Iffley

We have spent the first ten days in Oxford itself so we thought that we should try going a bit out-of-town yesterday. It was a day of discovery. We walked the towpath south along the Thames downstream to the village of Iffley. It is a very pleasant stroll of about a mile with the river on one side and meadows on the other. There were boats and people crewing on the river, as well as a steady flow of ducks and geese. Based on our observations, the goal in crewing is to be the person who sits in the back shouting directions—the other people seem to be working pretty hard. We then came to the Iffley lock, one of three locks on this part of the Thames built in 1632. (Although the current lock is pretty new—only about 1820.) The lock was surprisingly (to us at least) busy on Saturday morning. This lock will never be confused with the Hiram Chittenden locks that we used to go to Seattle—and still a favorite of Alison’s—but it is still fascinating to watch.


After watching the boats for awhile, we crossed over a bridge to the village of Iffley. It is the picture of an English village, at least as we imagine it. There are stone walls along narrow lanes, inns with thatched roofs, and a pub named the Prince of Wales (we did not stop today). We also discovered the Norman church, built in 1160 and remaining in use for more than 800 years. (We “discovered” it in the sense that we had not heard or read much about it. It holds services every Sunday morning so clearly the locals had never lost it.) It is a spectacular old stone church, with elaborate carvings, stained glass windows, and imposing thick walls. We sat there and had our lunch (of Cheshire cheese—another in our continuing efforts to live like the locals) and wandered around inside and out. It is such an easy walk and so close by that we expect to go back.

Today at the church was an arts and crafts festival to raise money for some local charity, so naturally we had to see what that was like. The crafts were not so different than what we would see in the states—tables with handmade jewelry, sewing and knitting, some flower arrangements, some pottery, some stained glass, handmade cards and stationery. Our one-pound admission gained us complimentary tea so we sat and drank tea and ate strawberries and cream. We also purchased some of the baked goods for a treat tonight.

Then we walked home. It is amazing how a quiet and peaceful stroll can occur not far from busy highways. In the distance we could hear sirens and cars, but in the foreground, it was the lapping water, the birds, and the ding of bicycle bells as they passed. (And one American student who talked, loudly and non-stop, most of the walk back. You can always identify Americans because we are so noisy—you can tell an American, but you can’t tell us much.) We have also enjoyed another beautiful day—temperatures in the 60s, some clouds but no rain. So far we have had only one day with rain. We could not have asked for a much more pleasant day.