The Marlow Donkey & River Walk


The 'Marlow Donkey' is the local name for the short branch line that links Bourne End and Marlow, running for most of the way with sight of the River Thames. Use of this line in one direction allows a one-way walk along one of the most beautiful parts of the river and ending at the attractive river-side town of Marlow. At one time Bourne End was an intermediate station on the Great Western secondary line from Maidenhead to High Wycombe, but the section from Bourne End to High Wycombe has sadly been abandoned. As a result the only connection between this line and the rest of the rail system is via the junction with the Great Western main line at Maidenhead.

	Make your way to Maidenhead station, the junction station on the Great Western main line for Bourne End and Marlow. Maidenhead has five platforms. Platforms 1 & 2 (extreme left here) serve the fast lines and are rarely used as most services pass through at 125 miles an hour. Platforms 3 & 4 serve the slow lines; depending on where you are coming from you will almost certainly arrive on a First Great Western Link service at one of these platforms. Platform 5 is used by the Marlow & Bourne End services. Note the short wooden overall roof over platform 5, a throw-back to the early days of the Great Western.
After boarding the next Marlow train from platform 5, you will pass through the intermediate stations of Furze Platt and Cookham and over Bourne End railway bridge over the Thames before arriving at Bourne End. Bourne End is now a terminal station. The abandoned line to High Wycombe continued straight on here; the business park in the background is built on its alignment. Off-peak all trains use platform 1 nearest the camera; in peak periods trains to/from Marlow use platform 1 and trains to/from Maidenhead use platform 2. Passengers from Marlow to Maidenhead must transfer between trains.
	Here is the view looking the other way from Bourne End station which explains why. The line to the right is the line to Marlow, whilst the line leaving to the left is the line to Maidenhead. Only trains from platform 1 can reach the Marlow line. During off-peak periods a single train shuttles once an hour between Maidenhead and Marlow reversing en-route in Bourne End's platform 1. During peak periods the same train shuttles between Bourne End and Marlow, whilst other trains run from Bourne End to Maidenhead and (in some cases) London Paddington.
All of this is controlled from this ground-frame at the end of platform 1. When a train arrives at Bourne End from Maidenhead bound for Marlow (or vice-versa), the conductor-guard of the train must unlock the ground frame using the single-track token, and then switch the points manually. This must be one of the few places left on the British rail network where passenger trains are routinely switched in this way.
	Allowing the Marlow Donkey to continue on its way, leave the station via the station car park to be found alongside platform 2. Walk through the car park with the station on your right. At the far end of the car park, this path leads out and heads for the bank of the River Thames. At the end of this path is a flight of stairs leading down to another path running parallel to the river. Turn to your right and immediately pass under the rail bridge.
Passing under the Bourne End railway bridge, join the long distance Thames Path, which you will stick with all the way into Marlow. This path starts at the Thames Barrier and runs to the source of the Thames in Gloucestershire. It joins here by crossing a footbridge attached to the side of the rail bridge. From here until Spade Oak, you will be walking along a narrow hedged or fenced path close to the river edge, as can be seen stretching out in front here.
	After 100 yards or so, you arrive at what was, a year ago, an interesting old boatyard with various docks and laid-up boats. Now it is an almost finished new housing development, fronted by a new marina. Soon it will be occupied. Notice the Marlow Donkey squeezing past behind the new houses, and just about to cross the access road on the level. Pass through the development, keeping close to the waterside.
Looking back the way you have come, you get a good view of Bourne End railway bridge, which you crossed on the way into Bourne End station.
	Just across the river this pub is visible. It is unusual in that, in common with the other properties you see on the other side of the river here, it has no road access. There is a footpath on the other bank (indeed the original Thames towpath is on the other bank at this point) but no road. I wonder how their beer gets delivered. If you want to visit this pub, your best bet is to try and beg a lift off a passing boat. But we have only just started our walk, and there are plenty of pubs in Marlow, so lets keep going. Continue on across the well manicured grounds of the Upper Thames Sailing Club, and on into another narrow track.
This kind of development, with chalet bungalows on the land side of the track and their private gardens between track and river is very typical of this stretch of the walk, and occurs in other places on the river. The bungalows probably originally started out as holiday plots in the early 1900s, and have turned gradually into homes in a very ad-hoc manner. I know of similar chalets where renovation has revealed old Romany caravans or rail carriages embedded in the building. I think this adds to their chaotic charm, but some latter day planners don't agree and there have been battles in some places.
	Eventually we arrive at Spade Oak, where the nature of the walk changes. The Thames has long had a towpath, used by both men and horses to haul the barges that once made this the principal highway of the area, and at Spade Oak this crossed the river using a long defunct ferry. Because from here to Marlow we are on the towpath bank, development of the sort we have just seen wasn't possible and from here on you will be walking through open fields.
Besides its ferry, Spade Oak was also once a small river port, with an access lane winding its way up out of the river valley to serve the farmers of the area. The Apolonia, seen here moored at the wharf, is not really representative of the sort of craft that would have used this port then. From contemporary illustrations, the traditional Thames 'country' barge was a large but very shallow draft vessel, capable of using sails where possible but also of being man-hauled across the many shallows that existed before the current locks and weirs were built. Sadly none have survived.
	At Spade Oak the Bourne End to Marlow line is at its closest to the river, and crosses the Spade Oak access lane at an un-signalled crossing adjacent to the wharf. On the other side of the line is a car park and, as this is the best access to an attractive part of the river bank, this area can become quite busy with families on a sunny summer Sunday. Because of this 'interesting' mixture, the Marlow Donkey generally tiptoes across the crossing at walking pace.
From Spade Oak until we reach the outskirts of Marlow, navigation could not be easier. Simply walk across the fields, keeping as close to the river bank as possible without risking falling in, using the gates provided and enjoying the country and river views. I'm going to take a rest from narrative here and simply show you some of the sights you will see en-route. I will resume when we reach Marlow.



Eventually you reach the modern concrete span of the Marlow by-pass. Continue under the by-pass, along the river side of the playing fields that immediately follow, then along a path between the river and some houses until we reach this park. At the point the paths leaves the riverside to wind its way through the back lanes and alleyways of Marlow, with occasional river views. Leave the park its entrance just visible to the left of the rightmost tree on this view, and turn left into the road immediately encountered.
	Follow this narrow road (Mill Road) as it twists to right and then left past a riverside apartment development, keeping an eye open for a narrow path to the left sign-posted 'Marlow Lock'. Take a side trip down this path to see the lock, and a first view of the classic Marlow picture of weir, church, bridge and the Complete Angler hotel.
Return to Mill Road and continue to your left. Where the road turns a right-angle away from the river under a high brick wall, continue on the road but look out for a narrow alleyway forming a gap in the wall to the left. Turn down this alleyway, and follow it as it twists and turns between various buildings.
	The alleyway eventually brings us out into this charming street (St Peter's Street), which runs down to a slipway into the river, with excellent views of the lock, weir, bridge and hotel. The pub here is the 'Two Brewers', which has an extensive menu and would make a good stopping; however if you don't fancy it there are plenty of other pubs and restaurants in Marlow High Street.
Across the road from the Two Brewers, another alleyway leads off and eventually opens out into Marlow churchyard. Cross the churchyard and leave it by the front entrance into Marlow High Street.
	A short diversion to the left here brings us to Marlow Suspension Bridge, built by Tierney Clark between 1829 and 1832. Plans in the 1950s to replace this bridge were fought off by the Marlow Society, and the bridge was instead thoroughly renovated and is still open to traffic, albeit with the very low maximum weight of 3 tons. Tierney Clark is a rather forgotten figure today, having studied under both Thomas Telford and John Rennie, and gone on to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is perhaps most famous for having built the Marlow bridge's big brother, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge across the Danube in Budapest; another bridge that still stands.
Retracing your steps from the bridge, you now look up the length of Marlow High Street. This street is full of interesting shops, restaurants and bars, and well repays a stroll along its length. Eventually you need to make your way to Station Road, which branches off the High Street to the right in this photograph, just after the end of the green.
	Walk along Station Road for about 400 yards until you reach the Marlow Donkey pub. No prizes for guessing what this is named after. At one time the Marlow Donkey pub stood adjacent to the rail station served by the Marlow Donkey train. Sadly no more, as an industrial estate has been built on the site of the old station. From the pub, walk down the access road to the estate, aiming for a row of tall trees in the distance
At the far side of the industrial estate, find the minimalist modern station which now serves Marlow. That concludes the trip. From here you should catch the train back to Bourne End, Maidenhead and homewards.