23/07/17 - Wye to the Thames Summary

Number of Stages - 12
Start - Hereford on 07/05/16
Finish - Oxford on 23/07/17
Total Distance Walked -  130.5 Miles
Geocaches Found - 68


I forgotten how I found out about this walk, but there's no doubt on where I got the guide book from.  What did I used to do before eBay?

Think I paid more than £2.50 as well

Published in 1995, it details 12 walks that run between the railway stations on the Cotswold Line.

The Start is Hereford (The Wye) and the end is Oxford (The Thames).  Each stage begins at a railway station, involves a ramble ranging between 5 and 18.5 miles and then catches the train back to your starting point.  Simple but effective.

And with the exception of the industrial estate at Pershore, all of the paths remain.

Highlights
The walking is uniformly excellent and you pass through some great Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire villages/towns, with some cracking boozers.   I don't think I will ever forget nearly getting press-ganged into the Ledbury faction of the Morris Men at the Prince of Wales pub on Leg 1.

Everyone knows how good the walking is in Malvern but the qualities of Worcestershire Walking in Evesham (arrival by hand pulled ferry) and Pershore are there to be explored on this route.

This of course leads to the honeypots of the Cotswolds, including Moreton in the Marsh, the start of the Cotswold Way in Chipping Campden and Sezincote Hall.

Oxford is a fitting finale to any adventure.

Almost Joining the Morris Men in Ledbury

A Typical Cotswold Walking Vista

Lowlights
Man, they got free parking at all the stations back in the nineties.  Now you can expect to have to pay via an App or phone call.   After walking for 5 hours, its a little saddening to get whisked back to you starting point in less than 10 minutes and often paying the best part of a fiver for such a short journey.

And GWR seem to stop operating for a couple of hours at lunch time.  Time it wrong and you could be hanging around for a train for rather a while.

The Stages
Blog for each Stage.

Stage 1 - Hereford to Ledbury
Stage 2 - Ledbury to Colwall
Stage 3 - Colwall to Malvern
Stage 4 - Malvern to Worcester
Stage 5 - Worcester to Pershore
Stage 6 - Pershore to Evesham
Stage 7 - Evesham to Honeybourne
Stage 8 - Honeybourne to Moreton in Marsh
Stage 9 - Moreton in Marsh to Kingham
Stage 10 - Kingham to Charlbury
Stage 11 - Charlbury to Hanborough
Stage 12 - Hanborough to Oxford

The Photo Album on Flickr 

Flickr Album (arrows to move through photos)

23/07/17 - Wye to the Thames - Walk 12 - Hanborough to Oxford

Distance - 11.5 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8, Walk 9, Walk 10, Walk 11
Pubs - The Trout Inn, Godstow and the Perch Inn, Binsey

So the journey ends.

I found an old book that detailed 12 walks between the stations of the Cotswold Line Railway.  The plan is you start at a station, have a lovely bimble and catch the train back to your starting position.

I set off on 7/05/16 from Hereford, completed a stage roughly once a month and find myself arriving in Oxford at the end of the line, just over a year later.

As is custom with the end of a project, a celebratory night out is planned.

So this means the first challenge is to get from our hotel (don't do this on a Saturday kids, Oxford hotels are about three times more expensive than on a Sunday) to Hanborough to start the walk.   A combination of bus (conversation to amuse Mrs M with the bus driver - so I can use an all day ticket all day?  As many times as I want?) and the first train out of Oxford on a Sunday means we are heading out into the countryside at about 11:30am.

A post walk nap is in jeopardy.

Hanborough Station has a handy reminder of the journey that has been completed.

I've walked that

Early stages of the walk are what we have come to expect from Oxfordshire.  Fine views, woodland, pretty little villages.   The first up is Church Hanborough, containing a potential refreshment point in the Hand and Shears pub.   Too early for us and too many miles left to do.

Woodland Welcome - Straight through Pinsley Wood

Oxfordshire Countryside Views

Mrs M at Church Hanborough

About an hours walking on overgrown paths, disturbing the tiny Muntjac deer that Mrs M mistakes for "Ginger Dogs" and we are in the deeply weird place of Eynsham.

The approach is down a bridleway which has around 10 decreipt caravans - all flat tyres, broken windows, covered in green moss and inhabited by a community.  A community of what, I am unsure - all young to middle aged men, tending makeshift fires and looking at ramblers encroaching on their manor.

The town itself appears to have something of identity crisis.  The housing estate is a mixture of council houses, with rather posh new builds with names like "Orchard Cottage".   The architecture of the place is summed up in the town centre - a turreted church next to a terrible 1970's style shop.

Eynsham Main Street

We took advantage of the benches opposite the Re Lion (d had fallen off) to take lunch.

Not much walking until we reach the Thames, crossing the Toll Bridge at Swinford where a man in a hut must question his own existence at having to collect 5p from passing cars.  Ramblers go free.

Is it Worth It?

Over the Thames

It's the Thames Path most of the way now, but the route saves us a mile by taking us inland past Wytham Great Wood.   Its about 9 miles in and we vow to stop at the next pub.

This is provided by the Trout Inn at Godstow Lock.  Like the wasps that attacked everyone in the beer garden, the punters really swarm to this place on a warm summers day.   The finer points of queuing at bars needed to be pointed out to a couple of impatient pensioners, who really should know better.

Mrs M wondered how much change I got back from my two pints.  A not unreasonable £2 from a tenner is the answer, although the Old Hooky was not in great condition.

Like Wasps to a Honeypot

Old Hooky looks worse than I remember it

Godstow provided some unexpected history, with an Abbey one side of the river and a nunnery the other side.

Godstow Nunnery

For thirsty ramblers, the next pub stop is not too far downstream.  About another mile on in Binsey is the Perch Inn.  Its slightly off the Thames Path but their signage and dramatic entrance through a series of fairy light lit arches on a sunken path make it impossible to ignore.

Cannot be ignored

The Outside Bar

Another Old Hooky here - gravity fed from a barrel but much clearer than in the Trout, even if it did lose all life within three sips.

Refreshment stops over, its all riverbank walking into Oxford, where we meet the 500 bus at the train station to whisk us back to the Hotel.  Its 5pm.   Mrs M insists she can get an hour in before we head out to celebrate properly.

Oxford Captured in a Picture - The Thames, a boat and a bike riding student

As with all adventures, a summary blog is available.

29/05/17 - Wye to the Thames - Walk 11 - Charlbury to Hanborough

Distance - 9.7 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8, Walk 9, Walk 10
Pub - The Horse and Groom, Bourton on the Hill

The logistics of this Long Distance Walk from Hereford to Oxford become increasingly complex with every leg.   The distances to the start are getting longer and the gaps between when the pubs open and the trains are still running in the afternoon are getting closer and closer.

Today, to time it right, we need to arrive at Hanborough Station at midday, drink like a student on freshers week and arrive at the station a further half a mile away bang on 12:30pm.

We'll give it a go.

We start in the charming village of Charlbury, previously explored on Stage 10.  Complex parking, where all the machines at the train station are broken and Mrs M berates my sense of fair play, insisting we don't need to phone up to pay.

At least we right the wrong from last time and find the Sidetracked Geocache.

Everything of interest on this walk is within 2 miles of the start.

One of Three Charlbury Pubs

Charlbury Church

From the town centre, we cross the railway line and head into the spectacular grounds of Cornbury House.  Come back in 5 weeks for Bryan Adams and the Kaiser Chiefs at their music festival.

I predict a riot in roughly 5 weeks

Fine walking through the grounds, leading to woodland walking through Topples Wood, where we are serenaded by bird song.

Skirting the Edge of Cornbury House

And from that point on, it all gets a little agricultural.  There's a pair of geocaches, a game of guess the crop and the occasional Cotswold view.

If you are wondering why I'm on all the photos, I forgot my camera.  Images courtesy of Mrs M

We're making good time and hope for a cafe or early doors pub for refreshment.  A hamlet called East End has the big blue cup of joy on the OS Map but on the ground, its all domesticity.  The only clue, a house called the Leather Bottle.  Little on the Internet to provide any sort of a story.

Two miles to Hanborough and we're a good 90 minutes before the expected train.  The next pub closure is even more recent.  The Swan is currently shown on Google Maps with a grand pub sign attached to the building and another notice board pronouncing morning teas and coffees.   At Ground Zero, its a B&B.  Got uniform 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor but as much use to me as an ashtray on a motorbike.

Excluding the twin Co-Ops, Hanborough offers two final places of refreshment.  The Three Horsehoes is very obviously closed and unfortunately,  I misread the opening signs at the George and Dragon.  It closes at 11pm, not opening at 11am.  No one ever accused me of not being optimistic.

60 Minutes too early

This walk is in serious danger of being dry.  We check the Internet and an earlier train at 11:30am avoids us getting arrested for loitering.  A quick cup of tea at the bus museum (yes, really) and we are whisked back to Charlbury at the bargain price of 60p per minute per person.

£4.20 for a 7 minute train ride.

And then, inspiration.  I remember that there is a Good Beer Guide Pub at Bourton on the Hill waiting for the Mappiman Tick.  Usually, its impossible to park, but the gods are taking pity on me and there is one space left.

Horse and Groom, Bourton on the Hill, Banks Amber

At least we missed the rain

Any pub that charges £6 for soup, £15 for Fish and Chips and £14 for the four cheese dessert is worthy of note.  Its a gastro pub, impeccably decorated and with an extensive menu that contains exactly zero sandwiches.

But how did it get in the 2017 Good Beer Guide?

There's three hand pulls but on closer inspection, one is a cider.  This leaves a massively uninspiring choice of Marstons EPA and Banks Amber Ale.

We're a way from Wolverhampton, but Banks win.

A pint of Banks, significantly more expensive than in Wolvo

Another tick in the bible, but for me, an odd choice for inclusion.

22/04/17 - Wye to the Thames - Walk 10 - Kingham to Charlbury

Distance - 9.7 Miles
Geocaches - 6
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8, Walk 9
Pub - The Bull, Charlbury


Another gorgeous slice of the Cotswolds, as we make our way along the Railway Stations from Hereford to Oxford.

We are getting close to the end.  This leg is almost entirely along the Oxfordshire Way.   Although early signage suggests a problem.

Closed to All

Rerouting takes place along a quiet lane to Foxholes, where we pick up the River Evenlode to pass Bruern Abbey.   Early walking is easy going, flat and we make swift progress.

The first few Geocaches appear Shipton-Under-Wychwood, where of course, we meet the first other walkers of the day.  Mrs M uses her usual style of just diving in for the hunt safe in the knowledge that "we will never see them again".  It seems the locals know of the caches.  We get quite specific help with "Gone Fishing" - with the dog walkers having stumbled on it by accident.

The Cache Stretch

We've not been to Ascott under Wychwood before.  Its beautiful in its simplicity - enough to make the volunteer shop keeper relocate from London and commute back daily with his £6000 annual season ticket.

We get into quite a chat, as I attempt to work his tea machine.  It's a delightful little shop, run by the community.  I attempt to buy a newspaper - they have 20 copies of the Times and one Daily Mail.   I failed to see the sign saying they were all pre-ordered for the residents and not for general sale.

Tea taken in the sunshine, near to the impressive Church.

Ascott Church

A lady pulls up in a very dirty A6 that has "F*ck Pigs" drawn in the dirt on the passenger side door.  I ask if she has fallen out with the Neighbours and she instantly replies "Yes, I have".  I'm guessing that she hasn't realised that she is driving around Partridge Style in an obscene publication.   She takes it all in her stride.

Tea finished, we head out through fields for the best part of the walk.  We gain a little height and have wonderful views over the patchwork fields system, a blaze of yellow rapeseed.

Doesn't get much better than this - and a few more caches along this path

1 hour before our train back, we arrive in Charlbury to be met with a typically Costwold Greeting.

Historic and very polite

We have time to explore the town for the first time.   All independent shops, museum and typical architectural beauty.

The trio of pubs are huddled together at the intersection of Sheep Street and Market Street.

We pick the poshest of the three.  Beer pumps with hand written advertising and not the usual corporate branding.  Free range children named Rafe and Kit entertaining their younger sister in the beer garden.  Bottled artisan cider at £6 a pop.

C16th Coaching House

We head out into the sunshine to enjoy a bang average Hooky next to a mini milk churn.  Bravely, I attempt to stop Mrs M from eating her own sandwiches.

Probably the 1st Pull of the Day. 

Refreshments enjoyed, it down for our transport with a fine 10 minutes waiting for the train at a station that maintains it's original 1853 features.

How pleasant is your morning commute?

25-03-17 - Wye to Thames - Walk 9 - Moreton-in-Marsh to Kingham

Distance - 12.7 Miles
Geocaches - 2
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8
Pubs - Horse and Groom, Upper Oddington and Kings Head, Bledington

I boldly claimed that Stage 8 of this superb walk from Hereford to Oxford along the Cotswold Railway Line would be the best.

It appears I may have peaked too early in my praise.

It could have been the sunshine (after all, we have had two weekends at opposite ends of the country in Fog) but this is a special, easy walk.

And it will be remembered for the day when Mrs Mappiman smashed the psychological double digit walking miles barrier.

We've looked at the train times and know that the two hour mid afternoon siesta taken by Great Western Railways means an early start.  Frost knocked off the car and at 7:30am, we are the first to park up at Moreton-in-Marsh railway station car park.

And out, through the surprisingly busy high street, and into the countryside.  Nice to report a new geocache has been placed at the Duck Pond since the last leg.

Geocache GZ 1 - The Duck Pond

Early Morning Countryside Views

The Monarch's Way takes us out of town to the first architectural highlight of the day, Sezincote Hall, a little bit of India in the Cotswolds.  Worth the short detour off the planned route to get the an up close view.  I will meet it again when I complete the Heart of England Way.  Look at the views, it's going to be no hardship.

Built 1805

The Heart of England Way

This walk is a collection of pretty villages.  If you time it right, it could be a four pub beauty.  If you judge a village by its local, then Longborough is the pick of the lot.  We are greeted by the beautiful church and then meet the Coach and Horses, including the landlord who tries to convince me its never too early.  It's 8:30am.  He may have been joking with the daft ramblers.

Longborough Church 

What a Beauty - Coach and Horses - Longborough

The HOE Way is shunned and we let the Monarchs Way take us through Donnington and a revisit into Broadwell, a mere 5 months since our last visit.  One day we'll time it right for when the Fox is actually open.

Photos of the Fox - 2 - Actual Visits - 0

We lunched on Broadwell Village Green during our last visit.  We are making good time but I feel the need to press on.  I do vow to stop at the next bench we see at just the moment (7.5 miles in) that Mrs M suggests it would be a good point to "rest her hips".  Next bench found outside a the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington.  It's 10:06am and has a sign both proclaiming its North Cotswolds CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013 and open at 10am.

I get that look.  The one that says "You're not having a pint, are you?".   As usual, she is correct.  The landlord will only sell me tea.  Cafe culture, my aris.

Tea for 2 and a 15 minute breather

Geocache 2 is at the Church at Lower Oddington.  The description tells all about the C14th Wall painting called the Doom.  Alas, copper thieves have rendered access impossible - the rain has got in, the picture has been damaged and the church is under repair.  This is the description of the painting from the cache page and you have to hope the Big G is really this vengeful.

The main wall painting in the church is the 14th century'Doom',dated to about 1340 it is 32ft long and 15ft high.

In the upper part is the seated figure of Christ,attended by Angels and Apostles.Below Angels blowing trumpets summon the dead from their graves.To the right the lost are being propelled by devils into the jaws of hell.

Nearby some of the torments of the damned are depicted with fearful realism inc a man suspended from a gibbet and a group of persons being boiled in a cauldron.

I wouldn't mess with his roof.

The final part of the walk can be filed under "Mud", as we cross woodland and Bledington Heath. The railway station is mid way between Bledington and Kingham.  We have made an excellent 2.6 MPH and timed it to perfection to at least visit the one pub.  The Kings Head in Bledington, located idyllically on the village green.

Everything I want from a pub.  Open, serving pints and an entry in the 2017 Good Beer Guide.   And a chance to sample a never seen before Otter Bright.

Kings Head, Bledington.  Shame about the Telegraph Wires

I've got Sunshine in a Glass!

Cheers All - Happy Spring!

11/02/17 - Wye to Thames - Walk 8 - Honeybourne to Moreton-In-Marsh

Distance - 12 Miles
Geocaches - 5
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7
Pubs - The Inn on the Marsh & The Black Bear in Moreton-in-Marsh

When looking in the guidebook of the walk from Hereford to Oxford along the stations of the Cotswold Railway Line, I always knew that stage 8 would be the "poster boy" for the entire route.

Plotting on the map and incorporating Dovers Hill, Chipping Camden and taking in long stretches of both the Monarch's Way and Heart of England Way should get the pulse racing of any amateur walker.  Finishing at a CAMRA Good Beer Guide pub in bustling Moreton-in-Marsh seemed unnecessary garnish.

A bit of snow thrown into the mix counteracted the lack of views caused by the lack of clear skies.

So, back to Honeybourne and an unnecessary detour into the village to look at the last leg's pub.  I can just about see the snow on the hills, but first I have to navigate the mud and frisky horses to get to Weston Sub Egde.  Handsome pub that will be checked out at a more convenient time and the first of today's geocaches, where dog muggles stop searching.

See you next time, Seagrave Arms

Weston Sub Edge Church.  Failed on caching.  Learned about Medieval Fish Farming

The guide book warned me that this leg was more strenuous than others and I have a reasonably stiff climb up to Dover's Hill.  I remember it well from the Cotswold Way and other walks.  Normally, the views are more extensive.

Looking North over the Vale of Evesham

Looking East

Familiar ground on the Cotswold Way as I drop into the Chipping Campden.  Gorgeous as ever and full of temptation (euphemism, read pubs) but even on this, my upteenth visit, I find something new.

New Blue Plaque - Grahame Greene Lived Here. 

As well as the Cotswold Way, CC is the meeting point for a number of other long distance paths.  I seeminly stumble on the 630ish mile Monarch's way everywhere in the country and I am rather pleased to get a taste for my next challenge, the Heart of England Way.  No issues in walking this section again in the future.

Its takes me to Broad Campden, smaller in scale to CC but equally full of interest (euphemism, read pub and ancient Quaker House).

Bakers Arms just out of Shot

Next up, Blockley.  Reached on decent paths and a place that I have not been to before.  This will be rectified today and in the future for a more extensive visit.  Built on a hillside, it consists of multiple layers of streets revealing typically beautiful Cotswold architecture and an impressive church.

Take me somewhere new

Blockley - Lovely and worth a future exploration

Its more or less downhill to Moreton-in-Marsh now, skirting the edges of Batsford Arboretum before navigating field systems and delivered right into the centre of ultra wide high street.

12 miles done, no need to resist temptation any longer.  90 minutes until the train, I can fit in 2 of the 8 pubs.  First up, and slightly out of town, is the Good Beer Guide Entry.

The Inn on the Marsh, Stow Road, Ringwood Bitter

GBG told me to come

I'm hoping for a roaring fire to get some warmth back in.  I am only disappointed in the fact that other buggers have got there before me.  I can sit in front of the bar on proper old school furniture or move into the annex on the left and relax on a lovely battered sofa.

If it had been nearer the fire, I might be still there now.  Gently snoozing, holding a half consumed Ringwood Best Bitter.  It was never going to happen, the cuckoo clock make a hell of racket on the hour.

Fine locals pub, with one other Ringwood, Hobgoblin and two unnoticed real ales.  The real surprise was the price.

£2.90.  And I am in the heart of the Cotswolds.  Bargain.

View from a Comfy Sofa

The Black Bear, High Street, Donnington BB

Donnington Tied House

Two things brought me in here.  A peak through the window showed the football was on.  On lots and lots of TVs.  It makes sense that beerintheevening.com suggests that the landlord is an ex professional footballer.

Secondly, I have a sense of lotalty to Donnington Brewery when in the Cotswolds.  They have their own Long Distance Path to all their tied houses, so when I get around to doing it, I will be here again.

Its a long, cavernous pub full of dog walkers, diners (the stew smelled delightful to someone who ate a cheese and onion baguette on the hoof two hours ago), old school gentlemen boozers and the odd football fan.  I am not surprised at its popularity, the Donnington BB was an better value £2.70.  Take that, Banbury.

I settle at the last available table.  The referee blows for full time.

When in Rome, count your change from three quid