Neil Thompson

Another leg of the Thames Path checked off ✓. This time an 8.5 mile quiet and rural stretch bookended by Abingdon town and the city of Oxford. Here One Minute, Gone the Next For the first tim… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/07/19/tha…

When we told friends that we planned to visit St Austell in Cornwall for a break they were very quick to point out that it was known as St Awfull (gleefully highlighted by the Daily Mail, which I refu… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/07/02/st-…

I was in the loft clearing out some other stuff when I came across some of my old diaries. There were about 12 in total – a small number of pocket diaries and about ten journals. These spanned the period from … neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/26/tra…

My god the latest @RGalbraith / @jk_rowling book is annoying. 50% in and I want to take Strike by the lapels and shout this at him.

I know, you have two questions: Day Five Day five was another day at sea. This time no attempt was made to go behind the scenes or to take trip to the flicks. Instead, we contended ourselves with eating, dri… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/06/spa…

The last Spanish stop on this cruise was in Vigo, no I’d never heard of it either. The more cruises you do the more this becomes an issue. Once you have done Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Dubrovnik etc you are left… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/05/spa…

Toady we docked in La Coruña, a pretty looking Spanish port but this was not to be the destination for the day. Instead we boarded a coach that drove us an hour to the town of Lugo. Guide but not Guided This e… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/04/spa…

When you think of Spain what do you think of? Brits holidaying on the Costa del Sol, possibly? Barcelona and Real Madrid, perhaps? Basque separatists, maybe? Sunshine, definitely! So, it came as a bit of a shoc… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/03/spa…

The days at sea on a cruise are always very lazy days with little to do. This year I’d decided that to counter that I’d take part in a couple of activities that were likely to be running based on past trips… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/06/02/spa…

Just had an interesting call from an unknown number: Me: hello? Man: did you just call me? Me: no Man: yes you f**king did you f**king c**t just f**k off! Number blocked.

No comment!

I suspect that the films of Wes Anderson are a bit of an acquired taste— a bit like Marmite. I find them fascinating as much for their visual appeal as their storylines, but I can imagine… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/29/wes…

On the hottest day of the year so far, I made my way up to London to pay a visit behind the scenes at Shakespeare’s Globe on an organised tour. Not One, Not Two but Three This isn’t, in fact, the first Glob… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/28/sha…

I forgot to post this when I posted about the walk itself but I thought it was still worth showing.… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/25/is-…

It’s been a long time since we have done a leg of the Thames Path. Too long in fact. It was eight months ago that we did the last leg ending in Shillingford and made the bold statement … neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/23/tha…

Not sure what’s going on in Reading town today, I think it’s to do with the Uni’s 100th, but it looks and sounds great.

How’s your morning going?

It’s the time of year once again for the Reading Walks Festival. This year we are booked on to four walks which was the most that interested us and that we could make. There i… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/11/rea…

A while back I had the opportunity to visit the Mini factory in Oxford. Actually it isn’t a “factory” but a “plant” in the same way it’s no longer an “engine” but an “ICE” and a “… neilthompson.co.uk/2026/05/08/mor…

Fountains Abbey really is a special place.