Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a large county with great variety to offer the country walker. Incorporating parts of the Cotswolds, Chilterns and North Wessex Downs, all Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Oxfordshire boasts a great diversity of landscape. Within its boundaries you will also find ancient forests, areas of wilderness, ironstone uplands, peaceful vales and a host of delightful villages. All are well watered by the tranquil Thames and its charming tributaries: Cherwell, Evenlode and Windrush.
Perhaps our favourite area is the Oxfordshire Cotswolds in the north of the county. Here, in England's heartland, are rich green undulating wolds, which turn to gently waving golden fields of wheat in summer before the harvests. This rich colour is reflected in the warm attractive limestone from which many of the lovely sleepy villages are built, although the stone in Oxfordshire has a silver grey hue compared to the rich honey colours of the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. Nestling in the folds of the hills these welcoming villages often provide a pleasant surprise, as they are hidden until you descend from the hillsides into the valleys of streams such as the Evenlode and Windrush.
To the north east of Burford lies the remnants of the once impressive royal hunting forest of Wychwood. Overlooking the beautiful Evenload Valley this is excellent walking country and the picturesque villages of Shipton-under-Wychwood and Milton-under-Wychwood are well worth visiting. To the north of Wychwood Forest Chadlington Downs is an attractive and interesting area for walking. On a ridge just north of the quiet village of Chadlington is the Bronze Age Hawk Stone, and in the nearby village of Taston is the even older Thor Stone. More impressive of course is the famous Rollright Stone Circle further north beyond Chipping Norton on the high open Cotswold ridge.
Southern Oxfordshire reaches down to the Vale of White Horse and the Berkshire Downs in the west and the Chilterns near Henley-on-Thames in the east. The open downland of rolling green hills and big skies makes for exhilarating walking. Uffington, with its famous White Horse and Letcombe regis are good locations for walking in the Berkshire Downs area. In the Chilterns Pishill, Stonor Park, Watlington Hill and Christmas Common are attractive locations. The Thames at Henley and indeed along any of the Thames Path through Oxfordshire also makes for enjoyable and facinating waterside walking.

	Guide Books: [For further information or to purchase]
	Walking in Oxfordshire by: Leslie Tomlinson. 36 walks. Locations include: Wroxton - Shenington; Broughton Castle; The Sibfords - Stour Valley; Rollright Stones; South Newington - Great Tew; Hethe - Cottisford; Steeple Aston - Rousham; Shipton-under-Wychwood; Charlbury - Wychwood Forest; Woodstock - Blenheim Park; Bletchingdon - River Cherwell; Piddington - Muswell Hill; Otmoor, Islip and Beckley; Burford - Windrush Valley; Witney - Minster Lovell; Shotover - Wheatley; Cumnor - Farmoor Reservoir; Sunningwell - Boars Hill; Garsington - Cuddesdon; Appleton - River Thames; Buckland - Longworth; Buscot - Kelmscott; Coleshill - Great Coxwell; Abingdon - Sutton Courtenay; Dorchester - Wittenham Clumps; Whitehorse Hill; The Letcombes - The Ridgeway; Ardington - East Hendred; Blewbury - Lowbury Hill; Goring - river Thames; Nuffield - Ipsden.
	Pub Walks in Oxfordshire by: Nick Channer. 30 routes which vary in length from 2 to 5.5 miles, each described in detail with its own accompanying sketch map. The walks take you through the rich, rolling scenery of the eastern Cotswolds, the glorious beechwoods of the Chilterns, the lovely Vale of the White Horse and along the age-old Ridgeway. Locations are: Cropredy; Shenington; Hook Norton; Chipping Norton; Great Tew; Finmere; Stratton Audley; Shipton-under-Wychwood; Swinbrook; Finstock; Woodstock; Thrupp; Beckley; Oxford; Horspath; Kelmscott; Tadpole Bridge, Buckland Marsh; Longworth; Sunningwell; Fernham; Letcombe Regis; East Hendred; Aston Tirrold; Hailey, near Ipsden; Satwell; Nuffield; Maidensgrove; Long Wittenham; Brightwell Baldwin; Cuxham.
	50 Walks in Oxfordshire 50 themed walks of between 2 and 10 miles, each with fascinating background reading. There are clear, easy-to-follow route descriptions, including detailed sketch maps, for every walk. The walk locations include: Broughton; Cottisford; Otmoor; Noke; Steeple Aston; Hook Norton; Great Tew; Oxford; Godstow; Chipping Norton; Chastleton; Cumnor; Appleton; Stonesfield; Cornwell; Wychwood; Faringdon; Buckland; Ewelme; Blenheim Palace; Bladon; Wantage; Letcombe Bassett; Ardington; Witney; Burford; Abingdon; Didcot; Thrupp; Garsington; Watlington; Warburg Nature Reserve; Uffington White Horse; Stonor; Wallingford; Goring; Buscot; Minster Lovell; Dorchester; Shillingford; Blewbury; Jarn Mound; Greys Court; Stoke Row; Nuffield; Mapledurham.
	Best Tea Shop Walks in Oxfordshire by: Julie Meech. The 30 walks in this guide explore all of the facets of this diverse county - woodland meanders, walks alongside rivers and historic canals, and a sprinkling of brisker rambles across the undulating countryside of the Cotswolds, Chilterns and Downs. Locations are: Oxford; Abingdon to Oxford; Abingdon to Culham; Dorchester; Wallingford; Wallingford to Dorchester; Goring; Goring to Cholsey; Mapledurham; Reading to Pangbourne; Shiplake; Henley; Nettlebed to Henley; Chalgrove to Watlington; Banbury; Cropredy; Hornton; The Rollrights; Chipping Norton; Charlbury; Kiddington; Woodstock; Eynsham; Minster Lovell to Witney; Minster Lovell to Burford; Filkins; Lechlade; Faringdon; Wantage; Ardington.
	Waterside Walks in Oxfordshire by: David Dunford. 20 circular routes between 3 and 6.75 miles in length. The walk locations are: Cropredy; Steeple Aston and the Heyfords; Middle Barton and Barton Abbey; Church Enstone; Chadlington and Dean; Stonesfield; Woodstock and Blenheim Palace; Minster Lovell to Crawley; Godstow to Swinford; Shabbington to Rycote Chapel; Binsey; Sandford-on-Thames; Kelmscott Manor to Radcot Bridge; Tadpole Bridge and Upper Thames; Culham, Sutton Courtenay and Sutton Pools; Dorchester-on-Thames; Wallingford; Ardington, Lockinge and Ginge; South Stoke; Whitchurch.
	Village Walks in Oxfordshire by: Nick Channer. 20 routes introduce the walker to a nature reserve, a working corn mill, Iron Age hill forts, a famous Thames ferry crossing and the galloping figure of a horse picked out in chalk amongst many other places of interest. The villages on which the routes are based have been carefully chosen for their interest and beauty. The walk locations are: Broughton; Church Enstone; Lower Heyford; Fringford; Stonesfield; Charlton-on-0tmoor; Filkins; Cumnor; Iffley; Great Milton; Sydenham; Coleshill; Buckland; Clifton Hampden; Ewelme; Kingston Lisle; Ardington; Nettlebed; Rotherfield Greys; Mapledurham.
	100 Walks in Oxfordshire and Berkshire compiled by: Les Maple. An omnibus of local walks covering the whole of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, with about two thirds in Oxfordshire and one third in Berkshire. All areas of both counties are covered so no matter where you find yourself, a walk in this book will not be far away. The walks vary in length from 2 to 12 miles, the majority being in the 4/6 mile range. They are listed in the contents by length, making it easy to find routes that suit your circumstances. In addition to the route descriptions, details are given of points of interest along the way, places to eat and drink and where to park the car. Sketch maps and route descriptions are on facing pages.