Adventuring in Very New Territory

One of my favorite parts of going to a new place is exploring. Since I’ve been at Oxford, I’ve done quite a bit of it! Today was supposed to be a field trip to London. Many of the SCIO people went and spent the entire day in the city. I was going to go… but when I woke up this morning at 7:20 I decided I wanted a day filled with a bit more solitude (and at least 2 more hours of sleep!). I didn’t have much of a plan when I got up, but I soon decided I wanted to take a bike ride down the Thames river. For all of you who aren’t from England and probably don’t understand English pronunciation (it’s ok, join the club) the river’s name is pronounced “Tems,” like “them” without the h. Fun history lesson - because I’m at Oxford - they pronounce it “Tems” because King George the first had a thick German accent and couldn’t pronounce it the way it’s spelled. They changed it since you can’t very well correct the pronunciation of a king! And there you go.

So today I decided I’d explore the banks of the Thames, and I’m ever so glad I did. I ended up going about 7 miles up the river making it a lovely 14 mile bike ride there and back. This wouldn’t have been very fun or exciting had it been like any other bike ride I’ve been on; however, it was not. It was the most incredible bike ride I’ve ever taken. I rode along the banks on the Thames national foot path. It’s a national pathway so you would assume that it’s going to be a nice path right? Wrong. I don’t know how they can even call it a path because sometimes it was just some grass that had been smushed due to all the walkers and bikers. And if there was a path, it was only big enough for a big wheel!

Here’s an example of the patted-down-grass path

But who could complain with scenery like this? Every once in a while there was a real path. And that was a special treat :)

Something else that made the ride very interesting was that it took me through a couple different pastures. Namely, cow and sheep pastures. And there were herds of these animals just kinda chillin’ along the side of the path. I’m riding along and then, boom! There’s a cow! (That dirt you see in the picture is the path). And the funny thing is, nobody seems to care or notice! They just walk or ride on by without a single thought to the giant cow that’s hanging out right next to the path. This is a crazy place this England. But it’s beautiful and the animals just made the ride even more exciting.

Something else I love about England is their vegetation. They have flowers and fruit everywhere! I stopped and ate some of these blackberries. Check out the thorns on that thing. Crazy!

And don’t worry, for those of you who are worried about me eating wild fruit, I didn’t die. And I didn’t get sick. Look how happy I look! (I took this picture for you, Momma. I know how you don’t like when I just take scenery pictures without faces!)

I continued on my journey after a brief berry break and soon came upon a castle type looking building. It turns out it used to be a nunnery called the Godstow Nunnery. Only part of the outer wall still stood, but it was magnificent just the same. 

Another One for You, Momma!

The next part of the adventure involved sheep. LOTS of sheep! And there were no fences keeping the sheep off the path or pedestrians away from the sheep, so naturally, I parked my bike and frolicked out to meet the sheep.

And...they got in a queue and began to run away. According to one of the leaders of the program, English people have this thing about forming queues (aka lines). Basically they can and will make a queue anywhere at any time for anything. These English sheep were just falling in line, I guess! Pun very much intended :)

This was the sheep that stopped to look at me when I got my penny whistle out and started playing to them. I was hoping that would break the ice so I could get close enough to pet one, but they continued to run away. Except this one who stopped to stare at me for a while… and then ran away. I was really hoping that I could sit with them for a while, but they wouldn’t let me get close enough. Sad day. But still awesome!

I was pretty excited about being so close to them :P

Here’s a nice example of the “bike path” which led right into the flock of sheep. You can kinda see the Thames off on the right. This particular bike path was complete with LOTS of sheep poo. That was fun... 

Oh yah, and sometimes the tiny bike-wheel-size path led me through thick woods. I had to pull my legs up repeatedly to avoid the blackberry bush thorns and whatever else which was sticking right out into the path. That was exciting! There was one stretch of woods that reminded me very much of Sherwood forest. It was all shrouded in intertwined trees which blocked out all sunlight. A perfect place for Robin Hood to ambush the rich! (And don’t worry, Mum, I took special care to ride back through when it was still light, and I, of course, had my knife handy).

I passed some breathtaking scenery and wished I could go on forever. However, I started realizing how tired I was (and I may have fell into a thorn bush...), so I eventually turned back. Before I left the banks of the Thames, I decided I wanted to find a spot to have my delicious dinner of bread, cheese, and cucumber! At that point I had been riding since 11:30 in the morning (it was a full day!) and on my ride, I kept seeing people swimming in the river. I didn’t realize you could swim in it, but it was pretty clean so I suppose why not? I had felt the water earlier in the morning, and it was really cold! But by dinner time after riding all day and getting nice and hot, the water was looking mighty inviting. Of course, I didn’t have my bathing suit on me, but what do details like that matter on an adventure up the Thames??

I decided I wanted to go swimming before dinner, and I would go even if it meant swimming in my underwear! Crazy, right? Hey, I’m only at Oxford once. So I picked a good swimming spot (which had a little cleft in the foliage where I could change my clothes without being seen) and jumped into the water. It was freezing! But so refreshing and wonderful.

 I didn’t stay in long because it was so cold, but I did stay in my little spot for a while. I got out my dinner and ate on this little grassy knoll in the sunshine while looking out onto the Thames and the moors beyond it. It was like something out of a novel! Except for the part when a fluffy white dog came up and jumped on me trying to get my food… but I was so much at my leisure I didn’t even mind.

 Overall, it was a most splendid outing. I think one of these days I'd like to bike down the Thames towards London and see what I find there. There's so much to explore and so little time. Speaking of which, I must be off to work on my paper that's due this week. Work is certainly not in short supply these days, but neither is wonder and excitement. What a beautiful balance of work and play! I think I could get used to this... :)

Also, seriously, send me letters. It's my favorite!!