Marley's Walk

Back in the 9th and 10th century CE, our village was a very important place indeed.  We are right on the Thames, west of Oxford, and  in 1005 an Abbey was founded here.  Because of this, the village was more important than Oxford at that time.  The Abbey was inhabited and maintained by up to 40 Benedictine monks and an Abbot as well as many Abbey workers who lived in the surrounds.  In the 12th century, the original Abbey was demolished and a new one built, and by the 13th century, more land had been acquired by the church, and this was made into the Abbey Fishponds.  In 1538 the Abbey was surrendered to King Henry VIII and closed down.  In the 17th century the remaining ruins of the Abbey were cleared away and used to construct new houses in the village.  These are now the only visible clues of the great buildings which once were here.   Amazingly, there are 92 listed buildings in our little village - though not all of them are connected to the Abbey!

You might wonder what all this history has to do with Marley's walk, so I'll show you ...

We start off in the playing field, which Marley thinks is his own personal racetrack.  Here he races round and round like a lunatic dog at 40mph!  He's fast!  He doesn't chase a thing though, that's why he was pensioned off early.

By the time we get round the corner at the top to a smaller field, Marley is more relaxed, and heads off to the stream behind the trees for a paddle

Not in the mood today it seems!

These fields are on our "Heritage Trail".  They were part of the pastures which surrounded the old Abbey.

Here is a 'station' made from old Abbey stones.  It tells stories of the Monks who lived and worked here.

Onwards through the back of the field, there is a walkway under some trees.

It leads to the Abbey Fishponds which have recently been restored.  It's a very beautiful and atmospheric place.  Some say they see ghosts and unexplained ' floating lights' here quite regularly.

Every time I walk there with Marley I wonder at how lucky we are to have this wonderful place right on our doorstep.  Marley has also seen something unexplained beyond the bridge!

Here is one of the ponds,  Marley jumped into it the first time we brought him here.  He got a terrible shock as he was expecting a shallow paddle like he'd had in the stream! 

There are lots of windy paths cut into the grass and the reeds, and there are bridges  over the many little rivulets which run through  connecting the ponds.

Here, the trees have eyes!!

There are lots and lots of cherry trees.  I wonder if the monks liked cherries, and these trees are descendants of trees planted by them.

There have always been reeds and bullrushes here - even before the place was 'restored' - and I wonder the same thing about them.  Not if the monks liked to eat them though!  

Here at the Fishponds, there is another information board.  This one shows the "vista" that would have been seen when the ponds were in their prime.  So from where i'm standing, this is the view back in the day ...

And this is what it looks like now

We walk all around the fishponds in a circle, taking different paths each time, and then it's back to the playing fields for another run about

And just around two more corners, we're nearly home ..

Marley the Wonder Dog

Thank you all, for such lovely welcoming comments for Marley Marmalade. He's been settling in well, though it's only day two and I can't help feeling that he's missing his fellow greyhound chums back at the kennel. I think he's happy though. It's a big change for him but he's good as gold.

He's had a shower. I was quite surprised that he just stood there quietly while we rubbed and scrubbed and rinsed. His coat looks much better now.

He's discovered his favourite spot for relaxing. I haven't managed to get a shot with him in full recline yet. VERY funny, all four feet in the air.

(They wouldn't let me call him 'Anubis')

He's had lots of cuddles

and done a bit of sunbathing too

Eggy and Peggy were extremely alarmed at first

But they heard that Marley has retired early, having never raced, so now their faces ain't that bovvered.

A Tail of Two Dogs

The last Dog who lived with us, was a Samoyed called Kola. He was big and white and fluffy and gorgeous. His name was a Sioux word meaning "friend" and never was a doggy name more perfect or more apt.

A Samoyed is a type of husky dog. Originally bred by the Samoyed tribes of Siberia, they have more stamina than Siberian Huskies so they can pull sledges for longer distances albeit with less speed. Their sparkling fluffy coats keep the tribe warm at night, and their high pitched yap carries far across a vast flat and barren land.


The day we collected puppy Kola (a walking cotton wool ball) from his breeder was my birthday and a week before I discovered I was pregnant. Bad timing because Kola was a very naughty dog! That's the nature of a Samoyed. They think they're human but when I say 'human', think "boistrous teenage boy". He was alot of work, needed grooming every day, and never ever did as he was told. Not for lack of training either, that's just what the breed is like. But his gentle and fun-loving nature, and lovely smiley face won everyone over and he knew it.


The day he died, 7 years ago from cancer, was one of the saddest days of our life, so we have been reluctant over the years to fill his space with another but Jimmy has been nagging us ever since.


And so it happened that last bank holiday we went for a walk to a place where last we went, Kola was with us.


We reminisced, we discussed, we remembered, and we thought "wouldn't it be nice to have a dog today", then one thing led to another, and before we knew it, we decided that the time is right. But despite their captivating personality, another Samoyed was out of the question. NO, no no! We need a dog who does what he's told, who is laid back, easy to care for, low maintenance and most importantly, mature and in need of a home. So we called The Retired Greyhound Trust. Two weeks ago - they don't half move fast! We had to choose a dog from a list of dogs needing homes. That was difficult ... how could we discriminate? But choose one we did, and when he came to meet us, it was love at first sight.



The polar opposite of Kola. We have named him "Marley". Because he is black and chilled, and Jimmy already thinks he's a Legend.