Addison's Walk (originally called Water Walk) is a picturesque

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

around a small island in the River Cherwell in the grounds of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, England. There are good views of Magdalen Tower and Magdalen Bridge from along the walk. The walk is named after Joseph Addison (1672–1719), a Fellow of the College from 1698 to 1711, who enjoyed walking there and wrote articles in '' The Spectator'' about landscape gardening. The path most likely dates from the 16th century, although the name "Addison's Walk" has only been in use since the 19th century. Addison's Walk originally finished at Dover Pier, an old Civil War gun position on the River Cherwell. It was made into a circular walk in the 19th century. The walk is referenced frequently in

Justin Cartwright Justin James Cartwright (20 May 1943 – 3 December 2018) was a British novelist, originally from South Africa. Biography Cartwright was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Johannesburg where his father was the editor of the ''Ran ...

's 2007

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

''The Song Before it is Sung''. Addison's Walk was a favourite walk of the author C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), who for much of his life was another Fellow of Magdalen College. He regularly frequented Addison's Walk with friends who included Hugo Dyson and J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote a poem about the walk which features it by name. File:Joseph Addison.png, alt=, Joseph Addison (c. 1703–1712), by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

. File:Plaque along Addison's walk.jpg, alt=, Plaque along Addison's walk, featuring a poem by C.S. Lewis, which mentions the walk by name. File:Magdalen College, view of cloisters from Addison's Walk, Oct 2016.jpg, alt=, View of the tower and cloisters of Magdalen College from the bridge across the Cherwell to Addison's Walk.

References

{{coord , 51.7524, -1.2453, region:GB, display=title Footpaths in Oxford Magdalen College, Oxford Parks and open spaces in Oxford

See also

References