Rural Thames Path Section 6: Dorchester-on-Thames to Sandford-on-Thames (And the Kassam Stadium too...)

Woke to a blustery morning, but the breakfast served fortified the soul and I was ready to take on all comers to Oxford's Kassam Stadium where I was due to meet an old friend and take in a London Welsh rugby game.

First though, I have to negotiate 20 miles of river towpath...

Left the hotel and headed back past the magnificent Abbey with its distinctive red roof. It is a huge edifice, almost cathedral-like in size! Move out of Dorchester, down past the pre-Roman Dyke Hills landward defences and head on back to the Thames at Little Wittenham.

View of the Abbey from my window

The Fleur-de-Lys Pub

Dorchester Abbey

Dyke Hills

Days Lock

Church at Little Wittenham

We walk past the Days Lock and head on round the river, a constant plunge through mud and puddles, which sets the theme for the day! As we move away from the lock, we see what will be a constant companion until we turn off for Abingdon - the Wittenham Clumps. Continue around the gentle bend, with glorious views of large houses, wildlife, meadows and the Clumps. Such a joy to be walking on this day really! Eventually we reach the bridge at Clifton Hampden, a nice red-brick built arch bridge. Cross over and we pass the lock at Clifton. Now our next companion on this walk looms large on the horizon, Didcot Power Station (which I visited while at school! Incidentally, it is also the place I had my first proper cup of coffee!)

Burnt out tree

Mud! Erosion! 

Wittenham Clumps

Church at Clifton Hampden

Bridge at Clifton Hampden

We see an unusual church at Appleford with a very distinctive fat spire. Continue on through the mud. Oh, mud! Glorious, thick, sticky, slick, brown MUD! How I never went head over heels onto my arse will baffle me for eternity!

Appleford Church

The spire of St Helen's Church, Abingdon

Head past the lock at Culham and through the Culham Cut and before long, Abingdon comes into view. Abingdon is a lovely town, full of historic buildings and morris dancers! I also know it was home to the MG factory for a long while! Stopped for lunch at the Narrows Wetherspoons and rested a while before the final push to Sandford-on-Thames and the Kassam Stadium.

Abingdon Bridge

Abbey buildings

Head back over the bridge, unusually long with only half of it actually going over the water. A causeway in any other name! 

Come around past Abingdon Lock, over a footbridge where we come upon some students arguing about where the Path was. They soon realised I was heading in that direction and followed but I soon left them behind, struggling in the mud! 

Now it becomes a featureless slog through woods and meadows. I heard a few gun shots, large retorts that reverberated through the woods which almost had me diving for cover! Shouldn't there be warnings for this?! 

Nuneham House

Past Nuneham House then the boathouse for Radley College. (I've just had a thought, just how many Public Schools will I have passed by the time I get to Cape Wrath?) Head on through more mud and narrow paths until the towpath meets Sandford Lock. I have to come off the Thames Path here as the Kassam Stadium is off to the right, past the Kings Arms pub. So I'll have to come back here tomorrow to find the Sandford Lasher.

Slog on the tarmac, a welcome change nonetheless from the tedium of mud, and end up going the wrong direction near the Science Park! Somehow I end up on a farmer's field about 100 metres from the stadium! 

I hop, skip, jump over the little seedlings on the turned field, squashing a few. I'm constantly looking around for an angry farmer but I eventually get out, via some creative bridgework over a stream, through some angry looking nettles and barbed wire! The scrapes I get into... 

The lock at Sandford

Sandford Church

The field before the Field!

Incidentally, I had a great evening with Luke and his father. London Welsh RFC beat the Cornish Pirates 41-6 and I only heard a rant about the referee during the second half, which was probably justified any road!