A completely different venue for my walk today. I decided to go to Oxford partly because I wanted some new walking boots – having had to dispose of my old ones in Devon! Also for somewhere I love it is strange to think I hadn’t been there since before the pandemic – bizarre really but not somewhere to walk round with bad hips and then COVID infection was really high in Oxford.
I decided to walk by the river, Port Meadow and along Oxford Canal. The best option for this was to use Seacourt Park and Ride which comes in along the Botley Road and had a stop near the Thames Path that I wanted to use. Such a contrast to the tranquility of the day before!
The river runs between allotments and the back of houses. There are several paths leading off and quaint bridges to cross. The path then runs between the river and a wide drainage ditch. There is a sign warning not to walk along the path when it’s flooded !! There are some canal boats along this stretches that are used as homes.
The path runs passed a mini marina/ boat yard which hosts private boats and some for hire. At this point Port Meadow becomes apparent – a large open space of about 400 acres. It was given to the Freeman of Oxford in the 10th century by King Alfred, who founded Oxford and in return for support against the Danes.
The path goes passed the garden of ‘The Perch’, Binsey. A place visited on several occasions but sadly not recently.
The River Thames has many locks in this area including Godstow Lock which you come to just before the ruins of Godstow Nunnery. There are many stories about ‘Fair Rosamund’. You can look across the meadow and see some of the Oxford spires.
The path meets the road that runs into Wolvercote and the ‘Trout Inn’ nestles next to the river. Once when staying at Hill End Activity Centre with a group of children we had taken the group out for an evening walk and called here, ordering a large number of lemonades to drink in the garden.
Having walked along the road for a short distance it was time to go back on to the meadow. I took a path nearer the edge which I hadn’t ever used before. In doing this I discovered a Nature Reserve between the meadow and the railway line and several memorial stones to past Mayors and Sheriffs of Oxford.
A flock of geese takes off loudly and it is possible to look back over to the river and see Wytham Woods, owned by the University of Oxford; a site of special scientific interest. The occasional splash of colour breaks up the green.
An exit on the left leads into Aristotle Lane, crosses the railway and then a path down to the tow path alongside the Oxford Canal. This goes from the city, north through the county, for 75 miles before linking up with other canals in the Midlands.
Many houses in the Jericho region of Oxford have gardens that back on to the canal. Quite a lot of house and garden envy during this part of the walk. Some sympathetic building of new apartments alongside some remodelled factory/ warehouse buildings.
The canal negotiated a lock, noticeably narrower than the one on the river before finishing in a widened area so boats could turn around. The capstan would have helped with this manoeuvre when boats were pulled by horses rather than powered by engines.
The path goes straight out onto the street and the spire of Nuffield College and the mound of Oxford Castle can be seen.
This was a good walk with far more people than I’d seen for a long time! Just time to go to buy some boots! A reasonable distance, a bit over 10.5 km.
Marion's 50 Walk Challenge 