(S) Follow the service road up to Station Road, then stay left towards Wraysbury village. After a short distance, turn left into Tithe Lane. This soon becomes a path between houses and an old gravel pit, now a lake. The path comes out through a metal stile onto the High Street just opposite the Baptist Church.
(1) Turn right and immediately after The Perseverance pub, turn left into The Green. The road soon narrows to cross a footbridge next to a pond and emerges onto The Green. To the left is the Wraysbury Bowls Club and behind that is the windmill. The Green comes out onto Windsor Road with the large Edwardian house, "The Grange", opposite. Turn right past the George Inn.
(2) Turn left into St Andrews Close (at 1 mile) and follow it to the lychgate of the church. Go straight through the gate, follow the path around to the back of the church and then turn left to a metal kissing gate and out onto a field. Veer slightly right across a field to a tree. Stay to the right of the tree, along the tree line and follow the marked path across fields, eventually to a kissing gate out onto a lane.
(3) Turn left to cross Magna Carta Lane and go through a kissing gate next to a wooden gate. and follow the trodden path across the field.
At the opposite side of the field, go over a bridge (through an opening), then veer left to a wooden kissing gate. Go through the gate and turn right along a tree-lined track. After 80 yards the Ankerwycke Yew is to your left and shortly after this, to the right are the ruins of St Mary's Priory (at 2 miles).
NOTE: Some of the next bit may look different as the National Trust have introduced an Ankerwycke Circular Walk.
At the end of the track, cross over a stile next to a wooden gate and go straight across a field to a wooden kissing gate next to the River Thames.
(4) Continue to follow the path next to the river, avoiding a path to the left. After a while, the Ankerwycke Circular Walk turns left through a kissing gate DO NOT FOLLOW IT, instead stay straight on with the river still to your right. You soon reach a point where there is no choice to turn left to follow the path north-northeast and away from the river.
(5) Path comes out onto Staines Road (B376), next to a house. Cross straight over and turn right along the pavement. Follow the road for just over half a mile, and when the pavement stops, cross over and continue along a residential road which runs parallel to the B376.
(6) After another 700 yards, and immediately after passing under the large M25 road bridge, then turn left to cross over B376 and onto signed public footpath next to the metal gate. After just 50m turn right onto the footpath with Staines Aqueduct to your RHS. The footpath is enclosed above the aqueduct and soon below the busy A30 by-pass. Follow the path for 550 yards, then turn right and down some steps to cross a footbridge over the aqueduct (there is a gentler narrow path leading down 50m earlier). DO NOT turn left thru’ the subway under the A30.
(7) Once over the footbridge follow the path through a green gate into a nature reserve. Turn right and then follow the path as it veers left and soon between two lakes. After another 300m stay straight on along the main path, then 90m later, at the fork, turn left onto a path through trees. Follow this for 200m to a viewing area over a lake, then turn left to exit the nature reserve onto Wraysbury Road.
(8) Cross over Wraysbury Road (using traffic island on left and with great care) and go straight on into Lammas Recreation Park. Stay straight on along the drive until you reach the River Thames. Turn left along the riverside and after 140m through a gate onto Church Street.
(9) Turn right along Church Street and follow it as it turns left and away from the river. Outside “The Bells” pub turn left into Vicarage Road, then left into the churchyard of St Mary's Church. Follow the footpath past the church and along the drive to Wraysbury Road. Turn right along Wraysbury Road, crossing over as soon as safe, then stay straight on past Vicarage Road to your left.
(10) Continue straight on, soon over the entrance to Moor Lane (at 5 miles into the walk). Then after just a few yards, turn left across the front of a yellow-brick building, left down the side of it and then left behind it. On reaching the T-junction of Moor Lane and Wraysbury Gardens, cross straight over Moor Lane and turn right along Moor Lane. Soon past a timber merchants then past Great Western Cottages.
(11) After another 400m and immediately before Herdsman's Cottage, turn right past a metal gate and a “Staines Moor” information board onto a wide track signed, “Public Footpath 21, Stanwell Moor 2”. The track leads up to cross a bridge and then turns right soon leads towards the A30 and then turns right and gradually downhill and parallel to the road. At the bottom of the track, turn left to follow the path through the subway under the A30 and as far as the Staines Moor information board entitled “Managing the Moor – animals and ancient rights”.
(12) Retrace your steps back through the subway and to a metal gate. Go through the metal kissing gate and onto a footpath across open land.
After 150m the path veers right between metal fences and over the aqueduct. It then veers left, soon past a metal kissing gate to your right (DO NOT go through the kissing gate), then through some trees and eventually out via a wooden kissing gate onto an open meadow at Moormede.
Veer slightly left and across the grass to a small paved area with a semi-circular brick wall and metal bench. Here, inlay in the ground is a small plaque to commemorate the Papa India, Staines Air Disaster. Turn right across recreation ground and over the bridge to the residential road (Waters Drive). Turn right staying on RHS pavement, soon past Kingfisher Drive.
(13) Then after another 60m turn right onto the signed path between houses. The path comes out onto the industrial estate at Mill Mead Road. Go straight on and eventually out onto Staines High Street, turn right and under the iron railway bridge.
NOTE: Where you come out onto Staines High Street is at 6.2 miles. If you wish to cut section 1 in two, you can do so at this point and divert to Staines station where you can catch a direct train back to Wraysbury. Just cross straight over the High Street, turn left and then right into Station Path. After 0.3 miles Station Path leads direct to Staines Station.
Go straight over the pelican crossing and into the pedestrian area of Staines High Street. After another 100m, and with the Elmsleigh Shopping Centre to your left, go straight on past Norris Road to your RHS.
(14) After another 120 yards turn right into Tilly's Lane. On exiting Tilly's Lane turn left, along the covered pavement, with shops to your left and the car park to your right. Once past VUE Cinema cross over a zebra crossing and turn right along the pavement, then left to cross a footbridge over the River Colne.
Once over the footbridge, turn left along Church Street. Then cross over, where the road narrows as it crosses over the River Colne. At the end of Church Street, turn sharp right, staying on the pavement along Clarence Street.
(15) After 90 yards, turn left to cross over Clarence Street using the staggered pelican crossing. Then turn right along the pavement, soon over the River Colne. Follow the pavement as it veers left and over Staines Bridge.
(16) After crossing Staines Bridge turn left into The Hythe. After the Anne Boleyn Hotel go straight on along the Hythe and past Chertsey Lane to our right. On reaching the end of The Hythe, and in front of the red brick office block, turn left towards the River Thames. At the river, turn left along the towpath and soon past the back of the Swan Hotel (at 7 miles). Follow the towpath over a footbridge and under Staines Bridge.
(17) For the next 6 miles our walk follows the Thames Path upstream.
45. At 8.65 miles we come out onto Runnymede Pleasure Grounds.
(18) Stay right on the path around Runnymede Pleasure Grounds and with River Thames to your right, then eventually past a car park to your left. Then stay right, through a kissing gate along the Thames Path with the river to right and road to your left (at 9 miles). After another 0.8 miles continue along the Thames Path and past the French Brothers' Runnymede Boathouse.
If you wish to divert for some refreshments, turn left towards the main road (A308). Cross straight over (with care) and turn left to the Magna Carta Tearooms. Then retrace your steps back to the river and continue along the towpath.
The path soon comes out onto the pavement, next to the A308 (at 10 miles), but before reaching The Bells of Ouzeley public house re-joins the river.
(19) After passing the Bells of Ouzeley continue along the Thames Path as it veers right and parts company with the A308 (Straight Road). 0.6 miles after the Bells of Ouzeley, the Thames Path climbs slightly and veers right to cross a small footbridge over the entrance to a marina.
NOTE: Just before this an enclosed path goes left and if you have time you may wish to divert the short distance to follow it to the old part of Old Windsor. The diversion adds 0.38 miles. However, if you choose not to, then skip to the instruction at 10.75 miles.
10.75 miles. Once over the footbridge continue along the Thames Path, soon past Old Windsor Lock.
(20) On approaching Albert Bridge (at 11.9 miles) veer left to climb steps to a road. At the top, turn right on the narrow high pavement and cross the river. Shortly after crossing, turn sharp right and back down to the river (at 12 miles). Then turn right under the bridge and straight on along the Thames Path. After 400m follow the Thames Path as it turns right and away from the river.
(21) Then left between hedges, parallel to Southlea Road (B3021) and into Datchet. 350m later, just past The Avenue to your right and where the pavement terminates, cross over the B3012 (Southlea Road) and continue straight on.
(22) Turn right into the High Street and after 200m you arrive at a level crossing. The finish at Datchet railway station is to the right.(E)
