Our Third Walk

Nuneham Courtenay -> Abingdon Lock (5.6miles)

22nd May 2010
Another baking hot day so we set off as early as possible. We parked on the main road in Nuneham Courtenay and made our way to the start of the walk. I'm sorry to say the first direction had us both stumped. It said we had to walk towards the church - but we couldn't see a church anywhere! It wasn't until we were on the other side of the field that the church came into view - a little puzzling. This part of the walk was so relaxing. A stroll along meandering country lanes, past a lovely little lake and finally heading towards the Global Retreat Centre http://www.globalretreatcentre.org/. We then walked along the back of some woods where we could see bluebells amongst the trees. We even walked under another wretched pylon and didn't complain!


Then everything changed. We came out of the woods and in front of us was the Culham Science Cente. Our instructions told us to follow the concrete path bordering the centre and so we walked and walked, with no shade and scorching heat, around a high fence, unsure if we were even going in the right direction! We asked anyone we passed if we were heading the right way and kept our fingers crossed that we would soon come to the railway bridge to move towards the river. Directions were really sketchy here and the OS map didn't really help. We only found the railway bridge by chance and the heat was quite exhausting, it seemed as if that concrete path was never going to end!

We were expecting the next part of the walk, along the River Thames, to be the most relaxing but a roaring noise was getting louder and louder and we were shocked to realise we were approaching a moto x racing circuit! It hit a crescendo as a race started just as we walked past it..... so noisy - we very quickly realised that we had come to the end of our lovely quet Sunday morning walk!


Once past the bikes, the last mile was stunning. The river was beautiful. We enjoyed waving to the passing boats and spotting the wildlife as we walked along. We soon reached Abingdon Lock - and then headed straight for the ice cream stall in the park because we were hot and exhausted!


Overall we both really enjoyed this walk. It didn't feel like we had walked over 5 miles and parts of the walk were idyllic. We would both recommend the start and the finish.... but maybe not the bit in the middle!

Ju says......

I agree that walking guidebooks can be frustratingly vague. And I wouldn't have known what a culvert was, if I hadn't once had one at the bottom of my garden! Glad you enjoyed the second leg of the Oxford Green Belt Way, despite the lack of hills...Ju

Our Second Walk

Red Lion Pub Garsington -> Nuneham Courtenay (3.2 miles)

The weather forecast predicted that Saturday 24th April would be another hot, sunny day so we set off nice and early for our second walk. We arrived at the Red Lion and expected to get started straight away but unfortunately the directions were really vague and it took us a good 5 minutes to find the 'metal post' soon after the pub! (Maybe distances in yards or metres would be easier to follow, whereas terms like 'soon' and 'in a while' are really difficult to judge).



Anyway we finally got started and made our way out of the village towards Toot Baldon. The whole walk can best be described as a procession of fields - not unpleasant but lacking in any wow factor. The big bonus for us was that it was a lot less hilly than the last walk. Directions in the book continued to be quite sketchy and we found we were often using the OS map provided to check we were on the right track.



The directions in the book told us we crossed over two culverts - I later discovered culverts are 'drains or channels passing under roads' after I looked it up in a dictionary when I got home! We also passed another huge electricity pylon.... maybe there is one on every walk!



Toot Baldon was lovely and peaceful and we stopped for a while near The Mole Inn http://moleinntootbaldon.co.uk/ to breathe in the fresh country air. The final section of the walk involved walking through more fields and closely following more hedges until we finally reached the road at Nuneham Courtenay. The whole walk took about an hour and a half and, although it was not as picturesque as the first walk, we both agreed it was a lovely, relaxing way to start the day!

Our First Walk!

Thornhill -> The Red Lion Pub at Garsington - total distance 4.4 miles

Saturday 9th April was a glorious day and the date of our first walk. We planned to leave the car at the Thornhill Park and Ride but unfortunately the whole world seemed to be taking advantage of the lovely weather and it was full. Plan B was to park in Risinghurst as close to the car park as possible... a short walk and we were soon there.


Directions were easy to follow and we found ourselves slowly climbing up and up towards Shotover Hill. First tip of the day is to wear walking boots! Even on a lovely warm spring day the ground was muddy and slippy underfoot and we were having to straddle the paths to make progress. As we got further up the hills the pathways dried out and the walking became much easier!



As we headed towards Shotover we passed loads of bluebells. In a couple of weeks, when they flower, the whole area will become a mass of colour and look stunning. Definitely worth a second visit.


We felt a real sense of achievement when we arrived at Shotover Plain but this turned to puzzlement as there were a lack of OGBS signposts through Shotover and we found directions like 'turn half right' a bit difficult to follow. Thankfully the book includes an ordinance survey map on every page so we were able to use the map instead of the directions during this section of the walk. Before we knew it we had skirted the woods and were heading towards Horspath.


As mentioned more than once already, this is a hilly walk but the views between Shotover and Garsington were stunning and it was definitely worth the effort! Enjoyed the fact that the book included some interesting, historical information about the local area.... would have liked even more! Took lots of photos but none of them really show the panoramic beauty of the area. We were able to stop for an ice cream at the village shop in Horspath which was a timely break as we were both beginning to wilt with the early Spring heat.




The final leg of the walk (still all uphill!) involved 'crossing fields' and 'passing under a rather large pylon' but we eventually made it to The Red Lion pub in Garsington.




The whole walk took us just under two hours and although it felt like we had been walking uphill all the way, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can't wait for the next one! Would love to hear from you about your walking experiences or recommend any good walks you know of around the local area...till next time!

Decisions...Decisions.........

Hello everyone!

Having walked The Ridgeway a couple of years ago, my sister-in-law and I have been desperate to find another walk that will keep us busy through the summer months. The Oxford Green Belt Way, created by CPRE Oxfordshire is a 50 mile walk around the city of Oxford and, as we both live in Oxfordshire, it fits the bill perfectly! (http://www.cpreoxon.org.uk/cpre/ways/ogbw/oxford_green_belt_way.htm)

We are using 'The Oxford Green Belt Way' paperback book published by Campaign to Protect Rural England (£5.00) as our guide. Although the book divides the circular walk into 9 smaller, much more achievable stages, we will be breaking it down even further, aiming to walk between 4 to 6 miles each outing.

We would love you to follow the highs and lows of our adventure as we attempt to complete the walk this year. Having carefully followed directions before (and managing to get completely lost) we will let you know the nitty gritty of our experiences and compare them to those promised in the book. Not always the same..!

We would also love to hear about your own walking experiences and any practical tips and comments greatly appreciated......

Wish us luck!!!