Broughton to Sibford Gower– Friday 6 May 2016
Keen followers will remember that we started on this cross
Cotswold trek back in February however a combination of family
responsibilities, bad colds, coughs, work commitments and unlucky weather
through the colder than average Spring meant that we were not able to get
started until now, three months later. In the meantime we undertook a series of
“training” walks that have been collectively remembered in the previous posts
for 18 March, and 5, 11 and 18 April.
The usual CrossCountry train to Banbury (starting from
Reading for T and picking up P & N in Oxford), on a warm May day. First
decision was to either wait for a bus or take a taxi. We decided upon the
latter and were whisked to Broughton in a white Mercedes to start outside the
Saye and Sele pub at 10:45.
Broughton Park |
The day looked promising as we headed west from the
entrance to Broughton castle (open at weekends and recently featured on BBC
Gardener's World on 6 May.) Across
Broughton park to the site of an old fulling mill north east of Tadmarton. This
was the first time we three had met since February so there was a lot of recent
history and respective family news to catch up on. We were soon heading along a
small lane watching a large tractor spray a wheat crop for mildew(?).
Roman ruins (?), Swalcliffe Lea |
Suprising
amount of traffic on such a small lane. As we approached Swalcliffe Lea a lady
motorist slowed down, lowered the electric window and reminded us to look at
the Roman ruins (Grid Ref: SP3913 3848). The route we were on was originally
the course of a Roman road.
We found a small excavation beside the road with
some exposed stones. Took a photo and moved on. “Probably the agger of the
road” said an unimpressed P. “Not a patch on Time Team”.
It was about midday, time for the first snack of the day. We
stopped below Madmarston Hill and opened up the packed lunches. P cracked open
what he thought was his hard boiled egg only to discover that he had picked up
a fresh egg. For the sake of the publication we have had to scramble the
expletives uttered. Needless to say there was scrambled egg all over the place!
P was then consigned to eating lettuce sandwiches sans oeuf.
Countryside near the egg incident |
After the egg incident
we carried on past Farmington farm and by-passed Epwell. (From what we
remembered when we last passed this way in 2012 Epwell was the village with a
pub (Chandler's Arms) with restricted opening times, it was also the village of
the mad cow (see our Seven Shires Way post, Stage 2, from 21 September 2012.
Ditchedge Lane (was a salt route) |
Over the B4035 at Sibford Heath and joined the Macmillan
Way, to be greated by a road sign declaring that the Chandler's Arms pub in
Epwell was now open every day. Never mind we we getting tired and hungry and
found a spot on the Ditchedge lane to finish off our lunches. N has his usual
sushi combinations which made a contrast to T's non-lettuce salad, Wensleydale
cheese rolls and P's afore mentioned lettuce-on-home-made bread creations. Just
as we settled we had to move to make way for an enormous tractor and trailer of
muck. Luckily the trailer didn't lurch on the uneven surface and cover us with
muck.
Ironstone country |
We then left the path and turned south east towards Sibbford
Gower, through a very muddy section of path and then up the hill into SG. It
was around 2:45pm. After some fiddling about trying to get a signal N phoned
the same taxi to take us back to Banbury. The 50A bus serves the village but
would have involved waiting an hour and a half. It was school pick up time and
a waiting parent or teacher suggested to
N that we ask the taxi to collect from outside the village hall. Probably a
wise suggestion as a large coach and numerous Discoveries, Troopers and Range
Rovers then occupied all road space to collect their young passengers.
Taxi duly arrived and we shot back to Banbury. The driver
appeared to run his whole business from the driver's seat phoning colleagues,
and distributing jobs and taking calls. He dropped us at the Bell Inn in the
Grimsbury district of Banbury (see our post of 4 January 2013, Seven shires Way
Stage 5). A pleasant pint of Arkells and back on the train to Oxford and Reading.
Wont be back this way for some time.
Well we managed 7 miles. “Why are we so tired?” “It was
the hills!”. A lovely Spring day (at last). Good to be back in the Cotswolds.
How do we summarise the day? Egg-ceptional!
Sibford Ferris from Sibford Gower |