Walks – Banburyshire’s Ancient Sites – Banburyshire Rambles Photo-Journal

Local walks

A close-up image of 'The Hawk Stone' Banburyshire Rambles Journal,
20^th March 2019:

The Anomalous Megalith

Due to eye problems, from the end of November to the beginning of February I spent most of the time laid flat on my face in bed. During that time I still went on a lot of walks… in my head. Quite often those walks would come back to the same spot – one of my favourite local megaliths, The Hawk Stone. Given today’s auspicious astronomical events it seems a good day to visit it in person, and take care of another ‘anomaly’ along the way.

Route: Chipping Norton, Churchill, Sarsden, Chadlington, Dean, Chadlington Downs, Chipping Norton.

Metrics: Distance, 21.7km/13½ miles; ascension: 350 metres/1,150 feet; duration, 6½ hours.

Landscape image, ‘Rollright Stone Circle and the Whispering Knights’ Banburyshire Rambles Journal,
14^th March 2019:

Betwixt the Nortons

As I leave Hook Norton it begins to rain again; hard. A steady fifteen or twenty mile-an-hour wind, gusting in wet squalls to thirty or more, is blowing. It’s been raining hard off-and-on for the last day or so. It’s nice to go out in weather like this, "because it’s there"; if only to check your wet gear still works for the time when you really need it. Rather than struggle in the mud of the wet valleys the best option is to find a long ridge, with a free-draining geology, to traverse. Today’s ridge walk, though, is rather special.

Route: Hook Norton, Rollright Heath, Great Rollright, Rollright Stones, Little Rollright, Salford, Chipping Norton.

Metrics: Distance, 15.2km/9½ miles; ascension: 300 metres/980 feet; duration, 4½ hours.

Landscape image, ‘The Hawk Stone and Wychwood’ Banburyshire Rambles Journal,
1^st May 2018:

A Beltane Megaliths Trail

This walk started with a comment from a friend a couple of years ago. When I pointed out that there were far more megaliths in West Oxfordshire than just the Rollright Stones, he wondered if it were possible to walk to them. That thought has been in my mind ever since; today, as a fitting tribute to Beltane – traditionally marking the beginning of the ancient Summer – I thought I'd give it a go.

Route: Train to Kingham, Churchill, Sarsden, Chadlington Downs, Dean, Lidstone, Taston, Charlbury station.

Metrics: Distance, 26.5km/16½ miles; ascension: 400 metres/1,300 feet; duration, 7½ hours.

Other Walks

This section documents some of my interesting walks outside the local area, in search of ancient sites:

Landscape image, ‘Adam and Eve, Longstone Cove, Avebury’ Banburyshire Rambles Journal,
30^th April to 2^nd May 2019:

‘A Beltane Backpack’; Revisiting a once much-walked ancient landscape

Confined in bed for ten weeks after last November, I hatched a simple plan to get back into multi-day backpacking again: Wild camp for four days across the Wessex Downs; stopping only twice for water in Avebury and Marlborough; and all along the route, photographing as many of the lesser-known prehistoric sites as possible. 35 years after I first backpacked around the area, I’m looking forward to the walk with anticipation.

Route: Devizes, Cherhill Hill, Windmill Hill, Avebury, The Ridgeway, Fyfield Down, Marlborough.

Metrics: Distance, 48km/30 miles; ascension, 740m/2,400ft; duration, 3 days.

Banburyshire’s Ancient Sites:

Walks Around the Sites

This page lists walks that feature some of the ‘ancient sites’ in the guide. Most are local walks that link sites together rather than just going to a single location.