Category Archives: River Thames

Repairs underway at Abingdon Bridge

Leave a reply


Concrete and masonry repairs are underway beneath the arch of Burford Bridge in Abingdon

The work beneath Burford Bridge is being carried out from a pontoon positioned in the river, with scaffold towers giving access to the underside of the arch.

Boat users are being advised of navigation restrictions beneath the bridge while the repairs are in progress.

Burford Bridge forms part of Abingdon’s historic bridge crossing, which dates back to the 15th century. The arch was rebuilt in 1927–28, replacing the earlier smaller arches. Stonework was reused to retain the historic appearance of the bridge.

Sections of masonry along the upper sections of both Burford and Abingdon Bridges are also being repaired.

Thankyou to Elizabeth for two pictures from Monday. Repairs continue today as seen in the sunnier picture.

Pilgrims passing through Abingdon

1 Reply


A notice outside St Nicolas’ Church welcomes pilgrims walking St Frideswide’s Way and the Camino Inglés, with a stamp available inside the church to record their visit.

St Frideswide’s Way is a 40-mile pilgrimage route from Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford to Reading Abbey. Launched in 2024, it follows the Thames Path through Abingdon, Dorchester-on-Thames, Wallingford and Pangbourne.

As Abingdon is one of the stops along the route, pilgrims can visit the former Abbey grounds and the town’s historic churches.

St Helen’s Church is often open, and its pilgrimage stamp was available today.

From Reading, the pilgrim route connects with the St James’ Way to Southampton, forming part of the wider Camino de Santiago, the network of pilgrimage routes leading to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where St James is honoured.

So the little sign at St Nicolas’ and the stamp available at St Helen’s are part of a much bigger pilgrimage network.

70 anglers line up for Thames Festival fishing competition

Leave a reply


The three-day Thames Festival has seen 70 anglers from around the country fishing at Abingdon, Culham and Appleford. The annual competition has now been running for 14 years, with anglers this year competing for a £1,200 top prize.

Abingdon Town Council allows the anglers to use its water, which has meant a line of anglers along the Thames opposite Wilsham Road over the past three days.

The competition must show what a good fishing river the Thames is around Abingdon.

Gongoozling at Abingdon Lock

Leave a reply


There are not so many boats passing along the River Thames at Abingdon Lock this summer, and I had to wait fifteen minutes before I saw one go through Abingdon Lock at around 4 pm. The lock keeper said there had been about 70 boats through today, about half the normal number for a summers day.

On the River Thames there are ‘prolonged dry weather restrictions’ at locks upstream and downstream of Abingdon (from St Johns Lock to Osney Lock and from Culham Lock to Goring Lock). Boat movements through these locks are restricted to help conserve water, with one upstream and one downstream passage every 30 minutes. The locks also close overnight from 6pm to 9.30am; so boaters need to plan their journeys accordingly and are also advised to check conditions such as sand bars. These restrictions must put some boaters off.

When a boat arrived it went directly into the lock. The water poured into the lock and the boat rose. The lock keeper gave the crew some information about places to moor and it set off.

The boat was called ‘Tranquility’, one of three long boats from River Holidays at Sutton Courtenay, a local family business which also has a campsite.

So, despite the prolonged dry weather and restrictions, there are boats making their way through Abingdon Lock. You just have to wait a little longer to see one if you are a gongoozler.