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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 13 June 2015

Saturday First Walk – Blenheim Palace and the River Evenlode

Book 1 Walk 38 : Hanborough to Charlbury
20.5km (12.7 miles) or 16K or 12K if you take one of the shortcut options
6 out of 10
Explorer 180 or Landranger 164

Take the 09.21 from Paddington Station to Hanborough arriving at 10.34

Trains back from Charlbury are hourly, leaving a few minutes past the hour. 
Journey time about 90 minutes. 
Buy a day return to Charlbury.

You can cut something like 4 Km off of the walk but staying on the Oxfordshire Way - point 50 on the directions 
or catch a bus from Stonesfield, the S3, (which saves about 8km of walking) that go at 9 minutes past the hour apparently as it says so here http://www.stagecoachbus.com/pdfs/XOAS003.pdf

The River Evenlode and its soft, easy hills and fertile countryside inspired Tolkien’s Hobbit Shire. At lunchtime you could take a dip in the river (if you are slightly barking or if you really very very hard) and picnic in the meadow by the Stonesfield Ford and the old slate quarries.

Before lunch, there are the 2,100 acres of the Great Park leading to Blenheim Palace, its lake and the Column of Victory that the first Duke of Marlborough had placed on the horizon so that he could see it from his bedroom. Once over the wall out of the Park, the route is along Akeman Street, the Old Roman road from Alchester to Cirencester, with big stone slabs from the old road still visible in places. This is now part of the Oxfordshire Way and the leg of over a mile to Stonesfield is through open farmland
The walk through the Park is on public footpaths or permissive paths and there are no admission charges if you keep to the walks directions. For further information, and for information on what’s on, phone 08700-602080.

Lunch 
The only pub in Stonesfield is the excellent White Horse ( 01993 891063   http://www.whitehorsestonesfield.co.uk/ ).  Best give them a call to let them know that you are coming for lunch and you should get here after around 3 hours walking.

Tea 
Plenty of options in Charlbury but all pubs rather than tea rooms.


More directions here
http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_1/walk_38/index.shtml

4 comments:

PeteB said...

the Bell in Charlbury does excellent teas and coffees and when I was there midweek earlier this month there were cakes.

tartanrug said...

The pub has a "hen party" at 1.30 so the place should be avoided. Fortunately, this walk has one of the best picnic spots going so pick up those sarnies on the way through Paddington and enjoy lunch by the river. Also there is a local shop in the village.

PeteB said...

Why avoid it? Could be fun!

Sean said...

I'm told N=4. Slow progress through Blenheim Park because of a triathlon event. Would be nice to have a first-hand report...