July 19, Oxford to Abingdon

The trail began about a mile from the hotel and a good thing because I needed the extra mileage. "I will get to Abingdon before they finish serving breakfast," was on my mind, and check-in was not until 3:00.  I always enjoy seeing a city asleep, but this urban segment was not so attractive because there is a lot of heavy road construction in the works.  Once on the path, joggers, dog walkers, cyclists and a few people who seemed hungover or high livened up the scene. 

After not too long, pretty set in:

But you can never relax for a moment:

Though you must admit, that is good advice.

Look both ways before you cross!!

A stand of trees across the river:

Egret:

Places to go and things to do:

I did arrive in Abingdon by about 10:30, so I walked around some, and probably, like the sign says, in circles:

Stopped in at the hotel to see if I could check in early.  There was not a soul around. Went to the park, saw a seriously trussed limb:

                                              

 walked around some more, contemplated that limb support, sat on a bench, yes, sat, and had some dried apricots and cheese, then moseyed off to the centre of town where there is a museum of almost no interest at all.  BUT I did learn about an ever so jolly community activity:

                                                                            BUN THROWING

The Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, Freemen and Councillors traditionally throw buns from the roof of the County Hall to the crowd below to mark major local and national events. The earliest recorded bun throwing celebrated the coronation of George III in 1761.

The original penny cakes have been replaced with currant buns and now over 4,000 are specially made for each occasion. In recent years, some buns have been marked with a letter or number to identify the event. The museum collection contains preserved buns from Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and more recent celebrations.

Ohmygod!  These buns are about 125 years old and they don't look older than a day!

After exhausting the town, I returned to the hotel to try my luck again.  When the nice receptionist saw that I was going to unpack then and there to change from boots to Keenes and such, he let me check in well before the appointed hour for which I was grateful.  This short day was 14 miles.