Chapter 4: The Iffly Walk, Part II

Monday was the Iffly Walk. The Iffly Walk has become somewhat of a tradition for the Alabama at Oxford program. This “5 mile” walk began at Worcester College. We walked to Folly Bridge, which is the bridge over the Isis River. The Isis River is the Thames River; however, the residents of Oxford prefer to call it the Isis. At Folly Bridge, the walk mimics the run of Jude the Obscure’s wife.

We turned off to the left and walked along the River. It soon began to rain and we all stood beneath the trees on the side of the river till it stopped. We continued with the Isis on our left and fields of green grass, occasional paths and gardens, a few horses and many trees on our right. Colleges of Oxford University come to practice with their crew teams. Brick and cement houses line the opposite side of the river. Each is designated with the crest of the college. Finally we come to a bridge where we cross over to the other side of the River. To our right is the Mathematical Bridge. It is said that this bridge was constructed in such a way after the principles of gravity that no nails nor glue were used to secure the bridge, only the force of gravity. Whether or not that is true, the bridge still stands, though too unstable to hold weight. And is now kept standing by various ropes and nails.

We continued walking with the Isis on our right and a wall of tress on our left. The path opened up into a road that led up to St. Mary’s Church. This church was built in 1170 as the parish church of Iffly and remains so till this day. Immediately inside the church on the left is a plaque listing all the parsons of the church from 1170 to present. The west front of the building is said to be perhaps the best example of Norman architecture in England. Norman architecture is marked by the beak heads and the chevrons (triangular shapes) that outline the frame of the doorway. To the right of the church there is an Eww tree that is suppoed to be as old as the church. Inside the church is a stained glass window, immediately on the right, that is also in Magdalen (pronounced Maudlen) College. Looking up there is the organ. Rows of pews line the inside of the stone building. Then there is a step up into another section of the church where the pews face toward the center. There is a supporting column on either side of the building at that point. On the base of one column a mason carved a small lion. On the base of the other column another mason carved a small bird. Outside the church, is an old graveyard like something you would expect to see in a section of the graveyard in Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. There is no rhyme or reason to the placement of the headstones. Grass grows high between each marker and no two markers are the same.

From the church we proceeded to Cowly road. It was a long walk, much longer than five miles from Iffly to the Cowly Road. Cowly Road was an interesting sight to behold. The ethnic diversity of this section of Oxford provides for a handful of shops advertising the tradional dress of different countries. The aroma from the Greek, Pakistani, Indian, and Chinese food saturates the air, especially when one has had no lunch and it is almost dinner time.

At last we crossed a bridge and found ourselves near the Botanic Gardens and back in familiar territory.