17/12/24 - The Old Swan, Minster Lovell

Myths and Ruins

Why walk along the River Windrush, when you can walk in it? The aftermath of Storm Darragh in full evidence on this short walk that packs plenty.

I'm here for two reasons;

Reason 1: A mercy mission to fetch a student in the final throes of his PHD for a permanent(?) return to Worcestershire. I am sure he will find another course to do before long.

Reason 2: Episode 5 of the Loremen Podcast is about the mystery of Minster Lovell. Surprisingly, a part of the Cotswolds previously unvisited. I love a good ruin.

Bonus Adventure Lab Cache at Minster Lovell Hall

The legend that made the Podcast;

Francis Lovell's story is intertwined with the Wars of the Roses, a series of dynastic conflicts in 15th-century England between the Houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose) vying for the throne. Lovell was a staunch supporter of the Yorkist King Richard III. After Richard's defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the Lancastrian Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. Two years later, Lovell participated in a Yorkist uprising that culminated in the Battle of Stoke Field. Following the Yorkist defeat there, Lovell vanished. Legend has it he returned to his estate, Minster Lovell Hall, and hid in a secret room, relying on a single servant for sustenance. When the servant died unexpectedly, Lovell was trapped and starved to death. Centuries later, during renovations, a vault was supposedly discovered containing a skeleton seated at a table with a dog's skeleton, believed to be the remains of the ill-fated Lord Lovell, forever linked to the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses.

A "doors open" Church requiring investigation.

Baron Lovell Effigy

Onward, for the walk.  An easy out and back along (and in) the River Windrush to Crawley.

River Windrush - not meat to be this wide.

Refreshment at the wonderfully evocative Old Swan. C15th, Grade I listed. I still find it an honour that for a tad over a fiver, I can sit in a Chesterfield armchair with a pint of North Cotswold Windrush Ale, completing their Times Sudoku Super Fiendish for as long as I like. Stone flagged floors and a huge fireplace. Gripes? Would have been nice to have the fire lit.

River lapping at the door

Even the rucksack gets a comfy chair

All set to pack the car to the rafters. What on earth does a student do with a string of industrial grade fairy lights? And when did he take up tennis?

Walk Details 

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 7 and an ALC

Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast and Jarrold Cotswold Walks, Walk 1

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford, Long Compton, Swinbrook

22/07/24 - Thames Path from Kennington, Oxfordshire

Lunchtime at a Hungry Horse

More Thames loveliness from one of my favourite references - Walks Along the Thames Path.

Thames Signage showing progress

We are now south of Oxfordshire, walking from previously unvisited Kennington. I had no idea what to expect from the pub that provided parking, The Tandem. I cannot remember the last time I Hungry Horsed.

Post Walk Refreshments

The footpath is picked up from the car park - across the railway line and onto undeveloped land on both sides of the river. There is one prominent building on Rose Isle and then a pub/houses at Sandford on Thames. It's mainly us, waterfowl and the Thames lapping scarily high at the bank tops.

Rose Isle

Kings Head at Sandford 

A few weirs, one known as the Sandford Lasher. Notable for taking the lives of several Oxford undergraduates over the years. Described in Jerome's 3 men in a boat as a "good place to drown yourself". There is a memorial obelisk in the centre of the weir, where he further comments; 

'the steps of the obelisk are generally used as a diving-board by young men now who wish to see if the place really IS dangerous.'

Humanity in a sentence.

We leave the Thames at Radley Boat House - the local school, whose grounds we walk through after lashings of ginger beer at the community village shop. A mixture of playing fields, woodland and crops.

Thankful for the pub

Back to the pub..... workmen taking advantage of all day breakfasts. Pensioners starting the week with a Monday bang. A little AI research gives the background on its unique name;

The Tandem Pub in Kennington, Oxfordshire, has a rich history that dates back to the 18th century. Originally built as a house, it has a stone inscribed with the date 1770 and the initials T.W., indicating it was constructed by Timothy West. In the 18th century, it was known as "The Fish" and served as a resting point for people, particularly students from Oxford University, who would stop by with their horses.

By the 19th century, it had become popular for university students who enjoyed driving their horses in tandem, which led to its renaming as "The Tandem." This name change reflected its role as a place where students could keep and harness a second horse for their drives, which was restricted within the city limits of Oxford.

The pub underwent significant rebuilding and enlargement in 1939, preserving its historical foundation while updating its structure. Today, it is a family-friendly pub under the Hungry Horse brand, maintaining its place as a local favorite while also catering to modern tastes and conveniences​

Walk Details

Distance - 6.5miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - Walks Along the Thames Path, Walk 8

 

21/07/24 - The Swan, Swinbrook, Oxfordshire

They need to up their biscuit game

Episode 4 of the Loremen podcast and a not particularly dramatic account of the Highwaymen of Swinbrook. A village more closely associated with Nazi sympathisers. Whilst getting our bearings we are instantly accosted by a gentleman asking us if we know where the Mitford graves are. We do, and we will get to them later.

First, the Highwaymen story;

In 1806, the locals of Swinbrook noticed something peculiar about the new tenants of Swinbrook Manor. The once-wealthy Fettiplace family, who had built the grand manor and contributed significantly to the community, had fallen on hard times. With their fortune dwindled and the male line extinct, the elderly Miss Fettiplaces decided to rent out the manor and move to a nearby cottage.

Mr. Freeman, a wealthy London gentleman, soon moved into Swinbrook Manor with a retinue of servants. Despite his unclear source of wealth, he quickly gained popularity by hosting lavish parties for the local gentry. However, around the same time, a series of highway robberies began on the Oxford-Gloucester road. These robberies, while not close to Swinbrook, made nighttime travel perilous.

Suspicion grew as the Freeman household exhibited odd behavior. The servants were rough and uncouth, and the household seemed perpetually tired, as if they had late nights. A stable boy noticed that horses put to bed well-groomed were found exhausted and muddy in the morning, but he was warned to mind his own business and stay out of the manor.

The truth emerged dramatically when a botched robbery led to the capture of one of the robbers, who turned out to be Freeman's butler. It was revealed that Freeman and his household were a gang of highwaymen who had relocated to Swinbrook to avoid capture. Freeman and his butler were tried and hanged for highway robbery, and the stable boy proudly kept their pistols as a memento.  

The walk is a fine ramble across arable land, two crossings of the river Windrush and taking in the villages of Asthall and Widford.

Evidence of the highwaymen is rare. The manor house was next to Swinbrook church but was pulled down after Freeman was executed. There is plenty of evidence of the Fettiplaces.

Swinbrook Church

Fettiplace Memorial

More Fettiplaces

More Fettiplaces

The Church Micro Geocache takes me to the more famous to Daily Mail Readers, Mitford sisters.

Front 3 - Nancy, Unity, Diana

Nancy Mitford (1904-1973)

Nancy was a novelist and biographer known for her witty novels about upper-class life, such as "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate." She also wrote acclaimed biographies, including one on Louis XIV. Nancy spent much of her later life in France and was a beloved literary figure.

Unity Mitford (1914-1948)

Unity was a fervent supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, causing a scandal in Britain. She moved to Germany in the 1930s and developed a close relationship with Hitler. After Britain declared war on Germany, she attempted suicide, resulting in brain damage. She returned to England and lived quietly until her death in 1948.

Diana Mitford (1910-2003)

Diana was known for her beauty and controversial political beliefs. She left her first husband for British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. Diana and Mosley married in Germany in 1936, with Hitler as a guest at their wedding. During World War II, both were interned by the British government due to their fascist sympathies. After the war, she lived a quieter life, writing her autobiography "A Life of Contrasts."

A lot of history for a blog. Onto the pub.

The Swan is just around the corner, a very typical C17th award winning gastropub.

Mrs M at the Swan 

Dining Pub of the Covid Years

Mrs M requests a flat white and I check out the beer options. Clarkson's Hawstone Lager and Cider found on draught in the wild for the first time. But I was never going to turn down a North Cotswold Brewery Best Bitter - even at the expense of my old favourite, TT Landlord.

Perfect session bitter

Mrs M not impressed with the lack of Biscoff accompanying the hot drink. Sulkily she laments "forget about being dining pub of the year, they need to up their biscuit game"

Toilet art work providing her TripAdvisor review title.

Walk Details

Distance - 4.75 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast Episode 4 and Discover the Cotswolds, Walk 11

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford, Long Compton

06/05/24 - Chiltern Chain Summary

 

Distance walked on Circular Walks - 254.5
Geocaches Found - 191
Stages Completed In - 20
Start - Dunstable Downs - 26/08/18
Finish - Goring - 06/05/24

I stumbled on the Chiltern Chain Walk through Google. Its not an official Long Distance Path but has been meticulously put together and documented by someone called Pete. He created a route that covers the length of the Chilterns AONB through 20 Circular Walks that are ever so slightly interconnected, so a chain is formed. He writes;

I don’t really expect anybody else to walk the Chiltern Chain Walk, and I don’t intend to do much to publicise it. It was simply a challenge for my own purposes, to plan, design and create a long-distance path and then walk it. However, I have documented the route, by writing reasonably detailed route descriptions for each of the 20 walks. I would hope that maybe one or two people might find some of the walks of sufficient interest that they would do them themselves – indeed, I think that some of the walks are so good that it would be a shame if nobody else ever tried them. 

Sounds like he handn't budgeted on people like me having time on my hands.  So thanks Pete - appreciate your diligence in putting this together.

The route and the interconnected 20 routes

Highlights

The Chilterns provided fine walking and the walks - between 10 and 15 miles - provided enough justification to warrant the fuel to get down there.

The website was informative, well written and although .GPX files were not available, on-line resources allow the easy conversion of Google .KML files.

The Ridgeway was revisited, which is always a pleasure to walk. Ivinghoe Beacon a highlight.

Lots of pretty villages - Chesham, Chenies, West Wycombe, Amersham, Hambleden and Goring to name a few. The pubs were often ancient and full of character. The beer a touch more pedestrian, with lots of Brakspear.

Cache laden routes - often stumbling on some great circular trails, which probably had the CO wondering why I had only found a percentage of those available. A few ALCs in the villages, keeping the numbers up.

Lowlights

Lots of woodland. The footpaths through them were perfect for walking but disappointing for photographs.

The Stages

Stage 1 - The Dunstable Downs

Stage 2 - Studham

Stage 3 - Ivinghoe

Stage 4 - Pitstone Hill

Stage 5 - Wendover Woods

Stage 6 - Buckland Common

Stage 7 - Chesham

Stage 8 - Chenies

Stage 9 - Chalfont St Giles

Stage 10 - Amersham

Stage 11 - Prestwood

Stage 12 - Princes Risborough

Stage 13 - Parslows Hillock

Stage 14 - West Wycombe

Stage 15 - Hambleden

Stage 16 - Cowleaze Woods

Stage 17 - Christmas Common

Stage 18 - Stoke Row

Stage 19 - Exlade Street

Stage 20 - Goring

The Flickr Album

06/05/24 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 20 - Goring

The End of this Particular Road

The final stage of the Chiltern Chain Walk. Nearly 6 years ago, I set off on the Dunstable Downs, aiming to complete these series of interconnected walks at a rate of 4 per year. Not quite hitting the target but a fair effort considering the journey lengths involved.

An early start to Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. End of the Ridgeway and staring at Berkshire on the other side of an odd little wooden and concrete bridge. The Catherine Wheel or Miller of Mansfield identified for post ramble celebration.

The Berkshire / Oxfordshire Divide

Head east out of the village. A heavily laden cache trail providing entertainment through the downs and into Great Chalk Wood. Yep, the first half of this walk is all woodland. Said it many times on this trail - great walking but dull photos.

The terrain changes as we reach Mapledurham. Alas, its a dead end lane into the village, otherwise I would have been able to embed a YouTube from the 1976 film, The Eagle has Landed. I've been before and with 13.5 miles the longest walk in 2024, I couldn't afford to add anything extra.

Instead, its west, through the grounds of Hardwick House but never getting a clear view from close to bring a photo. Lunch stop on a bench on the outskirts of Whitchurch-on-Thames. A final push along the geocache heavy Thames Path back to Goring.

Little to photo - but here is a WW2 Pillbox guarding the Thames

Into the village on wobbly legs. The Catherine Wheel is a Brakspear pub, which has become the theme of these latter stages of CCW. I try my luck for a better pint but probably a worse pub at the Miller of Mansfield.

The Miller of Mansfield

All too Gastro for my liking. But its a bit fur coat and no knickers. 14 years ago  I stayed here for work and my double room - immaculately decorated - had no door for the en-suite. Hardly inspiring a romantic getaway.

Today, after battling for service with a man rather annoyed he had been served smelly fish - I find a decent pint of Renegade Good Old Boy. I even manage to get it topped up to the King's Pint by using only my eyes.

God, I am good at pubbing.

A chance to reflect on another goal ticked off.

Time to set a new one.

Good Old Boy

Walk Information

Distance - 13.5 Miles

Geocaches - 22 

Walk Inspiration

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19

07/04/24 - Burford - On the Trail of Tom, Dick and Harry Dunsdon

 The Dandy Highwaymen

My second walk inspired by the Loremen Podcast, where the hosts share (and debunk) folklore.  This time, going back to the C18th and the story of the original Tom, Dick and Harry.

The picturesque village of Fulbrook, a mile north of Burford, was the birthplace of three of the Wychwood forest's most notorious robbers.

The Dunsdon brothers, Tom, Dick and Harry, used a cottage across the country border in Icomb, Gloucestershire as a base from which to commit a number of crimes in the Burford area.

They specialised in burglary, theft and highway robbery, once holding up the Oxford to Gloucester coach and stealing £500, a fortune in their day.

The key locations of their lives easily adaptable into an 11 mile Cotswold romp, using pretty Burford as the base.

Their Home Village 

The three brothers were born in Fulbrook, about a mile from Burford. Reached towards the end of the walk, it consists of a main road, a slightly off-centre church and a coaching house.

Good Beer Guide Pubs available in Burford

Crime Scene

Loose lips sink ships and in this case, lose limbs. The three brothers plotted the robbery of Tangley Hall at their local, the Bird in Hand. News got through to the owners, who were prepared for the raid. 

Dick attempted to reach through a judas hole in the front door to get access to the lock. The residents were ready for them and roped his arm, forcing Dick to shout "Cut It".  He must have meant the rope, but in Chuckle Brothers style, his brothers lopped his arm off. Dick was never seen again,.

Tangley Hall is a remote farmhouse located about 4 miles north of Burford in quiet woodland, accessible by public footpaths.

All quiet at Tangley Hall 

AI insists the Dunsdons were the inspiration for Harry Enfield's The Scousers

Another Crime Scene and the Gibbet Tree

1784 and the two surviving brothers are back at their favourite watering hole for the Whitsuntide Festival. A bet with the Landlord for a sack of potatoes goes wrong and one of the brothers shoots the Governor. Everyone loves chips, but this is too much. The brothers were arrested, sent to Gloucester for a hanging sentence and their bodies gibbeted to serve as a warning to others. Their initials and the date were carved (and frequently recarved) into the tree until the Internet arrived and we had other ways of telling stories.

The landlord survived, with the bullet hitting a lucky coin in his waistcoat.

But this is the C18th. You shoot the most important man in society and you're going to have your rotting body hung in a tree as tourist attraction.

For the walk's benefit, evidence remains to be linked into the route.

The Bird in Hand is long gone. Not even detailed on www.beerintheevening.com. It was located on Capp's Lodge Plain - with the farmhouse building serving as inn and in more recent times, a smallpox hospital. But look closely at the OS map, and the Gibbet Tree is clearly marked.

Highlighted in Yellow

I remembered my Telephoto lens

If the Internet contains one type of person, its the amateur sleuth. You can search on the Dudsdons and the Gibbet Tree and follow wormholes that tell that even though it is on private land, there used to be a Geocache (archived, 2015). Many photos of the tree through the seasons but this one from a few years ago of most interest;

Tom, the most prominent remaining mark

Hauntings

The story goes on - on the way from taking the bodies from Gloucester to the Gibbet Tree, the coach drivers stopped for a pint at the George Inn in Burford. In a world of perpetual change, its good that some traditions survive. The brothers were known to drink there themselves and their spirits followed  for a last pint. Strange sounds and inexplicable happenings have been reported in the building since the C18th. The restless ghosts of Tom and Harry are hopefully more active now the George has been converted into an antique shop.

Things will go bump in the night until it comes back as a 'spoons

Other Stuff in Burford

Its a charming little town - think Broadway but with more traffic.  A single lane, pedestrian unfriendly bridge causing the bottleneck. Legends about the spirit of Lady Tanfield captured in a bottle and thrown in the stream below. She will remain trapped in the first bridge arch below until the Windrush dries up. Little chance of that, in this dampest of global warming winters.  

More credible stories about the three Levellers executed and buried in the church yard. I know there weren't as good as the New Model Army, but the irony that it was Cromwell who ordered this.

Tombs and effigys aplenty inside

Three of the Levellers

The best of the architecture and away from the traffic, is in Sheep Street.

The Good Beer Guide Pubs

An 11 mile walk demands refreshment and the bible details two watering holes.  A half in each and the hope of a Sunday lunch that isn't a Sunday lunch.  A sandwich will suffice.

The Angel is a pretty little Hook Norton House. A Gastropub, with every table setup for dining.  A friendly landlord offering to move cutlery for a hard core half of Old Hooky drinker like myself.  I couldn't trouble him, so I moved to the sheltered beer garden to keep out the way.

Will Sir be dining?

You are never sure what you are going to find in a Greene King.  Alas, I will never find out with The Golden Pheasant looking like the landlord did a midnight flit.  A blow to the Burford comedy scene for sure.

Dubious Ticks Committee notified

Will I be the first to notify Pubs Galore?

The Mermaid opposite also recently closed. The staff at the Cotswold Arms lamenting the lack of pub love in this part of the world, whilst also offering a fine steak and mushroom baguette.

Walk Details

Distance - 11 miles

Walk Inspiration - Locations from the Loreman Podcast, Episode 2

Geocaches - 1 and an Adventure Lab Cache in Burford

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill

30/03/24 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 19 - Exlade Street

 Woodland walking for a Gastropub with poor quality control

An 11 mile romp through South Oxfordshire, almost entirely in woodland. Pleasant enough at the time, but hardly providing interest for a blog. It's the penultimate stage of the Chiltern Chain Walk, so recorded for my own completeness only.

I start in Exlade Street. To provide an indication of scale, the Wikipedia page describes it as a hamlet that was significantly reduced in size when two house burned down. There is a pub, the Highwayman, that I make payment for use of their car park through post walk refreshment.

Looks like the Highwayman has already been on the rob

Soon into woodland, where I remain for day. Blair Witch vibes, with very few encounters with sentient life of any kind.

Today's Vista

Soon back at Stage 18's Stoke Row. Brakspear beers not enticing enough to convince me to revisit the Cheery Tree but walking further along the row, I take a pause at today's only item of interest. The Maharajah's Well - dug by two men to a depth of twice that of Nelson's Column over a year. In an act of international charity setting a precedent for Idi Amin's aid the winter of disconnect, paid for by an act of charity by Indian aristocracy in 1864.

The Canopy

In a blog of few highlights, I bring you a guilded elephant

Surprisingly, I turn down a visit to the Black Horse in Checkendon. Not necessarily because Whatpub states that the beer is on gravity dispense. More because I was excited at the trail of a number of mystery caches that I had quickly solved before heading down.

Back to the Highwayman - car park now full and people have to work hard to get here, so it must have something to offer punters.

C17th Original

Its a gastropub that doesn't do the sandwich that I am after. Instead, I can order off the nibbles section. Alas, they have sold out of £8.25 scotch eggs. Some would say that this is saving me from myself, but having been resigned to ordering mini chedders, I was upsold to Dick Turpin Loaded Fries.

Cue jokes that at least Dick wore a mask.

Beerwise, its nice to see some Locale Ales....  Marlow Rebellion bringing back fond memories of the Northern sections of the London Countryway walk. Renegade Good Old Boy was chosen.

Lifting to my nose was all I needed to tell me it was off. Leading to the frisson of sending it back and counter arguing a defence for "Its meant to smell like that".

Initial relief that it was instantly declared end of the barrel, leading me to be rather annoyed they tried to palm it off on me in the first place.

The replacement, after a barrel change

Walk Information

Distance - 11 Miles

Geocaches - 12 

Walk Inspiration

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18

28/12/23 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 18 - Stoke Row

 Remote Brakspear Pubs in Oxfordshire

With just two stages of the Chiltern Chain Walk to go, I am reaching the far western extremities. I'm also revisiting the Ridgeway but remembering little. Did I really have to walk across a golf course on Nuffield Common? How is that the three miles of Grim's Ditch seems so unfamiliar?

Thank God I blog.

Today's walk starts at the hamlet of Stoke Row. The Cherry Tree Inn to be exact.  From there, its the usual Chilterns loveliness. The flint ground coping with the wet weather better than yesterday's Warwickshire mudfest. Fine tracks, woodland that makes for good walking but poor photos and a distinct lack of anything interesting to report.

Items of most interest.....  A potential refreshment stop at Nettlebed's Cheese Shed. Geocaching on the Ridgeway. An unexpected WWII Aircraft Crash site that has an interesting modern story of remembrance.

Enough Cheese was consumed on Xmas night.... no need for the Cheese Shed

Geocaches make happy homes for snails

Loss of all life, after clipping Ipsden Church on a test flight

Which leaves the pubs. I'm in the heart of Brakspear Country. Their website gives little away as to where they now brew following a Fullers move in the early 2000s. They sold the brewing business to concentrate on the pub real estate. It appears they do now have a small brewery in Henley on Thames, although no idea what is produced there. From their website, I learn more about the only English Pope (1154, Nicholas Brakspear) than the fact that they moved brewing to Wychwood (RIP), subsequently conglomerated into Marstons. 

Despite the only two cask beers on gravity pour at the King William IV in Hailey, I shall be forever grateful for getting me out of the rain. As if by design, the heavens open just as I reach the door.  The only way to stop this is for me to have a half and don full top and bottom hard shells. Not a drop fell for the rest of the walk, as I rustled my way back to Stoke row.

A pub in splendid isolation

My half of "Oh Be Joyful" and the gravity racked barrels it came from

In a world of change, Quinno's pubsgalore review from 2018 stills holds true;

A wonderfully located rural pub in the Chilterns with the front garden affording a lovely view of the rolling hills, fussing farmers and wandering wildlife. There are three distinct areas inside after entering through the porch, with most of it given over to dining though drinkers can imbibe on the left-hand side. Décor notes - red and black chequerboard tiled floor, exposed brick, inglenook fireplace, brasses. Having been forewarned that the beer quality was ‘variable’ I was prepared for the two Brakspear ales on gravity…and inevitably my Hooray was flat and not overly enjoyable (ever heard of a hard spile?). It's worth a visit for the location for sure, but it isn’t anywhere in the league of a true rural gem like the Bell at Aldworth.

Fortified for the final three miles and the Old Cherry Inn - a similarly grand country pub, trading mostly on dining.  Dating from the 1830s - a nice history write up here.... although they fail to mention it was once owned by Carol Decker from T'Pau.

Big Van with the Hobgoblin doing deliveries on my arrival

A comfy chair, in front of a wood burning open fire was just the ticket after 13 long miles.

Even with an Oxford Gold.  

Walk Information

Distance - 13 Miles

Geocaches - 10 

Walk Inspiration

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17