bray village, walk down Old Mill Lane until you reach the car park by the river. Cross the pedestrian footbridge to Monkey Island. Once on the island, follow the perimeter path, which circles the island and takes under 30 minutes to complete. To extend your walk, return to the south bank using the same bridge and continue walking toward Maidenhead or Boveney Lock along the Thames Path.

Where to Stay: Monkey Island Estate, Bray. Forty rooms across the restored pavilions on the island itself, accessed only by footbridge.

Worth Knowing: After the Great Fire of London in 1666, barges carrying Oxfordshire stone upriver returned laden with rubble from the city, which was spread across several Thames islands, including Monkey Island, significantly raising the land above flood level. That rubble still forms part of the ground you walk on today.

7. Goring Gap Walk from Streatley

The Goring Gap is acknowledged by everyone who knows the Thames as one of its finest stretches. Most people see it from the Goring side. The Streatley approach, which climbs Lardon Chase on the National Trust land above the village, shows you the whole valley from above.

Streatley was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but its history is older. Neolithic tools have been found at the base of Lough Down, Bronze Age artefacts have been uncovered in the village itself, and a Roman milestone remains at the Bull crossroads in Streatley to this day. The Goring Gap was formed when the River Thames cut through the chalk ridge separating the Chilterns from the North Wessex Downs during the last ice age, making it one of the most geologically significant river passages in southern England.

Park at the National Trust car park at Lardon Chase on Streatley Hill and walk the circular route across chalk grassland. The path crosses rare downland before offering views toward the Chilterns and the North Wessex Downs in both directions. Total distance is three miles. Combine with a descent into Goring and a walk along the lock to extend the day.

Where to Stay: The Swan at Streatley sits directly on the river at the entrance to the Goring Gap, with rooms overlooking the water.

Worth Knowing: Goring and Streatley station sits between walks 1 and 7, making it a logical base for a full day covering both. Great Western Railway runs regular services from Reading and Paddington.

8. Hambleden Mill to Remenham

This walk crosses into Buckinghamshire for a stretch, but it starts and finishes in Berkshire and covers a section of the Thames valley that most Berkshire visitors overlook entirely. The Hambleden approach from the Remenham bank has almost no foot traffic outside regatta season.

There has been a lock at Hambleden since at least 1338. In 1829, the first Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race took place between Hambleden Lock and Henley Bridge. Hambleden Mill, which powered grinding operations on the river for centuries, is now converted to flats and is Grade II listed. The weir walkway, rebuilt in 1884, reopened an ancient right-of-way that had been closed for decades.

Cross Hambleden Weir from the lock on the Berkshire bank and follow the riverside path south toward Remenham and Henley. The path passes St Nicholas Church at Remenham, a small brick and flint building set back from the river, and continues along the straight regatta course. Kingfishers are a genuine possibility on this stretch; look for the bright blue flash between the trees and shrubs at the waterline. The full walk from Henley Bridge and back runs to about 4.5 miles.

Where to Stay: The Flower Pot, Aston, a National Trust-associated pub close to the route, with rooms.

Worth Knowing: Fawley Court, which you pass on the Berkshire bank, was built in 1684, and between 1764 and 1766, its grounds were landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. The house is Grade I listed and is said to have been one of the inspirations for Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows.

9. Wargrave to Shiplake Along the East Bank

Wargrave is a large Berkshire village with a working boatyard, a church that burned in a suffragette arson attack in 1914, and almost no walkers on the east bank of the Thames heading south to Shiplake. The path here is quiet, slightly overgrown in summer, and very good.

The walk from Wargrave station to Shiplake station follows the river for 3.5 miles on paths that are clear but not well promoted. The route passes Shiplake Lock, where Eric Blair, later known as George Orwell, married at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Shiplake in June 1949. The lock garden in spring is well-maintained, and the lock keeper’s cottage sits at the water’s edge.

The return is a short train journey from Shiplake back to Wargrave on the Henley branch line, one of the most scenic local rail stretches in Berkshire. On a still morning in September, the river smells of wet sedge, and the far bank is entirely silent.

Where to Stay: The Loddon Arms, Wargrave, a riverside pub with a garden directly on the Thames.

Worth Knowing: St Mary the Virgin Church in Wargrave was burned to the ground by the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1914 as part of the suffragette campaign. The rebuilding was funded by an anonymous donor later revealed to be a suffragette supporter.

10. Basildon Park to Pangbourne Meadows

Basildon Park is a National Trust property better known for its interiors than its grounds, and the grounds themselves are visited far less than the house. The western edge of the estate meets the Thames, and from there a footpath runs south along the river through open meadow toward Pangbourne.

The house is a Palladian mansion built in 1776 by John Carr of York. It stood derelict for years after the Second World War before Lord and Lady Iliffe bought it in 1952 and spent two decades restoring it. The mansion appeared as Netherfield in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. During the wartime requisition, American and British soldiers were billeted here; graffiti from both was discovered under later paint during the restoration.

Walk from the main car park through the formal grounds and out onto the estate’s western boundary path. The Thames Path runs along the river below and can be picked up at the edge of the park, heading south for roughly two miles to Pangbourne Meadows. The meadows are open common land at the edge of the village. The route is flat and suits all abilities. Return by the same path or walk into Pangbourne for the train.

Where to Stay: The Elephant Hotel, Pangbourne. Comfortable riverside inn with good food. National Trust holiday cottages at Basildon Park are available seasonally at nationaltrust.org.uk

Worth Knowing: Basildon Park’s tearoom serves lunches most days. The estate’s western boundary path is not widely signposted but connects directly to the Thames Path through a wooden gate at the field edge.

Practical Tips

• The Thames Path in Berkshire can flood between November and March. Check the Environment Agency Floodline on 0345 988 1188 before setting out on low-lying sections near Cookham, Pangbourne, and Wargrave.
• Goring and Streatley station sits between walks 1 and 7, making it a logical base for a full day covering both. Great Western Railway runs regular services from Reading and Paddington.
• Most of these walks have limited or no parking at the start point. Using the train is practical and in several cases the only sensible option.
• Ordnance Survey Explorer maps 159, 170, 171, and 172 cover the Thames in Berkshire in detail. Download them offline before leaving the signal range.
• Dogs are welcome on most routes but must be on leads wherever cattle are grazing, which includes Cock Marsh and sections of the Goring Gap.
• Pub kitchens in this area tend to stop serving lunch at 2 pm sharp. Plan accordingly.

Responsible Visiting

Stick to marked paths across private farmland, particularly on the Mapledurham and Basildon Park sections. At Hartslock, the orchid areas are taped off during the flowering season; stay on the path and do not move the markers. Leave gates as you find them.

Reader Q&A

Which walk is best for a first visit to the Berkshire Thames?

The Sonning stretch. The village is compact, the walk to the lock and east along the meadows is straightforward, and the Bull Inn is there when you finish. It gives you a sense of the character of this part of the river in a manageable half-day.

Are these walks suitable for children?

Most of them. Pangbourne to Whitchurch, Cock Marsh, and Bray to Monkey Island are all flat and manageable. Hartslock is steep and best saved for confident older children. The Goring Gap walk from Streatley crosses open chalk downland that can be exposed in the wind.

When is the best time to visit Hartslock?

Late May to early June for the monkey orchids. Earlier in May for cowslips and pasqueflowers. July for wild marjoram. Avoid weekends in orchid season if you want quiet; the reserve gets busy with photographers and botanists.

Is the Hambleden walk accessible by public transport?

Henley-on-Thames station is the practical start point, served by the branch line from Twyford. From Henley Bridge, the walk follows the Thames Path north to Hambleden Lock and back. No car required.

Can I wild swim in the Thames along these routes?

Many people swim in the Thames in Berkshire, particularly near Pangbourne, Cookham, and Goring. Water quality varies by season and after heavy rain. Check the River Swimming Guide at http://www.wildswim.com before getting in.

How difficult are these walks overall?

Eight of the ten are flat or gently rolling, suitable for most fitness levels. Hartslock involves a steep 20-minute climb. The Streatley to Goring Gap route crosses open chalk hillside with some gradient. None require walking poles or specialist footwear in dry conditions, though trail shoes are better than trainers on chalk after rain.

Where to Stay

The Bull Inn, Sonning-on-Thames. A 16th-century Grade II listed pub with seven rooms directly on the Thames Path.

Monkey Island Estate, Bray. Forty rooms on a private island in the river, originally built as a Georgian fishing retreat. Accessed only by footbridge.

The Elephant Hotel, Pangbourne. Comfortable riverside inn with good food and direct access to the Thames Path.

The Miller of Mansfield, Goring. A reliable pub with rooms in the village, useful for the Hartslock and Streatley walks.

The Swan at Streatley. Sits on the river at the entrance to the Goring Gap, with rooms overlooking the water.

National Trust holiday cottages at Basildon Park. Available seasonally.

The Thames through Berkshire carries more than water. It carries five thousand years of movement, of people crossing, building, farming, and writing beside it. These ten walks do not unlock all of that. But they get you away from the car parks and the crowded lock gates, and that is the necessary first step. The river is better when you have to earn it slightly.