Down to Dorchester

One of life’s reliable pleasures, for the last twenty or so years, have been  cycle-jaunts with my friend Ricardo, Wit and former member of Her Majesty’s Judiciary.

For this ride we choose the lanes of South Oxfordshire just a little south east of Oxford.

Our pace of progress was in common with the River Thame which rises in the Chilterns takes her time, meandering and drifting through ash groves, water meadows and farms to eventually join the Thames at Dorchester.

And we arrived at Dorchester too.

Dorchester Abbey Church: Enchanting Stones

Old stones: The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, more usually called Dorchester Abbey. Here we are about 8 miles southeast of Oxford.

A graceful a Norman abbey church built on the site of a Saxon cathedral. As we walked round it today we saw the work of Augustinian Canons, with just a few traces on the north side, of the work of Saxon masons.

Crayons borrowed from a nearby Sunday School table

South of the Nave is The Peoples' Chapel constructed in1340 addition contains a wall painting of the crucifixion, I sat down to make a drawing. And then made  impromptu brass rubbing of the inscription part of a monument fragment near by: Ora pro nobis - trans. Pray for us.

Inside everything the church was light and peaceful, not a soul about. Drawing done and Dorchester Abbey Guide examined we were pleased to head back from whence we came.