{"id":1931,"date":"2020-02-01T02:13:16","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T01:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2020-01-28T17:31:58","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T16:31:58","slug":"dorchester-on-thames-wittenham-clumps-oxon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=1931","title":{"rendered":"Dorchester-on-Thames &#038; Wittenham Clumps, Oxon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/>\nFirst published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Dorchester-on-Thames.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287783792_5b5af50768_z.jpg\" title= \"49287783792 Thames Path near Dorchester 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287783792_5b5af50768_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287093138_4b62508d04_z.jpg\" title= \"49287093138 St Birinus in his niche at Dorchester-on-Thames\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287093138_4b62508d04_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287091413_5c19bea132_z.jpg\" title= \"49287091413 Thames Path near Dorchester 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287091413_5c19bea132_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287091598_39cd000c70_z.jpg\" title= \"49287091598 Thames Path near Dorchester 3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287091598_39cd000c70_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287569946_26a58c7238_z.jpg\" title= \"49287569946 Thames Path near Dorchester 4\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287569946_26a58c7238_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287570151_91290a1c9a_z.jpg\" title= \"49287570151 Thames Path near Dorchester 5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287570151_91290a1c9a_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287570326_37862b5c94_z.jpg\" title= \"49287570326 River Thames from Wittenham Clumps 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287570326_37862b5c94_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287782592_1f3001a894_z.jpg\" title= \"49287782592 tree of inscriptions on Castle Hill\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287782592_1f3001a894_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287092568_414e88cbea_z.jpg\" title= \"49287092568 River Thames from Wittenham Clumps 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287092568_414e88cbea_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287092833_44ee23fc75_z.jpg\" title= \"49287092833 Little Wittenham church and manor from Wittenham Clumps\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287092833_44ee23fc75_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287571136_72b76b4af2_z.jpg\" title= \"49287571136 Little Wittenham church and manor from Wittenham Clumps 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287571136_72b76b4af2_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287571586_3da5499602_z.jpg\" title= \"49287571586 Thames Path near Dorchester 6\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287571586_3da5499602_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287093508_d02b77d081_z.jpg\" title= \"49287093508 Thames Path near Dorchester 7\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287093508_d02b77d081_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287783997_a40411dc17_z.jpg\" title= \"49287783997 Wittenham Clumps from Thames meadows 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287783997_a40411dc17_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287784202_4bcd33990b_z.jpg\" title= \"49287784202 Thames Path near Dorchester 8\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287784202_4bcd33990b_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287784402_b0c1321cba_z.jpg\" title= \"49287784402 Thames Path near Dorchester 13\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287784402_b0c1321cba_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287572606_1b3afe7f69_z.jpg\" title= \"49287572606 Thames Path near Dorchester 10\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287572606_1b3afe7f69_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287094518_67fd886ced_z.jpg\" title= \"49287094518 Thames Path near Dorchester 11\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287094518_67fd886ced_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287094703_28fc73db0c_z.jpg\" title= \"49287094703 Thames Path near Dorchester 12\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287094703_28fc73db0c_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287785177_f079542790_z.jpg\" title= \"49287785177 Wittenham Clumps from Thames meadows 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/49287785177_f079542790_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1931\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=1931','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nA cold Oxfordshire day under a billowing sky. St Birinus looked pinched and chilly in his niche in the chapel wall at Dorchester-on-Thames. The folds of his carved stone face seemed full of disapproval as we passed him on our way down to the river.<\/p>\n<p>It was Birinus, a missionary from Rome, who ducked King Cynegils of Wessex in the River Thames nearby in token of baptism in 634 AD. This act paid dividends; the newly christened king gave his baptist land on which to found a bishopric, a vast one that eventually stretched from Thames to Humber.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the neat houses and gardens of Dorchester we crossed the Dyke Hills, a curious Iron Age earthwork that raises a double seam across the fields. It was built to defend a settlement established by the river here long before the Romans came to Britain.<\/p>\n<p>From Little Wittenham we climbed the short, steep path up the face of the Sinodun Hills, a double bulge of tree-topped chalk known locally as Wittenham Clumps. They draw the eye for many miles in the flat Thames-side country. On Round Hill a handy topograph picked out landmarks far and near, from the long ridge of the Chiltern Hills to Dorchester&#8217;s abbey church, the chimneys of Didcot power station, a glimpse of dreaming spires in far-off Oxford, and nearer at hand the tower and red brick frontage of Little Wittingham&#8217;s manor house below.<\/p>\n<p>Among its many excellent ecological ventures, the locally based Earth Trust has established a wild flower sward on the Wittenham Clumps, and a network of permitted footpaths all round the area. We followed the paths across the hill fort ramparts on Castle Hill, then down towards Long Wittenham and the Thames through Earth Trust meadows and woodland.<\/p>\n<p>The walk wheeled slowly around the fixed hub of Wittenham Clumps, away to our right across the fields. Paul Nash painted these hills again and again between the wars, trying to catch the movement of the crowning trees in the wind, the moods and changing colours of the chalk and turf.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;A beautiful legendary country haunted by old gods long forgotten,&#8217; was the artist&#8217;s perception of this understated but captivating corner of the Thames, and that&#8217;s as good an encapsulation as any.<\/p>\n<p>Start: Bridge End car park, Dorchester-on-Thames OX10 7JT (OS ref 579940)<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: Car park is signed off Henley Road by bridge at south end of town (off A4074, Wallingford-Oxford)<\/p>\n<p>Walk (9 miles, easy, OS Explorer 170): Ahead past chapel; south down Wittenham Lane to Thames (578932). Right; in \u00be mile, left across 3 bridges (568935); opposite Little Wittenham church, left (566934, gate). Up hill path ahead to summit of Round Hill (566928). Around clump; on to summit of Castle Hill (569926). From poem stone on far side, descend grass path through ditch. In 150m, left (572926, gate) across valley. In 250m fork right (570928) through trees. In 250m at T-junction, left (570930); downhill to Little Wittenham. Left along road; in \u00bc mile, right (564931, &#8216;Long Wittenham&#8217;). In 250m, left through gate; follow permitted path parallel to road for 1 mile to road in Long Wittenham (551940). Right by thatched house (&#8216;No Through Road&#8217;). In \u2154 mile at Northfield Farm entrance (555949), left along green lane to Thames (553958). Right. In 2 miles, left across weir\/Day&#8217;s Lock (568936). Half left on fenced path; cross Dyke Hills (572937); on to Dorchester.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch\/Accommodation: White Hart, High St, Dorchester OX10 7HN (01865-340074, <a href=\"http:\/\/white-hart-hotel-dorchester.co.uk\">white-hart-hotel-dorchester.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Info:  Wallingford TIC (01491-826972)<\/p>\n<p>Earth Trust: <a href=\"http:\/\/earthtrust.org.uk\">earthtrust.org.uk<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/satmap.com\">satmap.com<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/ramblers.org.uk\">ramblers.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A cold Oxfordshire day under a billowing sky. St Birinus looked pinched and chilly in his niche in the chapel wall at Dorchester-on-Thames.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}