Walks Near Bloxham

Archive for the ‘Within 5 miles of Bloxham’ Category

• Start – 2.7 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk – 2.8 miles (4.5 km)
• Fairly flat
• Dog – friendly

Introduction

The walk starts at the village green, heads off towards Bodicote and then to the end of Bloxham Grove before heading back to Adderbury.

Adderbury is about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Banbury and 9 miles (14 km) from Junction 10 of the M40 motorway. The Sor Brook divides the village in two and each part has its own green and manor house.

GPS Data and route instructions

Google Maps

Click here for a google map of the walk.

You can get an online OS map here.

• Start: 2.2 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk: 2.25 miles  (3.6 km )
• Fairly flat
• Dog friendly but  farm animals on outward route

This walk commences in Barford St Michael whichis is a village on the south bank of the River Swere. Barford probably means barley ford – a place to cross the river at harvest time. In 1086 it was known as Bereford, and by around 1250 as Bereford Sancti Michaelis. Barford

The village has an attractive church which may be worth a visit before the walk. Some of the church is Norman but much of the rest was rebuilt in the 13th century in the Early English style

The second half of the walk runs alongside a disused airfield: RAF Barford St John’s .
The airfield was opened in World War 2 as training facility used primarily by the Flying Training School from RAF Kidlington. It was later modified for use by RAF Upper Heyford and Bomber Command flew Wellington bombers and Mosquitoes from there .
In 1943 it was used for test flights of the first jet, the Gloucester Whittle, and it’s successor the Meteor. The airfield was mothballed in 1946 but has subsequently assumed a role in government communications as evidenced by the many aerials dotted across it.

GPS Data

Route Description

1. Start – straight along farm road.
2. Dilapidated farm cottage and pond.
3. Keep heading towards the big farmhouse and then turn left (North) to pass through a field along the bottom of a hill on which the farmhouse stands.
4. Leave the field via a cronky wooden gate! You can go wrong here! Don’t follow the main footpath North. Turn left and pass through another gate just 20m or so away.
5. Now head more or less west along the side of the field with a ariels on your right.
6. Keep going basically west.
7. Keep going basically west.
8. The pathway bends slightly northwards here.
9. Arrive at a gate to your left and head through this to the road.
10. Turn left and head back to the starting point along the road.

Google maps

Click here for a Google satellite map of this walk.

Ordnance survey maps

You need OS Map 191
You can get an online OS map here.

• Start – 4.6 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk – 6.5 miles (10 km)
• Gently undulating
• Dog – friendly – but take a lead

Introduction

Deddington is a pretty village with an attractive market place. Deddington Parish Church first appears in historical records in 1254. The massive west tower once had a tall spire that collapsed in 1634, damaging the rest of the church. Rebuilding had to await the end of the Civil War during which King Charles I had the church bells melted down for artillery.
There was also a Deddington Castle dating mostly to the 11th-14th centuries but this is now just a grass mound.
The walk starts in the MarketPlace, heads south-east and then loops north to Clifton. From here it goes north-west towards PaperMill cottages before looping back south-west to Deddington. The walk is signposted but when we walked this at least two signs were totally overgrown.

Deddington is about 6 miles (10 km) south of Banbury and 7 miles (11 km) from Junction 10 of the M40 motorway.

GPS Data

Download Garmin Waypoints

Google Maps

Click here for a google map of the walk. (Coming soon!)

You can get an online OS map here.

• Start:  4.6 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk: 1.5 miles (2.4km)
• flat – as a pancake!
• dog friendly

Grimsbury Reservoir is a relatively small reservoir fed by the River Cherwell and owned by Thames Water and used both for water supply and sporting activities.
In the mid 1960s, when the reservoir was built the Banbury Ornithological Society negotiated  for a four hectare area to be set aside and developed as a wildlife sanctuary to address the potential importance of the area to birds .
A walk around two sides of the reservoir has been established  but this also links up with a pathway through a nature reserve and  the canal towpath . This walk takes in all three providing a short but varied exploration of the area.

GPS Data

Route Description

This is a very simple route.

1. Follow the signs to Grimsbury Reservoir off Hennef Way, Banbury.
2. Park in the car-park adjacent to the entry to the waterworks.
3. Enter the road to the reservoir and Banbury sailing club.
4. Follow the pathway to the right of the reservoir until you reach a wooded conservation area.
5. Take the pathway through these woods.
6. At the end of this path you can turn left back to a walk down the other side of the resrvoir or else turn right onto the canal towpath. Take the towpath.
7. Continue down the towpath and when you arrive back at the Waterworks cross a stream to arrive on a road back to the car-park.

GoogleMaps

Click here for a Google satellite map of this walk. (Awaited!)

Ordnance survey maps

You need OS Map 191
You can get an online OS map here.

• Start: 4.1 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk:  2.25 miles    (3.6 km )
• Gentle slopes
• Dog friendly except for one stile!

This is a circular walk of 3.6k starting from Nether Worton (6 km. west of Deddington and 15 km. south of Banbury) passing through Over Worton. There is one part that dogs cannot negotiate without being lifted!

Worton derives from the Anglo-Saxon (Ortune) a settlement by a bank or slope,and probably applied to Over Worton as Nether Worton lies in a flat valley beside a small tributary of the Cherwell.
It consists of a tiny church, a few cottages, Manor Farm, and Nether Worton House.
The walk heads up to Over Worton where there is a photogenic church and then back down past some small lakes to return past tiny Nether Worton church.

GPS Data

Route Description

1. Start near the Manor House.  Walk along the road towards Sandford to a stile on your left.
2. Cross the stile and head to a gate. Through the gate and across the field .
3. Through the gate and turn diagonally right towards the corner of the next field towards a road
4. At the road turn left (South) and head to past Flighthill farm on your right.
5. Turn left and head up the footpath past the farm cottage and through various gates / stiles
6. Pass through the copse.
7. Along the edge of the next field.
8. Into another small copse. This is hard to get out of with a heavy dog!!
9. Along the field past some posh houses on the left. Out onto a road in Over Worton Follow the church sign.
10. Through the churchyard through a gate with limited opening! Down the field.
11. Keep going. Cross 2 stiles cutting off the corner of a field.
12. You should see Nether Worton Manor farm coming into view.
13. Arrive at Manor farm with a church on your left. Turn left  back to the starting point.

Google Map

Click here for a Google satellite map of this walk.

Ordnance survey maps

You need OS Map 191
You can get an online OS map here.

• Start: 4.1 miles from Bloxham
• Length of walk: 3.5 miles  (5.6km )
• gentle to moderate gradients
• dog friendly

A walk starting from Nether Worton, heading up Raven Hill and just skirting Great Tew on the homeward journey. The walk is mainly on broad tracks through the countryside and so far as I am unaware there are few points of historical interest

GPS Data

Route Description

1. Set off from little “roundabout by Nether Worton House. Head West along the road to Sandford
2. Just past the bend head into a field and along the edge – still heading west.
3. Just B4 a new field follow a footpath sign NW across a field.
4. Next head basically north towards a copse.
5. Follow around the edge of the copse (Raven Hill) and then head in the general direction of Lower Grove Ash farm on the left.
6. Skirt the farm and follow the farm road up the hill to the B4031.
7. Walk along the B4031 until you get to the main farm road to Hill farm.
8. At this point cross the road and head down a wide farm road.
9. Keep going straight. You pass a neat farm with a small lake.
10. Turn left (east) into another wide track. There are supposedly some lakes on the right at the start of this track but they may be in a died-up state
11. Just keep going
12. Eventually you see the copse on Raven Hill that you passed on the outward journey.
13. Retrace the outward route back to the starting point

Google Map

Click here for a Google satellite map of this walk.

Ordnance survey maps

You need OS Map 191
You can get an online OS map here.