Christmas spirit in Oxford ~ 12km/8 miles

Soak up the Christmas spirit in Oxford with a walk beside the River Thames and two, yes two Christmas markets!

Hike facts
Approximately 15 km /9 miles.
Duration: actual walking time, circa 3 hours.
Hike grade: Easy.
Weather: see here
Donation: £5 cash on the day
What to take: a packed lunch and plenty of water.
Also, as we're volunteers we're not insured, so please have your own insurance for this type of activity.

Walk description
Leaving the station, we'll stroll along the Oxford Canal, through a local Christmas Market and then head towards our lunch stop at a popular pub (we're not ordering food here so please bring a packed lunch).

After our break, we'll follow the Thames Path to Folly Bridge. Crossing the bridge, we enter the city and continue along Christ Church Meadow Walk and Poplar Walk, heading towards the iconic Oxford University Colleges. We'll then reach Oxford Christmas Market for more festive atmosphere.

We’ll spend about 30 minutes at the market before heading to the Four Candles pub, just a few minutes from the train station.

Meeting at
Oxford railway station. We'll be outside the station exit holding a GOSH banner, please see the photo below. Meeting time: 10.45 am. We'll leave at 10.50 am

Travel:

• by train from London

Get to Paddington ticket office at 9.10 am. It's by Platform 1. Colin will be stood by the ticket office holding a GOSH banner (see photo of banner below) to help buy return Grouspave tickets (we’ll need to get into groups of at least 3). The Groupsave ticket will cost approx. £22.90. We'll head to the platform at 9.30 to catch the 9.50 train which arrives into Oxford at 10.43 am.

• by car
• Suggest, 'Park & Ride' to avoid high parking charges & emission charges.

KEY INFORMATION
YOU MUST READ THE THREE SECTIONS BELOW - if you join this trip, you're confirming that you have.

1. The perilous bit
2. Our FAQs, including an explanation of Groupsave tickets which will save you money.
3. See here for what to wear and take

AND FINALLY

• We're raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children: https://www.gosh.org
  We’ll deduct Meetup fees but all the profits will go to GOSH. After each hike, we’ll let you know exactly how much we’ve all raised. And if you’d like to join us and raise money by leading some hikes, please get in touch – the more the merrier 😊
• We're volunteers hoping to establish a community of friends, so please go with the flow and help out where and if you can.
• If you need to get in touch on the day, you can call Colin on 07941 646 035 or both of us via Meetup.