21st JAN. INTO OXFORD

JOSH -The morning went as usual apart from the water taking longer due to pot logistics.We had failed to clean the pots from yesterday. We sometimes use the small pot as a pee pot but last night we used the 2 litre used water bottle.
My  lace snapped and Roge fixed it.
We got going late at 8.10. The morning went fast with fairly dry frozen path. I had a spring in my step knowing I had a hostel and Wetherspoons breaky awaiting me 8 miles away. It went fast but was boring,  Thames Path; wet,  flat, snow,  wet and flat.
We could not wait to dig into that breakfast but navigating through Oxford proved a pain with Roge's Maps app. We passed very rough looking men on Folly Bridge and were surprised at how many rough looking people in general were about. This is Oxford!?
Were in thepub with a coffee and cream topped hot choc and long awaited brek...yey! Sadly no plug available to charge phone. Waiting until 2.30 for yha.

ROGE-
We had slept ok,  the sounds of the river nearby;geese and barking Roe deer eeire in the night.
We walked into Oxford via fairly good path stopping briefly at Sandsford Lock to book the hostel around 9.30. Thankfully ok for a dorm bed. I pity any poor soul who is sharing with us....smells and damp gear.
We passed a multitude of boat houses from various colleges. Serious stuff and a major feature of this river.
We got to Folly Bridge after a long two mile stint, at least thats what the post said,  I thought 3 miles looking at the map. It has happened a few times these last couple of days with path posts under estimating distance.
We walked into Oxford with the gps not liking our route and its confusion confused me. We got to the Castle and Swan and had breaky. Josh was bored and would of slept as he did not have his phone to play with.
We vacated for another one after an hour of blogging heading for the Four Candles. Passed a weird memorial to soldiers who died in Uganda from disease and mutiny. We got to the pub,  not able to charge phone so I finished this sat next to a couple of drunks saying how they had cut down from 16 pints to 8. Oxford is not as I expected there seems more dodgy folk than London. We got to the hostel for about 2.30.It was strange being asked for ID. We went up and got our gear sorted, showered and clothes laundered. I had a brief look at the tent pole but will put away until later this eve. It is an important apex pole that is broken, not east to fix. I dried the tent but the guys have got tangled so I will have to sort that, also my trousers are split between the legs. We popped out into Oxford for supplies. Tescos was mayhem with students getting student things.We found a oriental shp that sold our favourite noodles at nargain price...ee need the dried food because the map shows little contact with the civilized world. We will onlu pass through a few small villages inthe next few days to the Thames source. The map shows contour free land and possibility of very wet walking. Looks fun...not. I think I understand why the route is best done from Source to London as the route becomes more interesting. At present the route is getting less interesting. We cooked omelette inthe self catering kitchen, it was a slow ordeal with electric cooker ...slow cooked omelette, a first. We have choc ice cream for later and at least this kitchen is better equiped than Londons Thameside. We are not alone in the dorm, we share it with a builder and some other unknown unseen person. Our stuff does not seem to bad. Josh found deoderant tin yesterday on the side of the road and it was half full, pleasant enough alternative to smelly feet and other odours.
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