Today, and for the next several days, my route runs alongside the Thames.
I haven’t taken many detours off the route so far, but I made an exception today to visit the ancient churchyard at Sutton Courtenay, just south of the Thames.
Eric Blair, better known by his pen-name of George Orwell, is buried here. While he is best-known for Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is his non-fiction and essays that I enjoy most. His best writing is characterised by close observation, careful analysis, and clear and precise language. It’s also lightened by a love of nature and of the simple pleasures of everyday life. A good example is his essay “Some Thoughts on the Common Toad”, which is one of my favourites.
Orwell once wrote that “good prose is like a window pane”. I think what he meant is that the best writing allows the meaning to come through so clearly and simply that the reader becomes unaware of the writer’s craftmanship. It’s a demanding standard.
He has a simple headstone in a quiet corner of the churchyard.
If you look closely you’ll see that someone, in a fitting tip of the hat to one of his most famous essays, has left him a nice cup of tea.
Day 20 Route: Oxford to Dorchester via Thames Path. Terrain: riverside paths. Weather: mix of sun and cloud. Daily distance: 30.4 km/18.8 miles. Cumulative distance: 493.7 km/306.1 miles. Accommodation: George Hotel, Dorchester.
Come Wind, Come Weather 