Just Another Saturday In Oxford!

Today Will and I participated in a hugely popular English tradition (and no, I'm not talking about colonization. Or Marmite. Bleck!). St. Ebbes church was hosting a country walk this Saturday morning and having heard much about the English love of countryside excursions Will and I decided to lace up our hiking boots and see what this walking business was all about. Actually, I laced up my tennis shoes. Apparently it's a good idea to break hiking boots in before one goes for a 7 mile trek along the Thames. Who knew? Will did, and since I hadn't used them yet he thought it might be safer to go with my tennis shoes instead. The only bad thing about that plan was that my tennis shoes are not water proof and the English countryside is rather muddy. My poor shoes will never look the same. Will's feet, on the other hand, were happy and dry inside his boots.

We met up with 7 other church members in City Centre and took a short bus ride out to Farmoor, where we "alighted" and set out on the Thames river path. My city-raised mind had envisioned some kind of gravel path winding through old farm houses, with maybe a few fields thrown in here and there. To my surprise (and delight!) we spent nearly the entire trip following the river through pastures filled with fluffy sheep, woolly cows, flocks of geese, and the occasional pheasant. The scenery was breath-taking. The first 2 or 3 miles were nothing but green hills and farm animals and autumn-colored trees. It was so quiet and so peaceful...

Every now and then we would cross paths with a solitary fisherman sitting on the riverbank or a couple out on their Saturday morning walk with their faithful German Shepherd/Lab/Collie. Have I mentioned how badly I want a dog?? Yes, yes, I know. Super impractical. But a girl can dream.

The river was also populated with whimsical house boats. They were painted all kinds of bright colors and had names like "Utopia" and "Sleepy Hollow." Will and I briefly tossed around the idea of trying to live on a house boat, but then decided that we'd be too claustrophobic. Sure they are cute, but talk about tiny! However, I have heard that you can rent them for holiday... Christmas, anyone?

We eventually cleared the farmland and made our way onto a more solid path. Here the foot traffic increased, as did the water traffic. Children who looked no older than 10 or 11 were out on the river getting their morning crew practice in. And then there were these guys.

Pretty sure the smoke stack was just for looks, but don't they look incredible? I love the Union Jack fluttering behind them.

And just in case you thought I'd manage to leave out any fall tree pictures... think again! I just can't get enough of them. And you are stuck with me. :)

For lunch we stopped at The Perch--a gorgeous pub/restaurant tucked in the middle of all of these glorious trees. Lewis Carroll gave his first reading of "Alice in Wonderland" here, and you can see the theme all around in the tea cups perched on the stone walls and the Mad Hatter peeking out from the plants. I wish I had taken more pictures but after 7 miles I was hungry and just wanted to eat my goat cheese/tomato/ham crepe and sip on the mulled wine that Will and I split. Side note: how have I not tried mulled wine before?? It is delicious!

The last leg of our journey led us over this charming little bridge and onto Oxford's Common Lands.

Back in the old days the Common Lands were designated for the local peasants (too poor to own any land themselves) to use for their flocks and herds. The tradition is kept up today... horses and all!

So now you have seen what has become our new favorite Oxford pastime thus far! If the weather continues to be this beautiful I'm hoping to break in those new hiking boots and head out across the Common Lands in search of more horsies and fluffy sheep sometime next week.

I will be uploading these and many many more pictures onto Facebook soon, but I wanted to give you all a first look at our walking adventures. :)