The Seven Shires Way - Stage 20

Bourton to Coleshill - Friday 10 October 2014

Before we start to relate the story of a walk in early October we should point out that we were meant to have done this walk on 29 August. Read on to see what happened?

29 August, morning, Reading Station: T received a text from N to say that he wasn’t well and in view of overseas travel the very next day he would have to call off the walk. T’s ticket was already purchased so a quick call to P who was waiting at Didcot and it was agreed that P&T would proceed to Swindon and find something to do by way of a gentle walk and lunch at a pub.

Swindon Bus Station - where else?

After checking on bus possibilities at Swindon bus station we had a leisurely coffee and then took the C90 community minibus out to Bishopstone via Swindon Hospital.

Swindon Hospital

"City" of Bishopstone

We got into conversation with several of the occupants of the bus who were very keen to suggest variously that (a) we were on the wrong bus (we weren’t), (b) that we shouldn’t start from here or there and (c) that if we had more time we could follow so and so routes from Wanborough or Hinton Parva up onto the Ridgeway and back to Bishopstone. Our problem was that a walk of any length would curtail any opportunity for a bite of lunch and a drink so in the end (because it looked like it was going to rain) we opted to discover the parts of Bishopstone that, in our rush to get to the pub, we missed last time. 

Garden city gent

In the end the weather was fine and P&T took a short walk around the springs in the middle of the Bishopstone called “The City”. Narrow paths twisting between hollyhocks, garden ponds, neat lawns and roses-round-the-doors thatched cottages. Quiet delightful.

There was what looked like a small house for sale right in the middle of the village. On internet investigation later we discovered that it was quite large, at least three floors, and was the old Mill House, offers invited in the region of nearly £700,000. “Yes but it isn’t practical, look how infrequent the buses are” and “What must these narrow lanes be like in winter?” With the estate agent tour done we returned to the Royal Oak pub, sampled some delightful roast beef open sandwiches, had a couple of beers, reaffirmed our rating of 9 out of 10 and headed back on the early afternoon C90 bus into Swindon for an early return home where T for one then consumed his packed lunch!

Royal Oak at Bishopstone

Not really a walking day but we made good use of the time and were able to take stock of how far we had already come. 

Back to 10 October. A brisk walk between the railway and bus station in order to catch the X66 to Bourton Turn, just to the west of Shrivenham. The plan for the day was to head roughly northwards to the River Thames and then turn off the route to Lechlade to catch the bus back to Swindon.

Westward Ho! (to Swindon at least)

It was already 10:40 and delays and cancellations on First Great Western required the brisk walk that we were currently engaged upon. We made it onto the bus and got started at around 11:15 by retracing our steps to Bourton and then out towards the west to cross the A420 and go under the main railway line.

Old Spot at Roves Farm

The weather was kind, good for walking, some risk of showers but they seemed to be either to the south or to the north of us. The track passes Roves Farm which is now a show farm, pet farm, and garden centre / organic produce sort of place. Gosh, already 12:15 so we stopped in the tea barn for a 20 minute cup of coffee. Reasonably busy with a mixture of “yummy mummies” with young children, grandparents with young children and three out-of-practice walkers with no children in tow. Lots of “reading material” – well, notices at any rate, in fact notices for everything - “don’t do that”, “please do this”, “apologies for the unisex toilet”, “now wash your hands”. Anyhow it was nice to stop and catch up on family news, after all it was over two months since we had last walked and talked together.

Actually, the fact that we hadn’t been walking for a few months was beginning to tell. By the time we arrived in Sevenhampton, having discussed the leadership of the Labour party and the Scottish referendum, we realised that there was no way we would get to Lechlade in time for the bus so change of plan. Press on to Coleshill, have a drink and see what happens – as ever we hoped the plan would become clearer as we neared our new destination.

Windmills in the sky

Packed lunch overlooking the Thames Valley to the north, possible sighting of Lechlade church spire and the wind turbines of Watchfield to the south. This modern landmark had often been espied from on top of the Berkshire Downs.

The showers still held off so we plodded on along a country lane towards the  border of Wilshire (now Swindon unitary authority) and Oxfordshire, marked by the course of the River Cole, (hydrological note; right bank tributary of the River Thames.) Just before the village of Coleshill we checked out Coleshill United FC ground complete with dug outs for the home and visiting team managers though the ground seemed to be firmly under the grazing control of a flock of sheep. 

Coleshill in the distance

Sheep may safely graze at CUFC

Coleshill as the name implies is on a bit of a hill rising up from the valley of the river Cole. The warm sun on our backs and the warmth reflected off the Cotswold stone buildings on each side and the slight climb added to our sense of weariness. The village looked like an estate village and many of the buildings seemed as if they originally accommodated the estate workers and domestic staff from nearby Buscot Park (we are guessing this of course).

Oh good, is this the Radnor Arms? “Is it open?” Known for its in-house micro-brewery. Why Radnor Arms? What is the connection to mid-Wales? Time to call it a day and have a rest and a drink or two (or four as it turned out).

Coleshill at last

In the end we rated this pub as 7 out of 10, pleasant enough and the beer was good but in a home-brew sense. We decided that as there was no bus back from Coleshill and we were so out of practice we would call for a taxi and were eventually whisked back to Swindon railway station. Fare was reasonable as the taxi had been in Highworth. T forgot to tip the driver – sorry.

This could be the last time we see Swindon for quite a while as next time we approach the walk from the Oxfordshire side and don’t expect to see Swindon on the Seven Shires again.

In summary: A pleasant day and short walk, in fact our shortest leg so far, 6.54 miles! The day of the (three) Rs; Railway delays, Roves farm, Radnor Arms and recognition that when we don’t walk every few weeks we get rusty! (That’s more than three.)