We are still enjoying dry weather as we set off for Dorchester on the Thames. Leslie, Pip and Gavin met up with us at Iffley lock as we left town. The three are school friends of Pete's who live in the area and will be walking the day route with us...the more the merrier.
Below you will see 2 pictures of the old church in Iffley, just as we were setting out for our walk.
As we walked out of town we passed under an old rail bridge pictured below and many fishermen, runners and bikers out enjoying their Saturday morning.
We made our way past Radley which is famous as the site of one of the most prestigious Private Schools in England. Admission is apparently restricted by family lineage of the elite.
After approx. 8 miles we arrived at the bridge heading across to Abingdon, which claims to be the oldest continuously occupied town in England, through the Iron Age, Roman and Saxon times to modern day. It was a beautiful little town and was our first stop for the day. The boys stopped at the pub and the girls went for tea and cakes.
Some beautiful houses along the Thames around Abingdon.
Some of the architecture of Abingdon below.
The pub stop in Abingdon.
As we were leaving Abingdon, we saw a few Saturday morning Cricket games getting underway with the locals.
On our way out of Abingdon following a beautiful tree lined path through a park
We continued on our walk along the Thames for several more miles until we arrived at Clifton Hampden, a small village of thatched roof houses with an old thatched roof pub called, Barley Mow that dates back to 1352. We of course felt obligated to stop for a pint. Remember my comment about this potentially turning into a pub crawl?
The Barley Mow
Our gang at Barley Mow trying a wide angle selfie!
After leaving Clifton Hampden we made our way along the river towards Dorchester on Thames, our destination for today. Along the way, we saw some beautiful, large estates on massive lots along the Thames, most were their own boat houses and I'm sure, a team of gardeners.
A typical tudor style building in Dorchester.
Below are a few pictures of the Abby of Saint Peter and Saint Paul built around 1140 on the former site of a Saxon cathedral. In the 1500's the church was saved from demolition by the wealthy merchant, Richard Beauforest and given to the town. The museum on this site is the sole remaining original monastic building remaining totally in tact.
Ahhh...home sweet home!!!!
Today 's stats......we cover approximately 16 miles and our daily step count somewhere around 42,000!
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