The New Year Christian Aid walk was on January 2nd this year, and started from the Peachcroft Christian Centre. The day was sunny, with ice about when it started at 10 a.m.
The sponsored 6.5 mile walk, went up to Boars Hill and returned via Bayworth, stopping at Bayworth Chapel for refreshments. The walk did not clash with the Boundary Walk, as so often happens, and so some people could do both walks.
It was a wet start to the year. Despite the weather a good number of citizens gathered at the Market Place to take part in walking the 1556 Borough Boundary following instructions given in the 1556 Borough Charter.
Watch on youtube as the walk leader, Penny Clover, reads parts of the aforesaid instructions, and the Town Crier congratulates those who finished the two hour walk. He also shows everybody one of the few remaining boundary stones that separate Abingdon from ‘foreign parts’ , and ends by crying ‘‘God save Abingdon on Thames! God save the Queen!‘ ‘
There were a lot of walks put on by the Friends of Abingdon yesterday. They included the Ock Valley Walk,
and boundary walk. It is always a surprise to go on any of these walks to find how many new things you can discover about Abingdon when shown by an expert.
I went on the Lost Abbey Walk which ended at the Old Abbey Buildings – now maintained by the Friends of Abingdon. Somebody has recently discovered some medieval grafitti on a chimney breast,
It shows what looks like a portcullis, and they think it is the symbol of a family who stayed there in the 15th Century.
The same chimney breast has also more recent grafitti such as this name from 1931. If anybody knows of other medieval graffiti in Abingdon I would be interested to know. It could make an interesting tour.
Somebody counted over 81 participants in the beating the bounds walk round Abingdon this morning – more than last year. The walk begins on the Market Place. Then follows – as closely as possible – the 1556 Abingdon Borough boundary. In places old geographical features are no longer recognisable so there is some guesswork.
A photographer from the Oxford Mail was there to cover the beginning of the walk.
The walk then followed the Ock Valley to the Ock Bridge. A willow had split in two covering the path. There have been strong winds recently, and so there was a short diversion.
Participants had to go out of the way on Marcham Road where the traffic lights have been moved.
At every stop the town crier rang his bell, and Penny Clover, who was leading the walk, told us something about the history of the place where we stood.