Third side: Silchester to
Bicester (Alchester)
11.
Padworth Common to Bradfield – 23 March 2012, 9.17
miles (14.8km)
Another month had passed before
we set off on stage 11. Bus from Reading and a walk of nearly 2km back to where
we had left off in February. We carried on through the forested area which by
now was showing signs of spring with primroses and deciduous trees coming into
leaf. We eventually came to Ufton Court (SU6259 6674) an Elizabethan house.
This is now an educational charity. T’s daughter went there on a residential
school trip when they were “doing the Tudors” at primary school. We continued
west to Old farm and were within 500m of the route we had followed on stage 10
on our way to Silchester.
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Oak tree, Ufton Green
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The path then headed towards Ufton Green slowly
descending towards the Kennet valley again. We crossed the river and then the
K&A canal and walked over the Ufton Nervet level crossing, SU6167 6880. A major
train crash happened here on 6 November 2004. Seven people were killed
including the suicide victim who had parked his car on the crossing. Four more
fatalities were to occur at the crossing before an over bridge to replace the level
crossing was completed in 2016. We walked up to the busy A4 and heeding the
advice in the book crossed the road carefully. This place also has a tragic
story being where the murder of PC Andrew Harper occurred on 15 August 2019. We
stopped in the Winning Hand pub at the road junction SU6137 6900, nothing
special and surprisingly empty for a Friday lunchtime. Bit of a road trudge
going uphill to Lambden’s farm and then downhill, along Webb’s Lane to cross a
small stream that is The Bourne. The path then continued up to Bradfield
Southend. The path dodged around rather nice houses (lots of money around here)
and headed across fields of horses and small woods towards the valley of the
Pang River. The path then took us into Bradfield which is a small village
dominated by Bradfield School. There is an impressive sports centre used by
Berkshire county-level sports of various persuasions and a Greek theatre! We
were in good time so rested on a grass slope (SU6054 7263) in the afternoon sun
before catching the bus back into Reading.
12.
Bradfield to Aston Tirrold – 13 April 2012, 11.5
miles (18.5km)
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Bluebells, Ashampstead
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Change of rendezvous point. This
time the four of us met at Pangbourne Station and took a taxi to Bradfield. It
was a pleasant spring day and we made good progress across the water meadows of
the Pang River to pick up a well waymarked route heading north towards the M4.
We were slowly climbing up the Berkshire Downs again but this time most of the
route was in woodland, a mix of beech woods and conifer plantations quite a
contrast to the open down land further west.
We crossed over the M4 on a foot
bridge and pushed onto Ashampstead. This appeared to be an attractive village,
miles from anywhere. The guide book recommended having a look at St Clement’s
church (SU5642 7680) with its wooden bell tower and what are claimed to be some
of the most magnificent medieval wall paintings. We continued northwards past
pretty cottages in Ashampstead Green and into the woods again.
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St Clement's church, Ashhampstead
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We emerged into
an attractive dry valley (SU5604 7777) so stopped for a mid-morning snack to
enjoy the view and “recharge our batteries”.
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Beche Park- recharge time
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After what seemed a long 2km
through Burnett’s Copse and Parsonage Green we arrived in Aldworth and just had
to call into the Bell Inn, SU5558 7965. We had been here before and P often
takes guests there as a destination for long rambles from home. We sat in the
garden and enjoyed good beer and a pleasant location, certainly rates 8-9 out
of 10. The afternoon walk over more open country was familiar. On a historical
note it is believed that the area north of Starveall (SU5457 8092) towards the
Ridgeway was the battleground of Ashdown AD871 when the Saxons led by Ethelred
defeated the Danes.
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Chilterns from the Ridgeway
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We crossed over the Ridgeway and passed below Lowbury Hill
(more history here in the form of a Romano-British temple near the summit.)
This area was familiar to us having been walked over on our Ridgeway Walk and we
were to see it again when we did the Seven Shires Way.
We had now reached the
crest of the Berkshire Downs and it was a steady descent downhill past fields
of pig enclosures above Chalk Hill Bottom to cross the A417 and into Aston
Tirrold.
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Chalk Hill Pigs
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The route actually passed P’s house so we were welcomed in and had
afternoon tea/coffee. This had been a long walk with plenty of contrasts,
scenery and climbs. The rest and refreshments were much appreciated. P gave us
a lift to Didcot station where N returned to Oxford and T&S returned to
Reading.
13.
Aston Tirrold to Warborough – 4 May 2012, 9.41
miles (15.1km)
Transport
arrangements were to meet up at Cholsey station where P met us and took us back
to Aston Tirrold where we could start the walk and perversely walk back to
Cholsey. Well we wanted to keep to the route as closely as possible. P knew the
way (it was his patch after all). The route followed a good path past
Lollingdon Farm. We met a group of ladies out for a walk heading towards the
Astons. This was unusual as we don’t very often meet other walkers. Now that we
now walk on Mondays we meet even fewer people. The path took us under the main
GWR railway and then under the branch line to Wallingford, known locally as
“The Bunk”. T’s brother M who was a train driver had been in the HST 125 that had
been shunted onto the branch line to stage publicity shots for the HST service.
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Agatha Cristie grave, Cholsey
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The path goes uphill slightly to St Mary’s church, Cholsey and we detoured into
the church yard to see Agatha Christie’s grave (SU5829 8700.) Adjacent to the
church yard is Manor Farm with its Great Barn (SU5835 8717) which, according to
the Guide book, was built in the 12th/13th centuries and was
the largest in England. Our route then went over Cholsey Hill and down into the
soggy area of the Mill Brook. It had been a very wet spring and the footpath
towards Mackney was heavy with mud and difficult to follow. Mackney was, by all
accounts, where Em & Ken (Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh), had their
honeymoon. That’s a long time ago now. We were still in P territory so he
suggested stopping at the Red Lion in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. We were struck by
the friendliness of this “Community” pub, not only could you get a drink but
there was a Library, they sold local produce and it was a space for all sorts
of local groups to gather and meet. Found our way through the back alleys of
Brightwell and onto the course of a Roman Road over the Sinodun Hills to the
east of Brightwell Barrow.
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Just North of Brightwell
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Further west are the landmark hills of Wittenham
Clumps through that strictly refers to the trees on the top. Another name
(according to the guide book is “Mother Dunch’s Buttocks”. We found a sheltered
spot that was relatively dry and had our respective lunches but we can’t
remember if it was with a view back the way we had come or over the River Thames
to the north.
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Shillingford Bridge
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We dropped down towards the river and walked to Shillingford
Bridge and crossed over the bridge to walk through Shillingford village
(hamlet) and up to the A4074 in Warborough. We decided that as the Thames was
out of bank it wouldn’t be possible to carry onto Dorchester-on-Thames. So we
called it a day. N took the Thames Travel to Oxford and P, S and T caught the
X39 bus from the other side of the road to Wallingford and Reading.
14.
Dorchester to Oxford (Thornhill) – 1 June 2012,
11.6 miles (18.6km)
Met up at the bus stop on the Dorchester By-pass
(A4074). Headed north through Berinsfield past Little Baldon (site of a fatal
air crash of a RAF Handley Page Hastings on 6 July 1965 - all 41 people aboard,
including six crew, perished in the crash, making it the third worst air crash
in the United Kingdom at the time).
Crossed over the Shakespeare Way in the
Baldons, last saw that in March 2010. T took a wrong turn so we ended up seeing
the delightful church at Toot Baldon again. Planned to have a pub stop in
Garsington but could not find the one and only pub that is now open the others
have been closed. To avoid further fruitless detours we decided to press onto Horsepath
across a field of fodder beans and under the dismantled railway line that used
to connect Oxford to Thame.
The Chequers-Taste of India was open. Nothing
special but it did have London Pride on tap. After a refreshing drink we
climbed up Shotover easily and had a late packed lunch on the top of Shotover
Hill (SP5638 0619) with a view of the BMW-Mini factory. Descended via
"Narnia" (past C S Lewis’s house) skirted Risinghurst estate and
walked to the Park & Ride at Thornhill for a bus ride into Oxford. Stopped
off at White Horse in Broad Street (HQ) for a final pint before dispersing
home. Forgot the camera sorry - no pictures.
15.
Oxford (Thornhill Park & Ride) to Alchester
(Wendlebury Stables, near Bicester) – 29 June 2012, 11.5 miles, (15.5km)
The day started with drizzle but soon improved to a
lovely sunny day with a good breeze, great for walking. Set off from Thornhill at
10:15 and went through the various Barton housing estates. N explained that
trainers hanging from overhead wires indicated that drugs were available (is
that true?)
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Looking back towards Shotover
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Path then headed north up a gentle slope towards Beckley. We
stopped off at the Abingdon Arms in Beckley, last visited it in October 2008
while on the Oxfordshire Way. We rated it as 6/10. Interesting contrast from
the outskirts of Barton and its post-war prefabs (now much altered) to Beckley
that looks nearly Cotswold like. Great views from Beckley north and south
(that’s why the TV transmitter is there). Managed to cross Otmoor following the
Roman Road for much of the way. There was no firing on the range – well there
were no red flags flying.
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Otmoor - starting to get boggy
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Boggy in places and T forgot to read about the advice
in the book which said to divert around a particularly boggy stretch. At one
point we were up to our knees in water. Fencott had the look of a Fenland
village. Both the villages of Fencott and Merton were rather dismal and
appeared to have no soul with no pubs or shops. Just commuter villages for
Oxford and the M40 corridor. After crossing the noisy M40 came to a field of
extremely inquisitive bullocks. Combined with T getting the wrong compass
bearing we ended up spending too much time with our inquisitive bovine friends.
Some of the herd were emboldened to have a go at charging us which required
quite a bit of shouting to move them to a distance we felt happy about.
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Friendly cattle?
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Eventually found the footbridge over the River Ray and tracked through a field
of forage beans to Merton. Past Wendlebury Stables and its fields of horses
decked out in fly hoods.
Carried on across the Oxford to Bicester railway (at
that stage still to be improved to take trains from Oxford to Marylebone) to
our destination the site of the Roman Fort at Alchester (SP5724 2043).
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River Ray near Merton
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A note
scrawled in the book claims that we finished at 16:30. Not a great ending if
truth be told. It was quite warm and we were tired so we headed for the bus
stop on the A41 and a Stagecoach S5 bus back to Oxford.
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