Thames Path Part Twelve: Abingdon to Oxford, 10 miles, moderate

The Thames Path is a 182 mile National Trail stretching from London to Gloucestershire. This year, the group will aim to cover the whole trail from start to finish! Following the success of our London and Berkshire legs, the following 3 walks in this series will take us through Oxfordshire from Goring to Oxford!
**To add some fun to our adventure, you are encouraged to purchase the Thames Passport where we will collect stamps at over 30 stamping stations along the Path. Collect stamps at all the various stations and you can receive a Certificate of Completion for doing the whole trail from start to finish! The link to purchase the passport is here: https://walkthethames.co.uk/thames-path-passport/**
Today’s leg marks the final Oxfordshire section of our Thames Adventure! Here we will follow the stretch that Lewis Carroll, author of the Narnia Chronicles, used to do with his vicar.
Picking up the path from Abingdon Bridge where we last left off, we will follow the towpath to Abingdon Lock before crossing here. We will then continue through a wooded section and eventually make it to Radley College Boathouse.
After more fields and woods, we will take a pause for our lunch stop. Once refuelled, we will make our way to Sandford and have a pub stop at the King’s Arms.
Post-refreshment, we will head past Kennington Railway Bridge and arrive on the outskirts of Oxford. We will pass a couple of university boathouses before briefly leaving the Path at Folly Bridge to have a café stop at the Paper Boat Café and collect another stamp for our passports.
The final section will see us move into the small district of Osney before arriving at Oxford Railway Station where the Oxfordshire section of our Thames Adventure will conclude!

Saturday 18 July 2026
Start time: 10:00 am
Estimated finish time: 3:30 pm
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 16.1km / 10.0mi

To get to the walk start in Abingdon from Reading, if using public transport, please get the 8:58 train from Reading to Didcot Parkway, then get the X2 bus from Didcot Parkway station (Stop R1) leaving at 9:22 and arriving at Stratton Way in Abingdon at 9:56. It will then be a short walk to the Guildhall. When the walk is finished, there should be plenty of trains back to Reading from Oxford station. If driving, parking is available in Abingdon in either Rye Farm Car Park or Cattle Market where charges apply. You will need to take the bus back to Abingdon at the conclusion of the walk where there are multiple options.