Blogs from Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 10

Similar day to yesterday, starting with a walk to Port Meadow, a large water meadow by the Thames but accessible from the Oxford Canal. This is a wild water swimming area – not rough water but more fresh water swimming. I think that I would want a shower afterwards though – there's a lot of goose poo around. Port Meadow is managed by Oxford City Council whereas I believe all the other meadows around Oxford are owned by various colleges. Started on the undercoat today and the boat was so hot that the paint was going tacky on contact. Put another coat on this afternoon and will have the joy of sanding tomorrow. I decided to walk around the Jericho area of Oxford this afternoon – famous from Morse/Lewis and also Jude, the Obscure. Jericho was ... read more

I thought I'd better attack some of the rust this morning, after John had left and Hattie had been walked – big mistake as by the time I got into the Tourist Information office I was just too late to join a 'Morse' walk. Still, I did sand, kurust and red oxide a reasonable amount whilst the sun was still on the boat so all not was lost. I walked round part of Oxford in the afternoon. I didn't visit the colleges as such but just snapped some of the architecture that I liked. I visited Christchurch College a few years ago and did the 'Harry Potter' bit then. Someone has just tapped on the window as I am typing and I suddenly felt vulnerable – a fisherman who'd got sunburnt and had I got any ... read more

3 locks, total 94 PS to yesterday's blog: Day's Lock hosts the World 'Poohsticks' Championships every March Since the confluence with the R. Thame, some sources state that we are now on the Isis, rather than the Thames. The dykes mentioned are named The Dyke Hills. An alfresco meal on the stern of the boat and a superb sunset last night. We set off very early this morning in bright sunshine after a last minute arrangement to meet Matthew, Clair and Naomi in Abingdon by 11.00am. This meant going through the first lock before the lock keeper started work and this is very straightforward.......provided all the lock electrics are functioning properly. They weren't, so we lost 45 minutes and really had to steam after that. We were determined not to miss the toilet pumpout at Abingdon ... read more

There are two types of holidays. Those where you visit people, and those where you visit places. Right from the beginning we knew this was going to be a people visiting holiday, with a wedding to attend and JB returning home for the first time in three years. But with the wedding set in such a beautiful location in Oxfordshire, I now wish we’d built a bit more exploration time into our visit. Obviously we saw a bit of the countryside when we were driving around lost, and got to enjoy our cute little B&B just outside of Abingdon, but in the end we didn’t get to see Abingdon itself besides driving through it on the way to other things. The wedding was held in the Earth Trust Barn in Little Wittenham; a really lovely place ... read more

They say that heaven is an English day in springtime. If that's true, spring for us began on May 1st biking over the rolling Lanbourn downs, home to English horse lovers for thousands of years at least since prehistoric people carved horses into the chalk soil by removing the overlying soil. The oldest of the white clay white horses is so big that the best place to view it is from the air. As we cycle through the Vale of the White Horse on our way to Oxford we encounter riders, trainers and horses of varied hues and sizes. The skies are blue, the hills are gentle and our smiles are everpresent. As we roll into the city it doesn't take long before another version of heaven engulfs us. Oh to be student in this bastion ... read more