Oxford Thames Classic Read a typical Oxford Thames trip below Because each trip has a different make up of guests, with different accommodation preferences and rowing speeds, each trip is different. But you can read how a typical trip worked out below.
Monday Lechlade, our starting point, is a small town on the edge of the Cotswolds.
Having spent Sunday night at Buscot Manor, we all meet at the Trout Inn Garden for a briefing and equipment discussion. Buscot Manor is a beautiful Queen Anne Manor House and provides excellent accommodation. Some of our guests are staying at the Riverside Inn in Lechlade.
Looking back towards Lechlade from the St John’s Lock we get a view of the St Mathews Parish Church which inspired Shelley to write the poem ‘A Summer Evening Churchyard’. Also at St Johns Lock we pay our respects to the statue of Old Father Thames.
After a few hours rowing we stop for Lunch at The Plough in Kelmscott (really lovely food!), and a chance to look round the Kelmscott Manor, the former home of William Morris and according to The Telegraph, one of the 10 greatest places to see English Art. www.kelmscottmanor.co.uk. This is indeed an ideal place for an extended stop, and we decide to stay a while and have tea at the Manor.
After lunch we have a short row to the Swan Inn at Radcot, where we stop for a drink and leave the boats for the night. Our accommodation is at the Plough Hotel in Clanfield, which is a short taxi ride away from the Swan.
During this stretch of the river we pass The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, in the village of Eaton Hastings.
Tuesday In the minibus this morning touring the Cotswolds, starting with the village next to where we are staying, Bampton, where much of Downton Abbey was filmed! Lots of photo opportunities. Our bus tour continues around the Cotswolds, including the town of Burford, before a picnic lunch by the picturesque river Windrush, one of the tributaries of the Thames. The Windrush valley is home to some of England’s most beautiful and unspoilt villages.
In the afternoon we row to Tadpole Bridge, which is about 4.5 miles. We passed under the ‘Old Man’s Footbridge’ which according to Fred Thacker, writing in 1909:
Here on the Berkshire bank of old time stood an inn, in what was known as Clark's Garden, under the sign of "The Spotted Cow"; a scene of much gambling, cock fighting, and other shady proceedings; a "convenience snug" in truth, and remote enough for the purpose from the Faringdon and Bampton police. The place disappeared within living memory, along with the queer characters who frequented it.
Evening meal and accommodation at Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge. www.trout-inn.co.uk Wednesday A decent few hours of rowing this morning! 3 hrs. To the ‘Rose Revived’ Inn for lunch. The river Windrush joins the Thames at this point, on the banks of which we enjoyed a pleasant picnic only a few days ago! We have an excellent lunch in the garden of The Rose Revived INN https://www.oldenglishinns.co.uk/our-locations/the-rose-revived-witney
On the way we passed and stopped for tea at Chimney Meadows nature reserve; known for its nationally acclaimed wetland meadows. www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/chimney-meadows
Row to Oxford Cruisers just outside the town of Eynsham (6 miles) we spend the evening at the Oxford Four Pillars hotel.
A total of about 13 miles of rowing today – out best yet!
Thursday Leaving Oxford Cruisers we approach the outskirts of Oxford after a few hours rowing, past the town of Eynsham to have lunch in the famous Trout Inn in Wolvercote. www.thetroutoxford.co.uk
We pass the ruins of Godstow Nunnery as we leave Godstow Bridge. Through the lock and out onto the broad expanse of Port Meadow. On our left is the picnic spot where the story of Alice in Wonderland was conceived during a day trip from Oxford by Charles Dodson (aka Lewis Carroll). The whole area has connections with the story. Of course, we stop for coffee and a snack on the banks at this point!
We can now see the ‘dreaming spires’ of Oxford in the distance! Our route takes us through the Victorian part of West Oxford to our final stopping point at Folly Bridge in the City Centre. To celebrate our arrival in Oxford we have a full supper at the excellent Folly Bridge Restaurant.
Friday A day on the River in Oxford!
We meet again at the Folly Bridge restaurant and divide for tours of Alice in Wonderland given by the historian Mark, and the Victorian and industrial parts of Oxford by the historian Liz Woolley.
We’re not done with the river yet! After our tours we take a leisurely picnic on the river Cherwell Past ‘Mesopotamia’ to join the river Thames at the college boathouses just past the botanic gardens and Christchurch Meadows.