Category Archives: food

Flooding on the Tesco Footpath After Recent Heavy Rain

Leave a reply

Tesco Footpath
The footpath beside the River Ock to Tesco is flooded. At the Tesco end the path is submerged, with water flowing across it.  This follows the heavy rainfall of the 15th and 17th January.
Tesco Footpath
The fields near Tesco are also flooded, as water flows over the banks of the River Ock and Sandford Brook.
Tesco Footpath
Higher water can also be seen in the flood basins near Tesco. They were cleared last year and made more visible. Despite this, there does not appear to be any threat to the Tesco car park.
Tesco Footpath
It is also interesting to see from the footpath that the field between the River Ock and the site of the new Unicorn School, formerly Ock Mill and the Premier Inn, has been cleared of willows and other trees and bushes.

The River Takes Over: Images of the River Thames near Abingdon

4 Replies


Abingdon Weir looks fully open as high flows of water from Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire make their way along the River Thames by Abingdon.

The River Thames has risen dramatically over the past 24 hours. After breaching the bank near Abingdon Bridge, much of the water now bypasses the usual route, flooding the cricket field instead of curving around by St Helen’s Church.

Not only the cricket field but also the football ground finds itself underwater as the unbound River Thames takes over.

Some cars have been caught out by the sudden inflow of water to Rye Farm Carpark.

The water has risen to submerge the step of the stone building used by West Waddy Architects. Their flood gate shows the water level. It is still below the level reached in January 2024.

Yesterday, I praised the flood wall’s success in safeguarding St Helens Mill. Today somebody was pumping water over the wall away from the mill.

At sunset, the floodwaters look calm, reflecting the sky and trees near the Abbey Meadow pool.

But the river itself is anything but calm, overflowing the path to Abingdon Weir.

Solar Farms and Organic Farming representatives on Bury Street Precinct

5 Replies


In the Bury Street Precinct on Thursday, were a group seeking support for a proposed solar farm near Cumnor. The Cumnor Parish Council has voiced its opposition, citing concerns about the industrialization of the Greenbelt, the impact on the area’s natural beauty and character, disruption to public rights of way, agriculture, and ecological balance.

The representatives of the company wanting to build the solar farm say it will counter climate change by helping the shift away from carbon energy and so help the VWHDC is their action on the climate emergency. They said the land could still be used for sheep grazing. The consultation period is closed, and I was not sure of the benefit of getting people to sign a list of ‘benefits’ at this stage. The planning application on the VWHDC Planning portal has reference ‘P23/V2624/FUL’.

Meanwhile, Riverford Organic Farmers had their regular stall where people can sign up for organic vegetable and food boxes.

Organic farming relies on natural methods for pest control and fertilisation and is attractive to consumers who are able and willing to pay a premium for naturally produced food.

The River Thames Floodplain near Abingdon (yesterday and today)

4 Replies


Yesterday, you could just about walk the Thames path if you were careful and wore wellies.

The sun was shining, and there were some picturesque views.

One lot of new trees in Rye Farm Meadow was underwater.

Today, the River Thames has a muddier look. Walking along the river bank, even with wellies, would be unwise.

A notice at Abingdon Lock warns people of human sewage and hidden obstacles.

One of our local drone experts was taking pictures from Abingdon Bridge and from Abingdon Lock to be shown on his Facebook site, called fly4fun.

The water level was still rising near Abingdon Lock at 14:15. See https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/7073