La Baguette has moved from a larger premises halfway along Bath Street to 5 The Square, next to Papa John’s. Under its new name, The Little Baguette Shop, the business continues selling filled baguettes, coffee, and other hot drinks. They moved around 2 August.
The footpath across Abingdon Weir has reopened, with large green “Footpath Open” signs now in place and the fencing that blocked access removed.
The walkway was closed in April 2025 due to safety concerns over corrosion in the steel support structure. At the time, the closure was expected to last about three weeks — from 22 April to 12 May — but it was understood this could be extended depending on inspection results.
During the closure, there were occasional acts of “guerrilla reopening,” with padlocks removed to let people across, only for the Environment Agency to replace them.
The Environment Agency has given no public updates about repairs or an official reopening date, but the path is open for now.
The annual Abingdon Calendar by Martin Wackenier went on sale at his Monday Market stall yesterday, selling well there and at his shop on Stert Street. Around 100 copies have been sold in the first 24 hours.
Martin is also selling card sets featuring Ozzy Osbourne — who died last week — based on photographs taken at Ozzy’s memorial. All proceeds from these cards will go to Parkinson’s UK.
At last week’s lantern event, Martin took a photograph that has been framed and will be included in his next batch of cards. He also hopes to send a copy to the children in Hiroshima who made the lanterns.
Our Lady’s Abingdon (OLA), a private school near Abingdon town centre that has served the community for more than 160 years, has closed with immediate effect after governors said they had “exhausted every possible option to secure the school’s future.”
Students were warned at the end of term that the school might not be there after the holidays and that they might need to start looking elsewhere, but many still hoped it would survive. Two sixth formers I spoke to believed closure might come within the next three to five years — not so suddenly.
Both said they had enjoyed a wonderful education at OLA and, thanks to scholarships and bursaries, had been able to attend a school that would otherwise have been beyond their reach. They were expecting their A Level results in three days and expressed sympathy for fellow students and staff whose futures are now uncertain.
They estimated that around 20% of the sixth form came from Abingdon, with an even higher proportion in the lower years, meaning the closure will likely put additional pressure on local state schools.
In a statement, the governors said:
“It is with our deepest regret that we inform our parents, students, staff, and local community that the Governors have taken the heartbreaking decision to close the school with immediate effect… The spirit of this community, and the values it upholds, will endure long after our doors close.”
The statement said falling pupil numbers and rising costs linked to VAT on school fees, higher National Insurance contributions, the end of business rates relief for independent schools, and general inflation as key factors in the decision.