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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.

Sunday 15 May 2016

Sunday Walk 2 - The Thame Valley in Oxfordshire

Extra Walk 190 Thame Circular
Length: 21km (13 miles), or 15.2km (9.4 miles). Toughness: 3/10

09:43 Stratford-upon-Avon train from Marylebone arriving at Haddenham & Thame Parkway at 10:34. Then catch a 280 bus at 10:53 from the station forecourt to the centre of Thame, arriving at 11:02

Return trains are at xx:13 and xx:38, (journey times 55 minutes and 43 minutes respectively). Connecting buses from Thame to the station are at xx:23 and xx:53, taking 7 minutes

This is a scenic and easy walk north of the Chilterns through fields and quiet villages in the Thame valley on the Oxon/Bucks border. This is the first Sunday outing for the main walk, which has not been done since its first outing in 2013. An option to shorten the walk to 15.2km is provided. There is also an optional 3.9km extension in the morning but that would get you to the lunch pubs rather too late unless you take the Oxford Parkway train from Marylebone at 09:05 and start the walk an hour earlier, expecting to meet the main group in one of the lunch pubs.

The recommended lunch pubs are the Clifden Arms (01844 339273) in Worminghall after 7.4 miles, or The Rising Sun (01844 339238) in Ickford after 8.3 miles. If you choose the short option, the lunch pub is The Old Fisherman (01844 201247) in Shabbington after 5.9 miles.

You will need to download the Walk Directions.

4 comments:

Thomas G said...

9.05 train, long version, Clifden Arms (really nice pub, from memory) for me

Colin said...

I plan to go and will do the shorter option.

Chris L said...

10:05 Oxford Parkway train arrives at Haddenham & Thame Parkway at 10:39, thus connecting with the 10:53 bus into Thame. So there's no advantage in getting the 09:43 train. Sorry I didn't spot that earlier.

PeteB said...

n=8 on this walk but between us we did about 4 different versions: 2 started earlier to do the extended walk; 2 arrived on different trains to do the main walk; 3 did the short walk and 1 (me the contrarion) did the short walk but did not catch any buses and walked from and back to the station taking a bespoke route through fields - so a special tick for me (;>) - and ended up doing about 13 miles anyway. (I caught up with the short walkers at the end of the golf course section.)

The weather was w=fine-and-sunny throughout the day and all enjoyed this attractive ramble through a gentle rolling landscape with many fields packed with buttercups and dandelions. The Old Fisherman pub was packed and service was inevitably slow but decent quality food. Thame has an interesting High Street with loads of pubs but the independent cafes close so early so I ended up having refreshments at a Costas before walking back to the station. A terrific day out in a much under-rated area for good walking.