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The Banburyshire Rambles Photo-Journal

‘Ramblinactivist’ Paul Mobbs, out in the snow south-west of Banbury, 2011
‘Ramblinactivist’ Paul Mobbs, out in the snow south-west of Banbury, 2011

Paul Mobbs’ photographic record of his walks around ‘Banburyshire’ and ‘The Irondowns’, and occasionally, as part of his work around Britain, the areas beyond.


These pages originated from a challenge: my claim that you did not need to travel 50 or 100 miles from Banbury to find beautiful countryside, to the Chilterns, the Peak District or Wales; and that, in fact, Banbury is at the heart of its own geographically unique hinterland – which has its own millennia-old story of human settlement.

It’s also about my long-standing belief that developing an attachment to our own ‘place’ can be a route to making sense of the wider world, and the events taking place within it.

Together these pages weave a view of the local landscape, its history, and my own enjoyment of and place within that landscape – and how that grounding in place affects my view of the wider world today.

Recent updates

Below are the ‘current’ posts in the journal – both photo-blog-posts and YouTube videos combined. Space permitting, I usually keep the last five seasons of walks posts on-line.

For the more ‘distinguished’ walks that I keep on-line, see the ‘permanent collection’ page.

Landscape image, ‘The North Wind do blow, and we shall have snow’, 11th. December 2022 Banburyshire Rambles Journal, 15th December 2022:

‘The North Wind Comes...’

As I leave the house it starts to snow: heavily. By the time I reach Crouch Hill there’s a good dumping on the ground. For me, having a day outdoors in the frost and cold is obligatory. Now the north wind is blowing, and it promises a lovely walk!

Go to the YouTube video for this post.

Landscape image, ‘The old lane, west from Great Rollright crossroads’, 14th March 2019 Banburyshire’s Ancient Trackways, 11th August 2022:

New page: ‘The Cotswold Ridgeway’

An ancient route, running through the heartland of the Dobunni and later Hwicce tribes, that linked Banbury Lane at the top the the Thames Valley and Crickley Hill on the Cotswold escarpment with many ancient sites along the way.

Banburyshire’s Radical History: ‘Banbury Quaker Meeting House’, 27th July 2022 Banburyshire’s Radical History, Monday 8th August 2022:

John Woolman and Banbury’s Quaker Meeting House

In 1772, a Quaker went on a journey through England, visiting the meeting house in Banbury, to preach about the ills of slavery; a journey that would end with his death in York at the beginning of October. The words he spoke during his life are just as true today, and in the context of today’s materialistic society, are even more revolutionary than when he spoke them over 250 years ago.

Go to the YouTube video for this post.

The title image for Ramblinactivist’s Video No.16 of 2022 ‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2022/16, 1st May 2022:

‘Minster Lovell Hall & its ‘Romantic’ Graffiti’

Minster Lovell Hall has a surreal quality; especially if the weather adds to the atmosphere. It’s a classic ‘ruin’, but at the same time you can see that centuries of less reverent visitors have scrawled graffiti over many parts of it. More then anything, it’s just an ethereally beautiful place to visit.

Landscape image, ‘Minster Lovell Hall’ Banburyshire’s Ancient Sites, Beltane 2022:

Minster Lovell Hall

Minster Lovell Hall has a surreal quality; especially if the weather adds to the atmosphere. It’s a classic ‘ruin’, but at the same time you can see that centuries of less reverent visitors have scrawled graffiti over many parts of it (a practise common before modern times). And while today it seems a backwater, the history of the site ties it to some major events in history.

Landscape image, ‘Banbury Lane Bridge’, 3rd September 2012 Banburyshire’s Ancient Sites, Beltane 2022:

The Cherwell Bridge, Banbury Lane

Many people don’t know it’s there: A Medieval stone bridge; buried beneath a Victorian brick bridge; that most travel over every day without a thought. It is one of the oldest standing structures in the town, and directly related to the story of the town’s historic development.

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