So we went to Abingdon last Wednesday. It is a lovely place. We bought lunch in a grocery store the we walked through a beautiful garden which sat upon the ground of where the abbey used to be. After that we went on a trail around the Thames river and loch. It was beautiful. Some parts of the area looked like a Monet painting. We then went back into the garden and enjoyed our lunches which we had previously gotten. We sat in a really cool looking tree. One of its branches made a little seat which is where we sat while we ate lunch.
We walked around the town and saw the cathedral which was extremely old and really cool looking. Margaret and I sat by the river and watched the ducks and swans swim around. It was a wonderful experience.
I spent the walk thinking about a graphic novel which I hope to finish by the time I graduate college. The time in nature helped me make decisions about the setting of the novel as well as some of the character backgrounds. It really helped me figure out some of the background information which I had been struggling with figuring out.
The hike to the White Horse was so much fun. The planning of it got a little confusing because we kept changing the date but when we finally decided to keep it on Friday we got it all figured out. We met at Tom Gate around 9:45 and then took a bus to Wantage. At Wantage we split up to have lunch in the various restaurants around the town center. I went to Le Petite Pain with a few other people and enjoyed a delicious sandwich. Then we walked around Wantage a bit and got on a bus to Uffington.
The bus ride was great because there were some old men sitting up at the front that kept making jokes the whole time. It was hilarious. The bus driver let us out near the path to the White Horse and we walked up a beautiful tree covered path. Horses and sheep were all around us and it was just great to be out in nature. There were tons of signs for other footpaths and I was tempted to go exploring but I knew that we had to get to White Horse first.
(photos from the lovely Margaret Patterson)
The actual hike up to Dragon Hill, White Horse, and Uffington Castle was a little difficult. My legs were definitely feeling it and so were my lungs. But once we got up on top of the hill the views were extraordinary. Absolutely breath taking. We walked around the White Hose and Uffington Castle taking pictures and talking about the history of it all. I really had so much fun.
We then hiked back down the hills and got a coach back to Wantage then a bus back to Oxford. It was a lovely day and the weather had been absolutely perfect.
So the third day of our adventures in the Lake District consisted of us climbing up a hill to the ruins of a Sheep Fold. Its cool if you don’t know what a Sheep Fold is cause I totally didn’t. Its like a thing you put sheep in. Although it really just looks like a big pile of rocks in a somewhat circle-ish formation. This was the place that inspired Wordsworth to write his poem Michael.
This walk wasn’t as difficult as the one the day before but it was definitely inhaler worthy. The views were incredible. There was this little stream which we followed up the hill and it was just so cool looking I really could not get over it.
We got to the first landing and Dr. King told us to look for ruins of a Sheep Fold and then we would vote on which one we thought it was and discuss the poem while sitting on said Sheep Fold. I however didn’t hear Sheep Fold and just heard ruins. So I was looking around the landing and made a very compelling argument that we were actually standing on top of a castle that had been covered by stones during a landslide. The majority of the group went up the hill higher because they are much more athletic than I am and looked up there. They found the actual Sheep Fold so the few of us staying behind had to walk quite a bit father. But it was really pretty so I was happy about the whole situation.When we got to the Sheep Fold we sat and listened to Dr. King talk about Wordsworth and Michael.
Then it started raining. Which was actually totally awesome. It felt so nice after the long hike and it looked so amazing from up on the top of the hill to look down into the valley with all the rain falling. We hiked back down enjoying the cool rain and then went out for lunch.
was awesome and beautiful and wonderfully amazing and perfect. Just perfect.
The second full day we were there we went on quite a hike up a very large hill. The walking/hiking while on the trail was very nice and pleasant but the hiking up the side of the hill was a little steep.
I definitely had to whip out my handy dandy inhaler, which I am very glad I remembered to bring. The views at the top were totally worth it though. It was absolutely incredible.
I took an absurd slightly offensive amount of pictures. I will not post all of them here because literally it is absurd how many pictures I have. I also spent some time sketching the scenery which was fun because I very rarely draw landscapes.
I then continued to use a bitty water coloring set I got at the National Gallery in London to paint said sketches.
I apologize for the awful quality of this picture (you can’t see the sky or the proper coloring). I sadly don’t have a scanner.
While on top of the hill we listened to Dr. King read some Wordsworth and we had a nice little lunch. Some other people went off exploring and chasing sheep. It was a wonderful experience.
Tea Parties and Paper Dresses
