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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 25 March 2017

Saturday Walk - The Cotswolds: Hanborough to Charlbury

Length: 22.0 km (13.7 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 286/277m; Net Walking Time: 5 ½ hours
Toughness:  5/10                       

Take the 09.15 Worcester Foregate Street train from Paddington (09.33 Slough, 09.54 Reading), arrives Hanborough 10.34. From Ealing: 08.58 Oxford train, change at Slough.
Return trains from Charlbury are hourly on xx.02/xx.03, from 89 mins journey time. Buy a Charlbury Return.

The River Evenlode; soft, easy hills and fertile countryside; Blenheim Palace and its Great Park; Akeman Street (the Old Roman Road from Alchester to Cirencester); some open farmland; delightful stone villages & Lord Rotherwick’s deer park, Cornbury Park. 

For a shorter walk: stay on the Oxfordshire Way as described at point 49 in the directions (Grid Reference SP 375 179), first along field boundaries, then lanes, into and through Charlbury to the station: 18.5 km/11.5 mi.

Lunch: The White Horse  in Stonesfield (12.8 km/8.0 mi, food to 14.00).
Tea: The Bell Hotel and Four Pubs in Charlbury.

Summary, map, height profile, walk directions, photos, a video  and gpx/kml files here. T=1.38

4 comments:

Marc Ricketts said...

Now I might do the Walk on Saturday. But I can't Guarantee I will. I have been to the Cotswold before. But only Boulton on the Water. But it wasn't a Walk on the day I went.

Paul A said...

The Plough Inn at Finstock looks to be worth a visit during the afternoon - a traditional 18C thatched village inn, with 1 regular beer and 2 changing beers, open all day. In Charlbury it seems there are only 3 pubs - the Old Three Horseshoes (formerly the Farmers), the Bull Inn, and the Rose & Crown with "one of the best beer selections in the area with eight handpumped ales plus six traditional ciders and perry".

Karen said...

n=19 w=sunny-with-a-cool=breeze

19 off the train from Paddington. Who knows how many were left behind in London? Queues of people waiting to board at each door of the 3-carriage train meaning a bit of a crush to get on. Fortunately a good number of people alighted from the train to enjoy a day out in Slough, so things were slightly more comfortable from that point onwards.

A lovely sunny morning walking through gently rolling countryside. Pretty hamlets with plenty of daffodils making it feel like a true spring morning. The pre-lunch highlights were walking through the grounds of Blenheim Palace and later the sight of a rape oil seed field beginning to turn yellow. Spring has arrived!

The group spread out and split up over the course of the morning, with one sub-group taking what they described as a detour (shortcut?) that meant they were the first to arrive at the lunch pub. About 15 people dined there. An aesthetically pleasing interior and nice garden, but the food was a little underwhelming.

This walker and 3 like-minded individuals felt compelled to check out The Plough Inn at Finstock, a teeny bit off route. A pleasant hostelry, with what looked like a decent food menu and a friendly landlord. After a swift half, got back en route and enjoyed the pleasant last hour to Charlbury. More easy hills and nice views and a huge herd of deer in Cornbury Park.

The group arrived in Charlbury in dribs and dabs, with some taking tea at The Bell Hotel ( an 'inn' probably a better description than 'hotel'), some at CAMRA-approved Rose and Crown, some had a wander around the village, and some took the first train available. A few on earlier trains, with the majority of the group on the 18:02 train back to London after taking it easy in Charlbury. A very nice day out in good company, as always.

Anonymous said...

A subgroup of 7 did the 'detour' before lunch - about 6 miles making the walk more balanced for those seeking a short cut. As the official short cut at #49 makes the afternoon very short but the morning very long (8miles). It is wort hnoting this for future outing of this walk.