WE READ, WE LEARNED

WE READ… From Source to Sea: Notes from a 215mile Walk along the River Thames, by Tom Chesshyre, £10 £10, www. summersdale.com

WE LEARNED… You can actually meet Old Father Thames by a lock

near Lechlade. “From 1958 to 1974 his statue stood in the field at Trewsbury Mead, before suffering damage and being brought here to be kept under the watchful eye of the lock-keeper. The mythical figure is shown in recline with a wooden spade propped on his right shoulder; at first I take this to be a prank, but this is how the statue is meant to be. Old Father Thames has a long, flowing beard and his expression suggests: ‘you’d better not try anything with me’.”

WE READ… Bognor and Other Regises, A Potted History of Britain in 100 Royal Places, by Caroline Taggart, £15 £15, www.theaa. com/bookshop

WE LEARNED… Searching for the Birnam Oak in Macbeth’s Birnam Wood can take a while. “What remains of Birnam Wood lies along the south bank of the Tay, some of the loveliest country in Scotland. If you park in Birnam itself, signs point you along the appropriately named Oak Road and very quickly take you to an enormous tree. In front of it is a gravestone-shaped slab on which are carved the words, ‘It’s not me, I’m a sycamore.’ Not 20 yards further along, another gravestone smirks, ‘Not me either – keep going.’ So you do, and there it is – the Birnam Oak, some 23ft in girth and reaching skywards as far as the eye can see. It’s at least 500 years old, so if it wasn’t there in Macbeth’s day, it certainly was in Shakespeare’s.”

WE READ… Tea Shop Walks: Lake District, by Vivienne Crow, £6 £6, www.northern eyebooks.co.uk

WE LEARNED… The Watermill Café at Caldbeck is a year-round

delight. “As its name suggests, this café is located in a restored watermill right next to the roaring waters of the village’s main beck. Huddle round the wood-burning stove with hot soup on a chilly winter’s day; in summer, sit outside in the sheltered garden overlooking Caldbeck’s cricket pitch.”