English Country Walks: Hiking along the Thames near Oxford

by Sean McLachlan on

Spring has sprung, and while I have a reputation as a museum junkie, I love to be outside too. Over the next few months I’ll be bringing you lots of guides to hiking in England, which in good weather has the most beautiful countryside in the world.

Today I’ll tell you about an easy, scenic, seven-mile hike from historic Oxford along the Thames to the little town of Abingdon. It forms part of the Thames Path, a 184 mile (294 km) National Trail from the source of the river in the Cotswolds all the way to the Thames Barrier near Greenwich. You can find a description of the Oxford-Abingdon section of the route here, but it actually runs backwards from Abingdon to Oxford. My route starts from the more popular town. The trail is flat and you’re never far from civilization, but be sure to bring a bit of food, water, and sunscreen as you would on any hike.

The hike starts from Folly Bridge in Oxford, site of the popular Head of the River Pub, pictured on the right. From there you simply head south on west side of the river. Don’t worry if you don’t know which way is west, it’s the only side with a trail! There’s a wide gravel path that’s in the process of being paved. River barges and university rowing teams share the water with ducks and swans. It’s a peaceful walk, although at this point you’ll be sharing it with a fair number of people unless you go out very early in the morning. Bring a camera, because it’s very photogenic.

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The first major landmark is The Isis, a pub with a big garden overlooking the river two miles south of Folly Bridge. The part of the Thames that flows through Oxford is actually called the Isis by locals, so the pub is named after the river.

Next comes Iffley lock, where you can watch canal boats being raised and lowered in the lock before continuing their journey. I suggest taking a side trip by crossing over the lock and going into Iffley village just a couple of minutes away. There you can see one of the best preserved Norman churches in England. A yew tree in the churchyard may be the sole survivor of a pagan grove that was destroyed when Christianity came to this land. I’ve written about this church and tree in more detail here.

Once you’ve seen the church, cross back over to the Thames Path and continue heading south. You’ll pass through a less-than-scenic bit for the next mile or so as you go under a railway bridge and several huge electric pylons. Once you put those behind you you’ll have fine views the rest of the way, with the river on your left and forest and farmers’ fields on your right.

Next stop is Sandford-on-Thames, a little town with a lock and a nice pub by the river. One of the best parts about hiking in England is there’s usually a pub nearby. Take advantage of this, but don’t forget to drink water too! This village was founded by the Romans, owned by the Templars in the Middle Ages, and now is just a sleepy little place by the river. Watch out on Christmas Eve, though, because locals whisper that a headless horseman leads a phantasmal coach and four through the fields nearby.

Now you’ll pass through a long stretch of countryside with few houses. Your only companions will be ducks, swans, and the occasional boat. The path narrows, but remains clear. There’s really no way to get lost on this hike.

Finally you pass another lock and come to Abingdon, a town packed with history. The town is actually built atop an Iron Age fort that is no longer visible. When the Romans came in the first century AD, they used the river extensively, but Abingdon didn’t come into its own until the foundation of Abingdon Abbey in the 7th century. It remained a major center of worship until 1538, when Henry VIII disbanded it and most other religious houses in England.

Needless to say, there are plenty of things to see here. The bridge you cross over to get to town dates to 1416. The old Abbey Gardens are a great place for a picnic, but only bits and pieces of the abbey remain. For historic architecture check out the church of St. Nicolas (c. 1170). The church of St. Helens dates to about 70 years earlier. St. Helens is a huge place and claims to be the second widest church in England. Who measures these things?

Being such an old town, Abingdon has developed some odd customs. On special occasions city officials throw buns off the roof of the old County Hall to the crowds below. Several buns have been preserved in the Abingdon Museum, in case you’re into old preserved buns. They also have a series of old-time festivals, including electing a fake Mayor. This year the “election” will take place on June 13 and be accompanied by folk dancing, music, and a large amount of drinking at Abingdon’s many great pubs. I’ll be reporting on it, so I hope to see you there!

If you felt you’ve done enough walking for one day, there are plenty of buses back to Oxford, or you can turn this seven-mile hike into a fourteen-mile one and walk on back, filling up at the pubs along the way, of course.

Museum Junkie: England’s most unique museum reopens

by Sean McLachlan on

Oxford’s famous Pitt Rivers Museum has reopened this month after more than a year of remodeling.

The famous Victorian displays, a massive collection of diverse anthropological objects in a large gallery and two upper floors, have remained untouched, preserving an almost unique set of displays dating back more than a century.

One of the most popular cases is the one involving death rituals, which has a spooky group of skulls and shrunken heads. A display about smoking contains a Chinese opium pipe with some suspicious-looking resin and a diagram of how to make a pipe by poking a hole through the ground. The museum as an especially good collection of Native American art, such as this woodcut print entitled “Hungry Bear” by Coast Salish artist Jody Wilson, depicting a grizzly bear in the act of catching a salmon.

The collection started with a donation in 1884 of 20,000 objects from Lt.-Gen. Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. He was interested in the evolution of objects and organized his collection typologically, placing all items of the same use into a single case in order to show the evolution of form within and across cultures. The collection now boasts half a million artifacts from hundreds of cultures. The cases are cluttered with objects, and below them are drawers that can be opened to reveal more artifacts. The staff hand out free flashlights (called torches in England) so visitors and peer into the deeper recesses of the cases where even more treasures are hidden.

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This style of organization, so different from most modern museums, makes for a fascinating visit. For example, the case labeled Animal Forms in Art has dozens of animal representations from various cultures, some stylized, some realistic, some for worship, some for play. There’s an ancient Egyptian ram’s head made of wood, a nineteenth-century Danish piggybank, and a wooden owl carved by the Ainu about 1900 A.D., packed in with dozens of other objects.

An example of how objects can change their meaning over time is shown in drawer 29.3, labeled Amulets, Religious Artifacts, and Offerings. Inside are nine ushabti, little glazed figurines that the ancient Egyptians put in their tombs to act as servants in the afterlife. But these particular ones date from only a hundred years ago and were carried by Egyptian peasant men who went from village to village. Women would place them on the ground and jump over them in order to become fertile. One wonders if the wandering ushabti carriers had anything to do with it.

The whole effect of all the world’s objects crammed together in the same room is somewhat dizzying; even the walls and ceilings are decorated with totem poles, kayaks, and outrigger canoes.

The upper floor containing an immense array of weapons from all periods and cultures won’t be open until spring of 2010, but the two floors that are already open to the public will give any museum junkie several days’ worth of exploration.

Travel Bookshelf: Cheeky Guides

by Sean McLachlan on

Let’s face it–most guidebooks are boring. Sure, they’re informative, but they either read like a postgraduate thesis (Blue Guides) or are filled with snotty, uninformed opinions (take your pick)

The Cheeky Guides come as a breath of fresh air, or rather a gust of lager-laden belches from some local lush leaning against the bar at a seedy pub. These guides to Oxford and Brighton, two of England’s most popular destinations, manage to cover all the basics such as hotels, restaurants, and major tourist sights before veering off into the strange, silly, and even sinister.

Take Brighton, for example. You can learn where to go to speak to the dead (page 62), buy nipple clamps (page 260), or bathe in the nude (page 247). The authors are even kind enough to give you cryptic but probably sound advice. In the case of Brighton’s nude gay beach, “look out for the Windmill Man.” I’ll remember that.

If you’re wondering what the authors look like, they have a remarkable resemblance to the finger puppet “author photos” in the Brighton guide. There’s a real photo of them holding hands on the first page of “The Gay Scene” of the Oxford guide. Apparently they couldn’t find any real gays to pose for this picture.

The books are illustrated with clear, hand-drawn maps and the rare photo of something historic, but mostly feature random images of drunken students and midget strippers with hats on their willies. After all, who needs photos of some old building you’re going to take a photo of anyway? I’ve traveled all over the world and never once had the opportunity to take a photo of a stripping midget. Perhaps I’m not going to the right places.

The company also has Cheeky Guides to Student Life and Love, in case university and long-term relationships aren’t cheeky enough for you already.

While the books contain a hefty dose of silliness, and the occasional tall tale you’d have to be an American tourist to swallow, they do offer a wealth local color and unusual destinations you won’t find in regular guides and make a good addition to any traveler’s bookshelf.

So for a breezy, fun read, spread open a Cheeky Guide.

Flood Update From the UK

by Iva Skoch on

It appears that the flood is spreading closer to London. Here is a map of the currently affected areas. Today, some 250 people were evacuated from Oxford.

Friends in the UK tell me that the weather in London has been better in the last few days, so hopefully the Thames will remain tame. Although London has some of the most sophisticated flood wall system in the world, let’s hope they don’t have to use it.

The Bad House?

by Iva Skoch on

Feeling trapped in your day-to-day life? How about a visit to the house of pain? The big house? The Malmaison Oxford is a former prison which has been converted into a luxury hotel.

This building served as a prison for 125 years before being shuttered in 1996 and converted into a boutique hotel by the London-based chain, Malmaison (which takes its name–literally, “bad house”–from Napoleon’s Paris chateau). The Oxford former prison has retained many of its fixtures, and most rooms are made up of three cells combined.

The site itself has been a prison since the 12th century, but the current prison was built in 1870. Fortunately for guests, the prison was considered particularly “airy” and “light.” It also served as a set for Michael Caine’s The Italian Job.