Category Archives: walk

Bank Holiday Monday – Open Air Pool, Walks, Towel Day, and Wear the Lilac Day

Bank Holiday Monday
The Abbey Meadows Open Air Pool opened this Bank Holiday Monday morning at 9am. Early swimmers were impressed by the new management. The water was clean, with no algae on the walls, and as warm as could be expected.
Bank Holiday Monday
Meanwhile on the Market Place, The Friends of Abingdon were signing up people for Bank Holiday Walks around Abingdon. The event was co-ordinated by Pat Bryden (out of shot) and very successful.
Bank Holiday Monday
The Wilts and Berks Canal Walk was led by Martin Buckland.
Bank Holiday Monday
The Around St Helens Walk was led by Ian Jardine, with help from Jackie Smith.
Bank Holiday Monday
The 1556 Abingdon Boundary Walk was led by Martin Smith, and Town Crier – Penny Clover.
Bank Holiday Monday
The Ock Valley Nature Walk, with the Abingdon Green Gym, was led by Eleanor Dangerfield
Bank Holiday Monday
The Radley Lakes Walk, with the Friends of Radley Lakes, was led by David Guyoncourt.
Bank Holiday Monday
The St Nicolas Church and the Lost Abbey Tour, with the Friends of Abingdon, was led by Philip Kenrick in the morning
Bank Holiday Monday
and by by Hester Hand in the afternoon.

It was also Towel Day – celebrated every year on 25th May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams, who wrote Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy. The guide says “A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have …“.

Tabitha Griffiths, preaching at Trinity yesterday, wore a towel, and a lilac sprig. The lilac was in commemoration of Terry Pratchett who recently died. Some of his fans wore the lilac on 25th May. Members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, in the Pratchett novel Nightwatch, wore a sprig of lilac, for identification.

Tabitha’s real topic after removing the towel and lilac was Pentecost as described in Acts Chapter 2.

New Years Day – Christian Aid Walk

Christian Aid Walk
Thanks to Jane E for sending news and pictures of the intrepid Abingdon walkers who turned out at 10am on New Year’s Day to walk 8 miles to raise money for Christian Aid. This year the walk started from All Saints’ in Abingdon, walking to Boars Hill via Bayworth then back to Abingdon via Sunningwell.

At the half way point they were welcomed for tea and home made cakes at a house among the tall trees on Boars Hill.

Happy New Year – Boundary Walk – 2015

Googling ‘abingdon boundary walk’ I read it started at 11:30am, but failed to notice the date was 1 Jan 2014.
New Year Boundary Walk
The walk really set out at 11:00am, as advertised on the posters round town, and I found them by walking the reverse direction along the Ock Valley Walk.
New Year Boundary Walk
We then crossed the ancient Ock Bridge, peeped in at the MG Gardens, and then crossed the road at the Marcham Road lights.

New Year Boundary Walk
The Town Crier, John Crowley, greeted people at various halts along the way on behalf of the Mayor and Town Council, wishing people a Happy New Year, as he woke some from their slumbers.

He did say he hoped that those indoors would grow a skin like a rhinocerous in 2015 and be able to join the Boundary Walk next year.

He also announced to those ‘waking with the hideous realisation of the new year’s resolutions so sincerely made last night‘ that he hoped ‘the resolutions will last longer than the hangover.
New Year Boundary Walk
He introduced the ‘infinitely informative and lavishly loquacious‘ Patrick Bird who led the walk, and described the 1556 Abingdon boundaries.
New Year Boundary Walk
At Abingdon Lock, where the two hour walk finished, Patrick showed us a boundary stone, marked with ‘A’ for Abingdob, and handed round pictures of other Abingdon and Parish Boundary stones.

Bank Holiday Walks in the Rain

The Friends of Abingdon had organised a series of walks for this Bank Holiday Monday.  The rain continued to fall thoughout the day, but it did deter the folk of Abingdon.
 Bank Holiday Monday
Martin Smith, leading the Boundary Walk, said that it is the first time he remembered it ever raining on a Boundary Walk.
 Bank Holiday Monday
Eleanor Dangerfield, leading the Ock Valley Walk on behalf of the Green Gym, said that they had been very lucky with the weather for Green Gym events up to now. Rain was a rarity.
 Bank Holiday Monday
Wispy and Hattie are used to walks in all weathers.
 Bank Holiday Monday
On the St Helen’s Walk, local historian Judy White told people about some of the history of the buildings surrounding St Helen’s Church. Part of St Helen’s Mill, behind her, was used as a church school by St Helens from the 1830s before the Bury Street School was built.
 Bank Holiday Monday
There was also an 8 mile waterside walk, and an Old Abbey walk.

Thanks to The Friends of Abingdon, and Pat Bryden in particular, for organising all those walks.