Autumn Walks

One of the many things I love about living in England is that there are walking trails everywhere.  Walking is a national pastime in the U.K.  This weeks walks included Port Meadow, Blenheim Palace, Radley Woods and Sunningwell Village.

About a mile from Oxford City center is the beautiful Port Meadow. It’s a floodplain and an  ancient area of grazing land that is still used for horses and cattle.  It is also land that has never been ploughed. 

The Freemen of Oxford were given the 300 acres of pasture next to the River Thames by Alfred the Great who founded the city in the 10th century. The Freemen's collective right to graze their animals free of charge is recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 and has been exercised ever since.

While walking in the meadow we passed horses,cows, and lots of geese . The meadow runs from Jerico to Wolvercote and when it floods it turns into quite a lake.  On occasion it freezes in the winter and makes for great iceskating. 

The River Thames (known as the Isis at this point) flows through the meadow. This is where the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll)  rowed in a boat on July 4th 1862 up the river with three young girls — Lorina, Alice, and Edith Liddell. While journeying slowly from Folly Bridge to Godstow, Dodgson began, at their request, to make up a story that later was expanded into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Just 8 miles from Oxford, Blenheim Palace is on of my favorite places to walk.  It has  over 2,000 acres of landscaped parkland designed by 'Capability' Brown.  It also has  a lovely lake and beautiful formal gardens.  

Blenheim Palace was a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough following his famous victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Winston Churchill, a nephew to the Duke,  was born at Blenheim.  

This time of year it is common to see pheasants strolling about. Fortunately I haven’t seen any hunters.

Just behind our house are the Bagley Woods.  They are considered ancient woods and, except for a few years in the 16th century, have had only two owners since 955. From 955 to 1538 the woods were owned by Abingdon Abbey , and since 1557 most of the woods are owned by  St John's College in Oxford. 

I call them "our woods" since Happy (our dog) and I walk there nearly every day.

Just beyond the Radley Woods is a charming little village call Sunningwell with an old parish church (built in 1246) and a popular pub that it well known for it’s music scene.  There are dozens of small villages like this that are within a few miles of Oxford and are appealing places to live since they are just a short bike or bus ride into town.