Lechlade-on-Thames

This week my parents and I drove to Lechlade (full name: Lechlade-on-Thames) to walk alongside the River Thames. I remember going there before when I was very little and going out on the water in a boat, but I'd been wanting to return since the start of this year, when I read the book The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. The setting of the story was inspired by different parts of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Gloucestershire, including the town of Lechlade. Kate Morton's description of the area is so evocative and really conjures up images in your mind of a picture-perfect corner of England. When we arrived in Lechlade yesterday, I was happy to see that the real life town was just as I'd imagined it in the book!

Firstly, we parked the car and walked through the town centre to the riverside path. The centre is quite pretty but unfortunately, just like in Malmesbury, not everyone there was sticking to the social distancing rules. Someone actually walked up right behind us, which left me feeling very worried. Honestly, keeping at a safe distance from others is not that great a sacrifice to make in the grand scheme of things, and if we all make that effort, then we can all enjoy outdoor outings whilst feeling safe. We shouldn't have to feel worried for our health on a trip out, just because some people can't be bothered to follow simple rules. If I were a vulnerable person, I'd never want to leave the house again, because I'd be so concerned about other people's careless behaviour. It's just extremely frustrating. 

Okay, rant over! Here are a couple of pictures of the town centre:

The riverside of Lechlade is really picturesque and is a lovely place for a walk, but the path on the side of the bridge by the Riverside pub is too narrow to walk along whilst maintaining social distancing. Even so, plenty of people were using it without a care in the world. However, on the other side of the bridge, there is plenty of space, so that's where my parents and I had our walk.

We met this cute swan, who was very interested in finding out if we had any food!

Afterwards, we sat next to the river with cups of coffee from the Tea Chest café. I had an oat milk flat white, which tasted amazing after three months of only drinking instant! (It's a shame about the disposable cup, but I suppose it's the safest option in these times.)

I can't deny, however, that I've saved a lot of money lately simply thanks to the fact that I haven't been spending money in cafés such as Starbucks and Costa! In the future, I think I'll buy these fancy drinks on a less regular basis, because although they're delicious, I've realised how much money I can save from not buying them so often. And the best thing is, I can spend that extra money on travelling!

Speaking of travelling, it's positive news that the tourism industry is starting to open up again and that foreign holidays are starting to look like a genuine possibility. Personally, I'm hoping to go abroad again fairly soon. There is still a extremely strict lockdown in Chile, so I'm very unclear on when I'll be able to get my visa and start my job out there, which is obviously really disappointing for me. But while I'm waiting for things to return to normal, I would like to have a short break somewhere with nice weather and great beaches. This lockdown has been a long slog and I'm feeling the need for a change of scenery.

But for the time being, I'm going to continue enjoying local outings. I'm sure we'll be visiting another new place next week, which I'll write about here. 😊