This morning, around 90 enthusiastic Abingdonians (and several dogs) set off on a special New Year’s Day tradition: walking the ancient boundary of our borough. This centuries-old walk follows the line laid out in the 1556 charter, back when it was the official duty of the Mayor and Council. After a break, the tradition was revived in 2000, and it’s been going strong ever since!

The charter gives a detailed description of the boundary, and it’s close to the red line drawn in 1831 for the Abingdon Parliamentary boundary (see above). Today, the Ock Valley Walk mud forced us to detour along Caldecott Road. But otherwise, we stuck fairly close to the boundary.

Our guide for the day was the silver-tongued Helen Pighills, with our very own Town Crier keeping things lively with his hangover-hurting bell and loud voice and entertaining announcements. He even gave a plug to the Abingdon Drama Club’s upcoming production of Peter Pan (he’s playing Captain Hook, by the way!). The young lady playing Peter Pan was also on the walk. Catch the show if you can – tickets are available at https://www.abingdon-drama-club.com/.

Despite the threat of rain, the weather held out, and around 60 folks made it all the way to Abingdon Lock, the final stop on our boundary journey.

Helen even pointed out one of the ancient boundary stones near the lock. It was a great way to start the new year, and if you missed it, and were stuck indoor watching repeats of Richard Osman’s House of Games, don’t worry, there is next year, but it might be raining then.

Thanks to Stuart from the Vale of White Horse Ramblers for this picture and report.

On Friday, November 10th 2023, a gathering marked the official reopening of the Mill Road Bridge in Marcham. Over 30 individuals, including local residents, councillors, and those directly involved in the bridge’s reconstruction, were present to witness the culmination of a long-awaited restoration project. Representatives of the Vale of White Horse Ramblers Group were also in attendance, eager to resume using the bridge as an integral component of their walking program.

The bridge’s reopening signifies the restoration of Bridleway 17 between Marcham and Drayton, and improves the network of walks available for people in Abingdon. The bridge has been closed for over a decade due to structural issues, The Crown in Marcham has also recently reopened so there is even more reason to use the route.

Albert Park is a 19th-century formal park with green spaces and trees, and a statue of Prince Albert near the top. Today there was sun and shade and forsythia was flowering.

There was also bird song and blossom. The park is surrounded by large houses, Abingdon School, St Michael’s Church,

and Trinity Church, all from Victorian times. Through these trees, as well as Trinity can be seen the more recent bowling clubhouse.

There were a lot of people walking round by the River Thames and down to Swift Ditch today. It did feel like a Bank Holiday Monday with people out getting some exercise and fresh air.

River levels have not gone up too far yet.

Some people will be returning to work after the extended Christmas holiday. The return to school could take a little longer for some with the need for tests to be done before children return.