Category Archives: Abbey Grounds

Abbey Millstream Through the Year: September 2026

The last day of September began with a tidy up. Early in the morning a van working for the Vale of White Horse District Council was out tidying the area at the start of the day.

A couple of days ago there was the sound of a sawing and undergrowth being cleared near the phone mast. Today the reason became clear. This morning engineers were installing new equipment on the mast using a lift.

The information board about the Mill Stream tells the story of the Abbey fulling mill. A photograph by Taunt in 1890 is labelled as ‘the probable old fulling mill’. The same building now forms part of the Cosener’s House conference centre. A fulling mill would have used fuller’s earth to clean wool, removing grease so the wool could soak up dye better.

There are still plenty of ducks about, and a few moorhen. Leaves begin to fall and float on the water

More ducks gather at what seems to be a good feeding spot at the weir.

Michaelmas daisies, Meadowsweet and Mallows add some late colour. They still grow at the margin above the weir. But there are not many flowers along the Millstream.

Apart from Ivy flowers. If they can be called flowers. The bees gather round them. They must provide nectar for the winter.

Abbey Millstream Through the Year: August 2026

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Alongside the Millstream, the Thames Path runs for a short stretch. The Millstream path is also part of National Cycle Network Route 5 and is well used by local joggers, walkers and people out exercising their dogs. So, despite being a backwater, the Millstream is beside a busy route.

As I walked along the Millstream today, there didn’t seem to be quite as much wildlife as apparent as in July. There were, however, quite a few young moorhens.

Some of the young ducks could be adult-sized now, making them difficult to distinguish from female mallards. These two could be youngsters, but I am not sure.

There are plenty of ducks. They tend to wander around in smaller groups, but come together when someone arrives with food.

It was the last day of August, and I walked along the Millstream early in the morning. The swimming pool was open and there were people making the most of the early Bank Holiday. There was early morning sunshine, lighting up the trees and the water.

The early light looked particularly good filtered through the tree leaves.

There were still some flowers to be seen, although the display was less spectacular than in the earlier months. The season is changing, with burrs and other seed-bearing fruits noticeable.

I walked along the Millstream early in the day and returned later as the sun was setting. August is over and there are only four months left of the year.

The schools will soon be back, bringing a change in pace to Abingdon and its traffic. For some, this will mean taking the next big step in life: starting a new school, college, university, job or something entirely different.

And the Millstream carries on flowing as slowly as ever – even more slowly with the build up of reeds and fallen trees.

Abbey Millstream Through the Year: July 2026

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July is a good month for spotting young waterfowl along the Mill Stream, although many of the youngsters are well hidden. These ducklings were out in the open below the weir.

There seem to be plenty of ducklings about, but the thick summer growth along the banks provides plenty of places for them to shelter, making them difficult to spot.

Moorhen chicks are often easier to find because of their high-pitched cheeping, which gives them away before they can be seen. Apart from the ducklings and moorhen chicks, I haven’t noticed many other young birds this month.

Around the weir, the reeds provide dense cover for wildlife. They protect not only birds but also large numbers of small fish.

The fish are easiest to see in the shallower water, or where bright green floating plants provide a contrast.

I found large numbers of Red Admirals feeding on a pink flowering plant beside the water’s edge.

Another interesting plant growing beside the stream has orange flowers that look rather like tiny jugs. It may be Orange Balsam.

The brambles beside the Mill Stream and the larger bramble bushes in the Abbey Meadows have produced a good crop of blackberries throughout July.

I met a couple using a 30-year-old walking guide who were puzzled by Abingdon’s Sword Bridge (the green iron footbridge, opened in 2007, with decorative motifs based on the ceremonial sword). It wasn’t shown in their guide. They were looking for the Abbey Gardens, so I pointed them towards the next bridge. That bridge, built by Cowley Concrete, looks striking in the early morning sunlight, with its underside reflected in the water.

Abbey Millstream Through the Year: June 2026

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The Abbey Millstream is far more overgrown than it used to be. Swans now have to clamber over fallen trees and find a way through the reeds as they make their way from the weir towards the Abbey Gardens. While the vegetation makes life more difficult for the larger birds, it also provides plenty of dead branches as perches.

Sometimes the combinations of birds are unexpected, such as this heron sharing a perch with a group of ducks.

Or this wood pigeon alongside a young pied wagtail.

Another perching bird is the kingfisher. I spotted one this evening, but almost as soon as it landed it was gone in a flash of blue before I could get a better photograph. I saw it perch again a little further along, but this time it disappeared before I could even raise the camera. Even so, it was beautiful to see.

There was also a pair of collared doves perched beside the stream today. This is one of them.

When the light catches the water at the right angle, fish can be seen swimming beneath the surface.

The insect life has also been thriving. One of the most colourful visitors I came across was this Scarlet Tiger Moth.

There are some ducklings, though not as many as you might expect given the number of ducks. The moorhens seem to have had more success, with several young birds around.
The swans have not produced any cygnets this year, at least not so far. I’m not sure why that should be.

A succession of wild flowers has brightened the banks throughout the month. One of the sweetest-scented is meadowsweet.

Back in May I reported the blackberry blossom. On the last day of June the first blackberry had already appeared.