Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire Visits

Burford Church, Burford, Oxfordshire (Oct 13^th 2006)

Uffington White Horse, Uffington, Oxfordshire (Oct 13^th 2006)

Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire (Oct 14^th 2006)

Broadway Tower, Oxfordshire (Oct 14^th 2006)

Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire (Oct 18^th 2006)

Burford is an amazing town in South Oxfordshire. Among the tudor buildings and shops is the Church of St John the Baptist. Apart from the 12^th century original features there are some amazing extras but the most interesting is the inscription for the murder of one John Pryor Gent whose body was found hidden in Burford Priory garden in 1697.

Uffington has a very interesting National Trust maintained white horse and hill fort. We arrived just as the sun was starting to come through, the views across the Oxfordshire countryside were breathtaking and well worth the trek. The horse isn’t too easy to see in full but you get the idea of how impressive it must from the sky.

Hailes Abbey was once the alleged home of a vasal containing the blood of Christ , making it one of the most visited religious sites in the area for pilgrims. The only remains of the abbey church are the chapel foundations behind the high altar and one section of the South wall into the Cloister. The remains of the West Range were built into a manor house for the Tracy family. Well worth a visit especially to see the abbey and the local church with interesting decoration including a very large representation of St Christopher, patron saint of travellers on the North Wall.

Broadway Tower is an 18^th cent folly which includes a William Morris room and also has spectacular views over 13 counties… unfortunately the day we went it was too foggy to see very far but worth a visit even to see the beautiful building.

Dorchester Abbey Church on the Thames is well worth a look if you enjoy churches as this is a superb, cavernous example of a typical abbey church. It has a really special atmosphere, not sure why but as soon as you walk in you know you are somewhere with a really fascinating history… more on this one soon.