On Saturday morning Mr D and I rose with the larks and set off to continue on the next section of our walk along the 184 mile route of the Thames towpath.
We only had 3 more sections to complete today’s would be the longest of the remaining walks at 17 miles. We live part way along the route, yet the drive took 2 hours to reach our start point for the day. 2 HOURS!! We really have walked a long way.
We knew the walk would take us through some of the remotest stretches of the Thames and so when we spotted a Starbucks signposted on the motorway en route, we only had one thought: Starbucks/Genius Bread gluten free Cheese and Coleslaw sandwich for lunch. Yippee! 17 miles is a long way to walk on cereal bars.
I officially *heart* the Starbucks/Genius Bread collaberation and the fact Starbucks outlets are seemingly opening in more motorway services is great for gluten free travellers. In fact, judging by the enormous queue coming out of Starbucks’ door (while the other outlets were serving big greasy fry ups to people who really didn’t need them), I wasn’t alone in thinking this.
We continued on to the picturesque Cotswolds town of Lechlade on Thames where we’d booked a room in a pub inn for the night. Car safely parked, the hotel very kindly drove us 17 miles to Newbridge where we’d finished our walk last time and therefore the start point for the day.
The walk’s route was indeed remote and we barely saw another soul. Well, except for the person baring his soul and taking a naked dip in the Thames – he obviously thought he wouldn’t be disturbed! We walked through fields full of tiny, beautiful blue butterflies which swirled around us as we tried not to step on any (tough task for us two!). We walked on through Chimney Meadow Nature Reserve where the ferns, flowers and plants were taller than me.
We came across a statue of Old Father Thames
And this rather fabulous frog fashioned from a hedge in front of a Thames Lock-keepers cottage:
Along the way we stopped for lunch and I finally got to taste the new Starbucks sandwich made with Genius bread. The sandwich contains mature Cheddar and red Leicester cheese with coleslaw on Genius’s brown bread.
So how did it taste? Like any sandwich containing coleslaw which has been carted around in a rucsac for a few hours, the bread was a touch soggy. I found the generous portion of Cheddar and red Leicester cheeses had a strong and tangy taste. The coleslaw was a nice addition – I rarely eat coleslaw and this one tasted good.
There is one drawback with this sandwich: It contains 472 kcals but a hefty 29.6g of fat. The fat content is almost half the recommended daily fat intake for an adult female – that’s a lot! I hope that the lovely product development people at Starbucks create their next gluten free sandwich with a more figure friendly fat content!
Lucky I walked 17 miles that day…..
Gluten Free Mrs D
