River of Life trail, an easy but long dog walk in Oxfordshire

We finally got to walk the 10 km River of Life trail in Little Wittenham, a great dog walk in Oxfordshire. The River of Life I and II are ecological projects by the Earth Trust in the Wittenham Clumps. The main goal is to re-wild a stretch of the Thames riverbank, providing habitats for biodiversity. 

Distance	Total Time	Difficulty
10.42 km	02:56	Easy

I wanted to try the suggested trail since we did the Clumps hike, and it did not disappoint. 

The project’s wetland habitats support an array of wildlife and provide a pleasant riverside green space for humans and dogs.

Parking is free on the site, and there is an overflow car park at the Earth Trust visitor centre.

Don’t forget to check the post notes at the bottom of the page, with maps, a detailed table about the hike and links to everything mentioned in the post.

The Hike

We started this walk at the car park (Postcode: OX14 4QZ) and followed the River of Life waymarks, getting into a small gate to the left of the entrance.

There is a dog waste bin at the car park and another by the meadows. This section of the walk was a leisurely stroll and took us around Round Hill and Church Meadows, where we got out onto the road for a little while, on the right from the church. It is a small, one-lane road, and we didn’t encounter a single car. 

We then crossed a footbridge to the other side of the Thames River, and a few hundred meters down the path, we crossed another bridge returning to the other side of the river.

From that point, we walked a few miles by the bank of the river, where we could see cows grazing and many different types of birds flying past and could also observe the beautiful houses on the opposite shore.

To our left, through the walk, we saw many ponds in the distance and the wildlife around them. This section was the highlight of the walk.

We could still keep sight of the Round Hill almost from everywhere through the trail, and it helped us to navigate the path since there were no further waymarks after crossing the second bridge.

Eventually, the gang got onto a black walkway on the left that took us away from the river shore, through cultivated lands, onto a paved road. The road starts at Northfield Farm and leads to Little Wittenham Road. The walk through this section was slightly disappointing as there was nothing to see but a few farm gates. There was another dog waste bin along the way just by Long Wittenham Athletics Club.  

Once we finally reached Little Wittenham Road, we turned to the left. After we had passed the Wood Centre, we managed to take a path parallel to the road. This path led us to a car park, from which you can get into the field by the side of the road as we did or continue walking on the road itself. 

After walking a few more kilometres, we reached Little Wittenham town. By one of the houses, the local residents had created a little area marked as ‘Doggie Oasis’ which had a water bowl for dogs. How cute and considerate is that!?

From there on, we turned right and kept walking until we ended up back in the clumps and the car park. 

This hike was easy, and although it was a long walk, it was well worth the time. Just remember that a couple of short sections didn’t provide much to see, but overall it was a great hike.

Cheers,

Ademar