#watlington

06/01/19-The journey to Gloucestershire via Watlington 

As 2018 wrapped up I mentioned a few trips away I would be doing this year, but didn’t say too much about this one. So today we headed off for a two night stopover at Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire with the view of going into WWT Slimbridge tomorrow which is my birthday. I am processing all images when home so to save time when home I have written up the blogs of the days on the days so they read in present tense but are posted afterwards. 

On the motorway and dual carriageway dominated journey I knew the chance to get bird of prey year ticks would be good. Sure enough I saw my first Buzzard and Red Kite of the year on the A34 seeing each a second time too. As we got on other roads too closer to a detour slight stop off to try and see them Watlington in Oxfordshire we saw more and more Red Kites. We got some really cracking views of them especially near little lay bys where we stopped which was an honour, I took the first two pictures in this photoset of two here and it was surreal seeing so many and when stopping at a nearby service station to see two circling closely above.  I took the third picture in this photoset a view from near Watlington. I saw maybe my first ever Red Kites stood still today in trees as usually they are just high in the sky for me which meant I could enjoy seeing the species that I did nearly four months earlier than my first last year in a slightly different way they do look beautiful still as well. It really is great to witness another area so strong for this returning bird after seeing lots in Wales before too. 

At the Watlington mini stop too we saw in one field another Buzzard, I had not often see this one of my favourite birds walking in a field before, and my first Pheasant of the year. As we proceeded with the journey I went onto see more Buzzards sitting on posts and the like and even flying in the Cotswolds area making the amount of them I saw today a higher number too. I also got the other bird of prey year tick I was hoping for as we travelled on with a quick Kestrel view at the top of a tree. 

Thank you!

Great news! We have raised the funds to keep King Alfred's Coins in the heart of the region in which it was discovered.

The Watlington hoard is the first large Viking hoard discovered in Oxfordshire & contains over 200 Anglo-Saxon coins.

We would like to thank everyone who donated to the campaign. Lead support was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, towards both the acquisition and to fund a range of educational and outreach activities. Thanks to a further major grant from Art Fund as well as contributions from the public and the Friends and Patrons of the Ashmolean, the Museum reached its fundraising target within days of the deadline.

"The Watlington Hoard is one of the most exciting and important acquisitions we have ever made, particularly significant because it was found in Oxfordshire. To be able to keep the hoard in the county and put it on display with the Ashmolean’s Anglo-Saxon collections, which include the world-famous Alfred Jewel, was an opportunity we could not miss."           – Dr Xa Sturgis, Director of the Ashmolean

An Exceptional Discovery

In October 2015, metal detectorist James Mather discovered an important Viking hoard near Watlington in South Oxfordshire. It dates from the end of the 870s, a key moment in the struggle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings for control of southern England.

The Watlington Hoard sheds new light on the conflict between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and on the relationship between the two great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex.

The hoard contains over 200 Anglo-Saxon coins, including many examples of previously rare coins of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (871–899) and his less well-known contemporary, King Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874–879). This is the first large Viking hoard discovered in Oxfordshire, which once lay on the border of Wessex and Mercia. The Watlington Hoard therefore has enormous relevance to our county. At the same time this is a find of truly national importance, providing a major new source of information about this tumultuous time in the history of our nation.

Richards Stores in Watlington, Oxfordshire, England, UK