There’s much to enjoy about this walk, which leads from Swinbrook to Asthall in a quiet corner of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Years ago, David Cameron brought French president François Hollande to Swinbrook to experience an archetypal English village – complete with pub lunch at The Swan Inn – which says much about the area’s sleepy charms.
This circular walk uses a mixture of country roads and footpaths while packing in various points of interest, from a tiny 600-year-church to the family home of the notorious Mitford sisters.
River Windrush walk
5 miles / 8km | 3 hours | moderate | 79 metres ascent
1. Start
From the phone box at the start point, follow the footpath running up past St Mary’s Church. You’ll soon reach open fields, with an obvious trail ahead. Look out for the delightfully diminutive St Oswald Church, on your right after the cattle grid, before joining the drive of a house, Shepherd’s Cottage. At next cattle grid, turn left along lane. After a bridge and a line of cottages, bear left along the road.
2. Widford
Follow the road as it gently climbs and falls, noting the River Windrush on your left, on its way to join the Thames. After around half a mile you’ll reach a cricket pitch on your left. Head straight across crossroads and stay on this road as it rises into the hamlet of Asthall. On your left you’ll pass Asthall Manor, the childhood home of the Mitfords. Swing left with the road, staying with the walls of the manor, then turn right at St Nicholas Church. The Three Horsehoes – once a blacksmith’s shop, now a cracking pub – is soon reached.
3. Asthall
Turn left at pub, heading towards the Windrush before veering right up a lane marked ‘Asthall Farm’. At stone houses, turn abruptly right along a track that skirts an arable field, keeping blackthorn hedgerow on your right. At the end of the field, go left along hedge, then right at the fence, keeping the trees and the fence on your left. Stay on this stretch until reaching the road.
4. Worsham
Turn left along the road, crossing a bridge and passing manufacturing firm JSP Ltd. The road climbs to reach Stonefold Cottage on your right, shortly after which you should take the footpath to your left, returning into the valley with hedging to your right and wired fence to your left. After Kitesbridge Farm, cross the road at the bridge then follow the route back into Swinbrook and the welcoming arms of the Swan Inn.
River Windrush map
River Windrush walking route and map
Useful information
Terrain
largely flat, with some gentle climbs and plenty of time on country roads. The roads are typically quiet but be vigilant. After heavy downpours, some off-road sections can be flooded.
Starting point
Park in the layby next to the phone box, across from St Mary’s Church in Swinbrook. OX18 4DY
Eat/drink
Take your pick from The Swan Inn in Swinbrook and, mid-route, The Three Horsehoes (previously known as The Maytime Inn) in Asthall.
