TP10
Thames Path - Walk 10
SUNDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2023: My final day of this mini-trip and a shorter walk, approx. 11 miles to Oxford. I leave a little earlier, around 8:00am, firstly making my way through the streets of Abingdon for a mile, half that distance filled with every fair-ground ride imaginable, all prepped for a local festival that night, an unusual sight. In addition I make time for a MickyD breakfast pit stop before hitting the Thames
It is going to be another day of fine weather, at the moment hazy sunshine and not a breath of wind. The grass is wet with dew and my feet soon start to get a little soggy, something that stays that way through the morning given the long grassy stretches
Once I pass through the Abingdon Lock area it becomes quiet. There are few people around – I see none for nearly an hour – so it is me the birds and occasional squirrels left to contemplate. I pass through a couple of nature reserve areas, some squelchy with mud, the Thames usually nearby playing peek-a boo
Sandford Lock arrives after a few miles and gives a burst of people and activity but then it settles down again and the peace returns, just a few passing boats now and again. On a bridge I stop for final reminisce, conscious that I will soon be in the environs of Oxford and that will liven up. It has been quiet today but I have enjoyed the solitude and yet again marvel at the glorious weather
Sure enough Oxford beckons, with a long lead in by paved (cycle) tow-path, with the marvellously named Folly Bridge my end target reached by lunchtime. This is a major city and certainly a change in atmosphere. I get some snacks and sit on the green in Christ Church meadows, taking in the sun
But my day is not over. What do you do at the end of a hike?….well you go a walking tour of course! As it turns out a fascinating and highly enjoyable 2 hour walking tour of the city & university. Taking in some of the famous architecture, buildings and locations: Bodleain Library, Radcliffe Camera and a visit inside Jesus College into its Quadrangles, Chapel and Dining Hall
Oxford is known as a university town but the university is actually a collection of 39 separate faculties, with a combined total of 29,000 students, from all around the world, including large numbers from USA and China (apx 1900 from each). With the university history dating back a 1,000 years there are certainly some stories to tell. I am in a group of a dozen or so and we have a hugely interesting tour of some key sights, with an experienced and highly informative guide. Recommended
On completion of my tour it is 3:00pm and time to make my way home, so I meander along to the station for the last bit of my trek, this time by train to Southampton airport and then plane to my island home
So another Thames Path session completed, this practically leaving me one last long leg from Oxford to Source, a distance of nearly 50 miles, which will need a single 4 day trip given the remoteness. I am not sure how I feel about this. I want to complete the Path, but this remaining section seems very rural, with few specific points of interest, can I justify the time and expense when there are so many other walks I want to do…we’ll see
For now I focus on the Thames Path completed. From the Thames Barrier in 2016 to over 7 years later now in 2023 it has been a marvellous route. This is not just a national path, it is a national treasure. Everyone should take a walk along the Thames Path
