Today’s walk begins by the ruins of Abingdon Abbey in Abbey Close car park. The Abbey was probably founded in the late 7th century, but was refounded by Athelstan’s successors in around 950.

After visiting Abingdon’s St Helen’s Church, built on the site of a 7th century nunnery, we follow the Thames footpath via Culham to Clifton Hampden, where the picturesque church looking down on the river was restored by George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Albert Memorial and the St Pancras Hotel, in the mid-nineteenth century. From Day’s Lock, we take a detour to visit Dorchester Abbey, founded originally as a Saxon cathedral in the 7th century, before returning to the Thames and ending the day’s walk at Wallingford.