Tuesday, 27th May LEIGHTON BUZZARD
- OXFORD - ABINGDON
Robyn writes: The
weather was bright and sunny when we woke up this morning at about 5 (after
crashing out at about 9). Alas, it didn’t stay that way for very long – by 8 o’clock,
it was very overcast, and the rain started soon afterwards. Glen was heading
back to work after the Bank Holiday weekend, and Lex and I decided to travel to
the southwest. I wanted to go and have a wander among the ‘dreaming spires’ of
Oxford one more time, and he wanted to visit the village of Abingdon, a little
further beyond Oxford.
The rain was really setting in by the time we were halfway
there; unfortunately, today the Met got the forecast absolutely right! He
dropped me off at Thornhill Park & Ride around 10.30. Fortunately, it’s a
big bus interchange (you can get buses into Heathrow and London from there), so
has a large, warm terminal to wait in. I worked out which stop my bus would
leave from, and waited near there. Strangely, in the end, it parked and left
from around the back of the building, but I think everyone else who was waiting
for it saw it there! I went up on the second storey, and enjoyed the ride into
the centre of Oxford. We went past a lot of student accommodation ( well, it is
known as a university city).
The bus dropped me in the city centre around 11.10. Still
raining! My little travel umbrella and new rain jacket have both got a workout
today. With the temperature hovering around 13 degrees, so did my puffy Macpac
jacket. We’d spent two days in Oxford in 2014, and it took me a little while to
reacquaint myself with the layout. Lots of winding streets and lanes! I found
the Radcliffe Camera, and revisited the Vaults & Garden Café at the
University Church for lunch. It was warm and noisy and blissfully dry. I had a
tasty Oxford Cheese Rarebit and salad, and the best cup of tea I’ve had in ages
for lunch – 12 pounds, which I thought was not too bad.
Fortified by lunch, I headed out again into the rain, and went to the Ashmolean Museum, which we’d also visited in 2014, but as it’s so big, I’d only seen bits of it. Admission there is free. This time I went to the Egyptian galleries, and the huge European Painting section. I enjoyed wandering around until it was time to head past more Oxford landmarks for the bus back to the Park & Ride, as I’d arranged to meet Lex there at 2.30. This took much longer than the ride into the city, as we wound our way back through the CBD, and stopped at every stop along the way. Still, I was right in the front seat at the top of the bus, so I had an excellent view. It was a very damp day in the dreaming spires, but I did enjoy seeing it all again.
Lex was waiting in the terminal when I finally got there,
and we headed for Leighton Buzzard; it was really too wet to want to stop
anywhere along the way. (That’s British weather for you!) After a cuppa, I
popped over to Morrisons to get some Lincolnshire sausages for tea (very tasty
with onion gravy.) Also some British strawberries and yoghurt for dessert. The
strawberries here at the moment are absolutely perfect, and somehow much more sweeter,
soft and luscious than the Australian ones. Once again by about 9 o’clock we
were falling asleep; hopefully now we’re a week into the trip, the jet lag is
just about done.
Lex writes: After dropping Robyn at the Oxford, I headed for
Abingdon. The drive there was OK, but when I got there, I could not find a
park. I found one just on the edge of town. Payment was by card, and reasonable
at £2 for three hours. The short walk to the centre of town took me over the
Thames, including an island in the middle of the river. On that island was the
Nag’s Head pub. So very cute.
I walked on, to the centre of town and the Abingdon County
Hall Museum.
Abingdon Hall County Museum
It was quite impressive for a small place. There were lots
of dinosaur fossils (Plesiosaurs included), and displays of historical objects
from Mesolithic (flints) to modern times (think canal boats). It was very
interesting and well presented and explained. No inside photography was
allowed. However, I got a photo of the town from the top landing – which was
probably a lantern originally.
From the museum, I strolled across to Parsons Bakery and
bought a pastie and a coffee- for under £5. Cheap. Pasties are popular around
this area; they are large and quite filling. Eating and drinking, I walked
along the street back to the car. Then the rain drained all excitement from the
day as I drove back to Oxford Park & Ride. Robyn arrived soon after I did,
and we headed for home. The journey involved driving through some small, and
pretty villages, usually at 20mph. Miles per hour – I am still getting used to
that.
Till tomorrow then….
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