Cross-Cotswold Pathway - Stage 2

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