The Old Anchor’s return

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The Old Anchor Inn has reopened. The “To Let” sign has gone, and the much-loved riverside pub is back in use. Sitting by the Thames, the Old Anchor is a familiar sight in paintings and photographs, and its return is good news for Abingdon.

Well worth popping in to raise a glass to the Old Anchor’s return.

On the first evening, the pub was packed, and the new landlord was pleased to see so many people. To encourage local custom, there’s an offer of 10% off food and drink for anyone living within three miles who signs up to the loyalty scheme.

At the moment, it’s drinks only, but a meal wagon will be arriving soon, and the kitchen will follow. The back room and garden are open, and well decorated, and the pub felt much bigger than I remembered.

Dredging downstream of Abingdon Lock

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If you passed Abingdon Lock today, you may have seen an excavator on a floating barge, pulling mud from the river with its grab.

Silt collects below the weir and has to be cleared to keep the channel deep enough for boats. The spoil is swung either out of the navigation channel or onto the bank that has built up near the lock. That bank seems to grow larger each year and is now a favourite spot for geese. It may also help to keep the silt from drifting back into the channel.

A local passer-by said they remembered the same work being done last summer. The Environment Agency has plenty to do, with flooding sometimes and silt at others. Although this summer has been dry, the river level does not look unusually low on the gauge downstream of Abingdon Lock. However, a notice at the lock warns boaters about shallows along the left bank before Abingdon Bridge.

Tesco Path repairs and Temporary Flood Barrier enabling work

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Following recent floods, part of the riverside path from the Ladygrove Estate to Tesco was badly damaged, between the Tesco perimeter and the first bridge. Repair work began in July 2025, and the path is now fully restored and open again.

Further downstream along the River Ock, near the Ladygrove Estate, a notice has been posted close to Jenyns Court, near Chaunterell Way. The Environment Agency will be carrying out enabling works for a temporary flood barrier, designed to help protect some properties from flooding. As part of the scheme, some boundary fences will also be adjusted.

Baby Cardigans in Abingdon Market Place Highlight Civilian Deaths in Gaza

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A day-long sit-in took place on Abingdon Market Place yesterday under the banner ‘This Genocide Must End.’

Protesters beat pans and hung small knitted baby cardigans. A note beside them claimed that holding a funeral every day for each child reportedly killed in Gaza during the current war would take more than 52 years. Organisers said the display was intended to keep attention on the civilian toll, especially children. A police officer spoke with demonstrators earlier in the day.

Children’s agency UNICEF has repeatedly urged all parties to stop the violence and protect civilians, warning that Gaza’s one million children face catastrophic conditions, including severe food insecurity and malnutrition.