Kidlington to Woodstock – Friday 18 December 2015

When we last met in Oxford we decided to do a short walk before Christmas. So here it is. T was delegated to plan the route which had to be reasonably short due to short winter days. After various email exchanges we decided to meet in Oxford and bus out to Kidlington and follow (roughly) the route of the branch railway line from Kidlington to Woodstock. We won’t bore you with railway nerd stuff but the small branch line was opened in 1890 to connect Woodstock, primarily the Duke of Marlborough (not the pub) at Blenheim palace with the wider world. The line was closed in 1954. More details in the “Lost railways of Oxfordshire” by Terry Moors published by Countryside Books.

Track bed of old branch line

The weather was mild for December and we met at Oxford station and then walked up to the town to catch one of the frequent buses out to Kidlington. We set off from Yarnton Road, Kidlington (Grid Ref: SP4903 1349) at about 10:45 and joined the Oxford canal to head northwards along the towpath, past a variety of canal boats looking a bit grubby after several weeks of a wet and muddy winter. The tow path skirts the light industrial estate of Kidlington and is crossed by the main railway (also the line of the branch line) and then heads north towards Thrupp. Several “beer stop” scenes in the “Morse” and “Lewis” TV series have been filmed at the two pubs (The Jolly Boatman and the Boat Inn) in Thrupp and at least one fictional body has been found here. We headed on to the canal boat yard where the canal makes a 90 degree turn (SP4825 1599) and took a coffee / first sandwich of the day break on a convenient bench next to the canal and with a view of Hampton Gay church across the railway and Cherwell water meadows to the north east. The path then took a small dog-leg away from the canal before heading into the small village of Shipton-on-Cherwell. We passed a group of walkers in their best bib and tucker heading to the pub for a pre-Christmas lunch. N realised he knew some of them from Wolvercote so we exchanged seasonal best wishes and then climbed up from the canal past the small Holy Cross church. There were some keen volunteers decorating the church for the forthcoming busiest time in the church calendar. “We’ve seen more people on this walk than in several while doing the Seven Shires” remarked P.

Holy Cross church, Shipton-on-Cherwell

We headed into the village and N wondered if we might come across professional gardener L and E (wife and daughter) who were supposed to be working in a garden - there they were sweeping up leaves. Greetings all around and time for a quick chat. Both had been on walks with us in the past. E on one leg of the Oxfordshire Way and L on a couple of days when we were doing the Shakespeare and the Seven Shires ways.

Bunkers Hill

From Shipton we crossed over the line of the branch line and then followed the line of the track bed for a short distance. The line skirted the large quarry at Bunkers Hill that had once served the cement works. Both are now disused but the quarry was a scene of great activity with soil and spoil recycling activities. The neighbouring roads are now busy with tipper trucks coming and going.

Quarry activities

We crossed the old Oxford to Banbury road (A4260) with care and with the remains of the old over-bridge over the A4260 in the distance followed a course parallel to the line of the disused railway towards Woodstock. We passed Past Shipton Slade Cottages and a couple of noisy and nosey Labradors and then across the fields to Hensington, past a new housing development and into Woodstock.

It was 13:15 so time for a seasonal drink in a local pub. Better make sure our boots are clean and our trousers not too muddy. “P you've done it again, forgot to put your trousers in your socks.” “Never mind they don't look too bad.”

 

We found a pub, The Woodstock Arms (SP 4452 1675), busy with Christmas diners but there was space for drinkers, and had a couple of beers and a couple of whiskies and a chat about mutual friends and plans (or not) for Christmas and the New Year, for the record as P was driving later he did not have a much as T & N, then headed back to Oxford on the S3 bus. N was waved off at First Turn Wolvercote and P & T continued on the bus to Oxford station for Didcot and Reading respectively.  Your author doesn't remember much about the journey home - “that last one wasn't a double was it N?”

In summary, a mild but overcast winter's day. A short walk to be true, 5.3 miles but a pleasant way to get away from the Christmas fuss. We have filled-in a bit more of the gap on the map of Oxfordshire. Happy New Year and see you on the next walk.