Banbury Circular Walk

1. [2] After 1.2km from the canal cross the A4260, to continue along Broad Gap (road), 260°.
2. [3] After 450m at a T-junction, turn left. In 120m pass by the Horse & Jockey on the RHS, followed by The Plough, further on passing by a Church on your RHS. Having passed by a green on your RHS, (and where the dead end lane starts to descend), turn right over a stile. Veer left down the field, 200°, aiming for the LH corner of a small wood. In 180m go through a metal KG to continue down the LHS of the wood.
3. In 70m go through metal KG immediately passing car-wide metal gate entrance on RHS, veer left, then right, and cross river after 30m, to continue along and up to Bloxham Grove Farm.

4. [4] Immediately past Bloxham Grove Farm (with a windmill ahead), turn left, 100°. In 80m by the corner of a brick wall on your LHS, turn right 190°.
5. [5] FP comes out to a lane. (Longer walk route, turn left here for Adderbury.) Turn right along a car wide track to soon join the RHS of a field, W, towards Milton.

6. [6] 40m past a farm track on the left, [!]turn right to go under an easily missed bridge (SP45348 35294) for a dismantled railway, to then come out to Manor Farm and turn right through the farm buildings to then reach a lane and turn left into Milton, SW, to arrive at the Marlstone Tavern.
   From the Marlstone Tavern, turn right to pass by Milton Church on your RHS, to then turn right along a lane, N. In 120m where the lane curves to the right, fork left following a FP sign, NW, and further on go through a wooden KG into a field to follow the FP, W.
7. After 2.2km you reach the A361 (42975 35660). [7] (Longer walk route joins from the left.)
8. Turn right to go past St Marys Church on your RHS. At a war memorial fork right down Old Bridge Road. At a T-junction, turn left and in 7m turn right up a steep narrow lane, which then levels and curves to the right to come out to a road (Brickle Lane), turn left, 20°.
9. In 250m turn at a road junction, turn right along Strawberry Hill. At a T-junction with Schofields Way, turn left and in 15m, turn right along Greens Garth to go through a metal KG to continue E.
10. In 1.8km at Bloxham Grove Road (45226 36798) [8], turn right and in 20m turn left along a car-wide (bridleway) track towards Upper Grove Mill, 20°.
11. At SP 4526 3826 [9] go through a metal KG with a twin barrell roofed house ahead.
12. Fork right to go through a gate and turn left along a car-wide bridleway; where the car-wide track curves to the left, turn right through a wooden gate to continue in your prior direction along a path through a wooded boundary to then a reach cross-paths[10] continue along a tarmac footpath, 30°.

Maps 3 and 4: Longer walk option via Deddington.

1. [5] The footpath comes out to a lane at SP4635 3546. Turn left, 80° along the lane. In 300m the lane merges with a main road (Cross Hill Road). In 160m (with a bus shelter ahead on your LHS), fork right down Dog Close (road), 160°.
2. In 150m immediately before a bridge[11] (SP 46947 35411 across a stream leading to a church), turn right along LHS of a playing field (with the stream off to your LHS). After 140m where the wood border curves to the right, (SP 4692 3527), turn left into the wood. After 30m, immediately before a footbridge, turn right, 160°, now with a chain link fence on your LHS and a stream beyond. In 60m pass between the walls of a missing railway bridge, and in a further 20m at a path T-junction, fork left to cross a stile into a field to go along its RHS, 170°.
3. In 110m at the RH field corner go through a tall metal KG, to go up a FP, 190°.
4. In 400m at a T-junction [12] with a road, turn left and after 35m cross over the main road (A4260) to continue in your prior direction, 150° along a car-wide bridleway. After 1.2km at a path junction (with a farm track off to your right towards Adderbury Grounds Farm) continue ahead up a lane, 170° to Paper Mill Cottages.
5. [13] Immediately past the row of stone cottages on your RHS, fork right, 210°, through a lightly wooded area to emerge into a field. Ignore a bridleway to your left to continue along a footpath in a southerly direction. At the corner of a field (with a derelict wooden barn on your RHS), go through a wooden gate into the next field to go up (diagonally) across it.
6. At the top corner, veer right to go through a wooded area to cross a stile [14] (SP 4753 3291) and turn left to cross a field.
7. At [15] (SP4737 3226), fork right across two fields, towards Deddington, 220°. Having crossed the fields, exit via a metal gate and turn right to cross Earls Lane and continue along the pavement of the main road leading into Deddington, 260°. In 250m you pass by a small green on your LHS, direction now 250°, to follow this main road to come out into Market Place, Deddington after 180m.
8. [If stopping for lunch continue N into Market Place with a selection of pubs.]
9. Otherwise at the southern /lower end of Market Place, turn left, W, to reach a T-junction with the main road. Cross over and turn right for 10m to then turn left, to follow a footpath sign continuing in your prior direction along The Grove, to later on join a car-wide track which comes out to a field, to continue in a westerly direction.
10. At a crosspaths [16] (SP45196 31310), turn right along a car-wide tarmac track (bridleway), N.

1. (Coming into Barford St. Michael.) At a T-junction with a main road [17] (SP43674 32554), cross over and veer right, passing by The Potteries (cul-de-sac) on your LHS; 10m further on, turn left along a footpath bordered by stone walls, 290°, to then come out to a green, keep on its LHS, to then go through a wooden KG to continue along a lane towards St Michael's Church.
2. If not visiting the church follow the lane round and down to the right. At a T-junction with Lower Street, turn right. After 70m, [18] turn left along a footpath along Mill Lane, 350°.
3. At the end of this lane pass to the RHS of a house to go along an enclosed footpath, 350°. After 35m cross a stream via a 2 rail footbridge and [!]in 10m turn left, NW (ignoring a 3 plank footbridge ahead), to go through a wood to then emerge into a field, to continue ahead, 320° across this field and 2 further fields.
4. At the end of the 3rd (large and long) field go past a footpath post [19] (SP4289 3362) to cross over into a small uncultivated field, 340°. In 100m enter a wooded field boundary to cross a 1 railed wooden footbridge [20] (SP 4284 3370) flanked by 2 stiles.
5. Continue in a NW direction along the LHS of the next field. In 130m (with a metal FG on your LHS and a wooden FG ahead in the LH corner of this field), turn half right, 350°, to continue along the field as it ascends slightly and starts to narrow.
6. In 160m with a metal FG up off to your right, fork down to the left,350°, for 50m, (passing just to the left of a tree in this narrow field), to reach a 1 railed footbridge [21] (at 4268 3393) at the edge of a small wood. Go over the footbridge to enter the small wood to further on go over a stile to come out into into a field, and turn right along the RHS of the field, initially 350°.
7. Cross a car-wide track followed by a stile (at 4215 3427) to veer slightly right, 290° across a field to a stile and then turn half right, 310°, to cut the corner of this next field to then cross a 1 railed wooden footbridge to cross A361 with care.
8. Having crossed the road go through a gap in the hedgerow into a field and continue across it, 310°, towards a cw gap in the hedgerow.
9. Continue in the same direction aiming for a very difficult to see gap in the hedgerow, aiming to pass 30m to left of a wooden mini pylon pole in the middle of the field. (The gap in the hedgerow is 40m to the right of a large tree in the hedgerow.)
10. Go through the gap [22](at 41575 34566) and veer right, 310°, to cross a stile to cross a road into Dovecote Close and turn left, along a path through Dovecote Open Space.
11. Turn right to exit Dovecote Open Space along a car-wide track / lane, 340°. In 180m with a metal KG frame on your left and a wooden FG ahead, turn right with the car-wide track. In 70m where the car-wide earth track curves to the left, continue ahead through a wooden KG to follow the FP to Bloxham, initial direction 70°, (with the spire of St. Mary's Church, Bloxham visible in the distance).