180 Oxford, Witney and Woodstock
Access and Rights Of Way
All the walks suggested follow public rights of way, whether they be footpaths, bridleways or byways; some sections also follow permissive paths (routes where the landowner has allowed the public to have walking access). Paths are mostly well signed, but not always: in these cases care is required not to lose the way. Local authorities have a duty to protect and maintain the extensive network of off-road routes. Where a path is obstructed, you are entitled to divert around the obstruction. Please report any problems while using the rights of way mentioned in this guidebook to the relevant local authority.
Footpath sign at Radcot (Walk 1)
In October 2005 the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 was completed, giving all users of the countryside the opportunity to walk freely across mapped ‘access land’ without the need to follow designated paths. Open access land includes mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land, and these open access areas are marked by a yellow tint on the more recent Ordnance Survey Explorer maps.
Rights of way are marked on the ground as follows:
Footpath Yellow arrow – walkers only
Bridleway Blue arrow – walkers, cyclists and horse riders
Byway Red arrow – walkers, cyclists, horse riders, motorcycles and vehicles
Restricted Byway Purple arrow – use by all except mechanically propelled vehicles, but can be narrow and so may not take, for example, a horse and cart.
Long-Distance Routes
If you fancy a longer and more testing walk several long-distance routes pass through the Thames Valley, and all of them are visited by at least one of the walks described in this book.
Chiltern Way (Walk 20)
The Chiltern Way was created by the Chiltern Society as its Millennium project (officially launched in October 2000), and is based on an earlier unofficial route, the Chiltern Hundred (100 miles/161km). The route takes in four counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire, in a 133-mile (214km) circuit (extended to 172 miles in 2003) from Ewelme in the southwest to Sharpenhoe Clappers and Great Offley in the northeast, and as far southeast as Chorleywood West.
Looking across to the Devil’s Punchbowl from the Ridgeway (Walk 9)
D’Arcy Dalton Way (Walk 1)
The D’Arcy Dalton Way is a 66-mile (106km) north–south path between Wormleighton near Banbury and Wayland’s Smithy on the Ridgeway. The route was created to mark the Oxford Fieldpath Society’s Diamond Jubilee in 1986 and was named after a notable defender of the county’s path network. The route passes through parts of the Cotswolds, Thames Valley, Vale of the White Horse and Wessex Downs.
Lambourn Valley Way (Walk 6)
The Lambourn Valley Way is a 22-mile (35km) walk running from the Berkshire Downs at the Uffington White Horse to Newbury, following the picturesque valley of the River Lambourn.
Oxfordshire Way (Walk 22)
The Oxfordshire Way is a 65-mile (104km) lowland path linking the Cotswolds at Bourton-on-the-Water with the Chilterns and River Thames at Henley-on-Thames. The route passes through the most rural and scenic landscapes of Oxfordshire, including two AONBs: the Cotswolds, with their characteristic grey limestone buildings and stone walls and the Chilterns, with their flint-and-brick architecture and famous beech woods.
Ridgeway National Trail (Walks 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 17 and 20)
The Ridgeway, designated as a long-distance route in 1972, stretches for 85 miles (137km) across five counties, from Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. However, it is just part of a prehistoric track that once stretched for 248 miles (400km) from the Dorset coast to the Wash on the Norfolk coast. Its purpose was to provide a route for travellers over high ground which was less wooded and drier than routes following the springline villages below. These ancient trackways have been in use for over 5000 years, making them some of the oldest roads in Britain.
Along the Ridgeway, man has left evidence of early occupation in the form of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds and later Iron Age hillforts. Three hillforts along the western section of the Ridgeway are visited on separate walks detailed in this book. These are Liddington Castle (Walk 2), Uffington Castle (Walk 6) and Segsbury or Letcombe Castle (Walks 6 and 10). The atmospheric Neolithic burial mound at Wayland’s Smithy and the stunning Uffington White Horse, believed to be 3000 years old, are visited on Walk 6.
Shakespeare Way (Walk 19)
This long-distance path, following minor roads and footpaths, runs for 146 miles (235km) between Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare’s birthplace–and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.
Swan’s Way (Walk 20)
A long-distance bridle route of 65 miles (105km) from the River Thames at Goring in the south to Salcey Forest in Northamptonshire, passing through a variety of Buckinghamshire landscapes en route.
Thames Path (Walks 1, 7, 16, 18, 23, 24 and 25)
The National Trail, opened in 1996, follows England’s best-known river for 184 miles (294km) as it meanders from its source in the Cotswolds near Kemble (Gloucestershire) through the bustle of London to the Thames Barrier in Woolwich. En route the path passes through several rural counties and fascinating urban areas such as Oxford, Henley-on-Thames, Windsor and Greenwich, as well as peaceful water meadows rich in wildlife. A 10-mile (16km) extension from the Thames Barrier east to the Crayford Ness marshes was added in 2001.
Test Way (Walk 8)
A 44-mile (71km) route starting on the chalk downs at Inkpen Beacon where the Wayfarer’s Walk ends (see below). The route follows much of the course of the River Test, passing through some of Hampshire’s picturesque villages, to reach the coast at Southampton Water.
Wayfarer’s Walk (Walks 8 and 14)
The Wayfarer’s Walk stretches for 70 miles (113km) through Hampshire from the coast near Portsmouth to Inkpen Beacon just across the Berkshire border, where it meets the Test Way. The Wayfarer’s Walk provides a fine selection of walking terrain from coastal to gentle rolling hills, dotted with the dense woodland and rich green valleys for which Hampshire is renowned.
St Michael’s Church in Aston Tirrold (Walk 13)
WALK 1
Lechlade and a Thames Meander
| Start/Finish | Market Place next to St Lawrence’s Church in Lechlade (SU215995); parking at Memorial Hall and sports ground along Burford Street (A361) (SU214998) |
| Distance | 15 miles (24.1km) or 8 miles (12.8km) |
| Grade | 1 |
| Time | 6 hours or 4 hours |
| Maps | OS Explorer 170/Landranger 163 |
| Refreshments | Lechlade
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