Stuck in Customs: A "Short" Walk: St. Mary's Illsley

On Monday, some of out teachers announced that we would be going on a "short" walk to a quaint little church just outside of Oxford then to a street that is predominately international. The walk would be on Tuesday (yesterday). I thought this would be a fun way to see the town since I did not get to explore this past weekend. Also, the teachers that were leading have gone on this trip for the past 10 years so they obviously know a lot about Oxford and the surround area. The only drawback to these little excursions is the amount of people that tend to go. We end up looking like a herd of sheep on the road, but it was really not as bad as I was envisioning.
We started our walk by going past Christ Church which is where a lot of Harry Potter was filmed and also the frame of reference for Alice in Wonderland. Once we crossed over the bridge, we got off of a traffic street and onto a paved path that goes along the river. The river is the Thames River which is the same one that runs through London. However, further down the walk there is a lock and it is then called the Isis River. Across the river from the path is boat houses for all of the crew teams of the colleges of Oxford. Some of them were few industrial looking, but I am happy to report that Worchester's looked quite pleasant! One of the wonderful things about England is that you don't have to travel that far out of town to see pastures and fields and rural life. We past several horses pastures and meadows. It was beautiful!
We walked for about an hour and a half before we reached the village that the church was in. Once we got to the church, it was clear why they wanted us to see it. It was incredible. The first two parts of the church were built in the 12th century and the last section was relatively young in that it was built in the 13th century! I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but everyday I am amazed at how old and lasting everything is here. We got to go inside of the church and look around for a bit. One thing that I was interested in was their version of the Apostle's Creed or Affirmation of Faith. The church belongs to the Church of England so obviously it was very different from the Methodist version. I really loved seeing that and appreciating the commonality of our prayers. Outside of the church is a "bush" that was planted the same year that the church was built. It is as tall as the church, hence the placement of quotations around the word bush. This was an amazing example of how special this country and their buildings are. I'm still in awe of that sacred space.
The professors that took us on the walk have a policy of "a pub for every walk" so we made the traditional stop at a pub in the village. As I mentioned earlier, the anxiety associated with a large group came out when we walked into this tiny pub. We completely overwhelmed them! It didn't take long for them to help everyone, and one of our sweet professors bought both of the bartenders a pint of their beer of choice! I love the pubs here because they are so cozy. They are also much more of a meeting or hangout place rather than just a bar in the US. People bring their kids and sit around and catch up during the afternoons. It's really pleasant.
After everyone finished their Pimm's and lemonade or pints, we headed for Cowley Road. This is the street in Oxford that is mostly made up of ethnic stores and restaurants. Oxford has a large international presence and this is where a lot of that personality can be seen! We past so many great looking Indian, Thai, and other ethnic restaurants. I'm definitely going to have to spend a good bit of time there! We mostly just walked down and looked this go-round. However, Toni, another Alpha Gam, and I stopped in a coffee shop for cheesecake and coffee!
We made it back to Worchester at 5:30, yes you saw that right. We were gone for 4 1/2 hours. Hence the concept of a "short" walk. I heard the figure 6 miles thrown around several times. However, it was used as a roundtrip figure and a one-way figure. I'm not sure which it was, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was 6 miles one-way and 6 miles back! I made it back just in time for dinner, and of course, was dead tired after! Now I know when the professors talk about a short walk, I should check to make sure of the definition of short!