This section is 9.9 miles (15.8km) long -a map of it can be downloaded below.
This stretch is quite short giving you the opportunity to spend the morning exploring a little of Oxford before leaving. The Thames Path as it leaves the city south towards Abingdon is almost as green as its arrival from the north, and once past Iffley Lock and then the ring road this is a very rural route.
Sandford Lasher
The lock at Sandford, a few miles downstream of Oxford, has the greatest fall of water on the Thames with its weir, known as the Sandford Lasher, being pretty impressive.
Abingdon
Having crossed the Thames at Abingdon Lock you soon arrive at the southern end of Abingdon Bridge with the town to the north. The original bridge was built in 1422 with 14 arches, and the current structure manages to retain a medieval feel. Abingdon is one of the most important of all the historic towns on the Thames , with a magnificent town hall and abbey founded as early as 675AD.
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