Category Archives: River Thames

Frosty Morning



There was a frosty sunrise over the River Thames.

I photographed these two swans flying after a running takeoff.

Hoar frost covered branches of trees, leaves, hedgerows and the grass blades at Caldecott Recreation Ground

These pictures do not show all the cars trying to get to school or to work. I cannot remember seeing a queue so long of vehicles on Caldecott Road waiting to get onto Drayton Road.

On St Helen’s Wharf


On St Helen’s Wharf, there were friends from the twin towns, visiting Abingdon for a church twinning conference on the environment that is taking place this weekend. There is a presentation tomorrow morning by five Abingdon Eco groups, and in the afternoon a presentation about the Heat Source at Peachcroft Christian Centre.

St  Helen’s Wharf looks lovely with the trees autumnal, and the drift of leaves.

Whoever planned the sunken rowing boat deserves a prize. It featured on the front page of the Abingdon Herald a week ago, thanks to a Becca Collacott photograph – taken on a misty morning

The Garden Room


The Garden Room was open at St Ethelwold’s House. In the Garden Room, there is a Visitors Book. Here is a small and quite typical selection.

‘An amazing retreat to stumble across in Abingdon. I can’t believe I never knew this was here.’

‘I lived in Abingdon from 1964 to 67. I can’t believe I’d never been here before. Wonderful. I’ve done some knitting.’

‘I’m so glad I walked into this fabulous setting. Spring has finally started to do its magic, and flowers are coming up. The birds are singing, and I can watch the geese and riverboats. It’s a site for sore eyes after the harsh winter months.’

‘What’s a lovely place to stumble upon. We are studying at Oxford and decided to take a little day trip to explore Abingdon during our Christmas holidays. What a lovely place.’

‘Stumbled across the lovely garden. So tranquil.’

‘Thank you to all the people who make this what it is. It’s a beautiful place. Restores my soul.’

‘It’s my great joy that I was joined for about five minutes by a Kingfisher on one of the poles.’

When I left, I saw one of the volunteer gardeners cutting back plants, a visitor sitting on a bench enjoying the October sunshine, and a dragonfly resting on a garden table.