My 46th – Day2: Walk 1

After the previous day’s walking – and subsequent beers – we had a little bit of a lie in, Snow asleep on the bed with us having barked to go out at 6am. We were in no rush and as it was raining. The longer we waited before heading out the door, the better the chance of the rain stopping and us not getting soaking wet would be.

First order of the day was to sort out where we were going to walk. Having spent the previous evening editing photos, correcting route maps, and writing up the day’s activities, I’d not actually managed to sort out where we were going to talk today.

So, a quick look through a new book I picked up with walking routes in the Chilterns for dog owners, and two shorter walks had been picked and agreed on, and the job of plotting the routes and getting on them on my GPS began.

That little task out of the way and I popped downstairs to get our breakfast (late as it was) sorted out: scrambled egg on toast! We’d not had that for quite some time, and I do have to admit, I do a mean scrambled egg!

Bellies full it was time to get ourselves out of the door and to start the day proper. It was a short(ish) drive to the village of Lewknor from our place, parking up on the road outside the village’s primary school.

Footwear changed – including gaiters as mud was definitely expected after the night’s rainfall – and off we headed up the road and through the underpass taking us under the M40.

The first field we had to cross had some horses in it. Snow was a little bit interested in them so I shortened her lead to make sure she didn’t spook them too much. I shouldn’t have worried as they were considerably more interested in us, tracking us as we made away through the slippery mud to the other side. Snow really wasn’t very happy with how close they were getting, literally dragging me through the mud. It was all I could do to stay on my feet! We made it across okay and through the gate, and it wasn’t long before we were heading uphill and through the woods to the top of Beacon Hill.

On our way up the hill we came across the most bizarre thing: a sort of shrine made out of lots of children’s toys, and a statue wearing a mask! Most disturbing of all was the little doll sat behind a washing machine door! Yes, you read that right. Check out the photos if you don’t believe me. All very strange.

It was a bit of a slippery climb through the leaves and mud but once up, the rest of the walk was downhill or on the flat, much to Shelli’s delight; hills are definitely not a favourite of hers.

It wasn’t until we were heading back towards Lewknor that we got a look out of the view from the hill. The woods made it impossible to look out over the countryside on the way up, actually making it feel quite close at time, but the view out over the M40 and beyond was pretty good, although I’m sure it would have been better on a brighter day.

We made our way down the side of the hill, following the path round the base and back to the Ridgeway. From there we headed under the M40 and back to the village along a farm road, and stopping off at the Learthern Bottle pub for a well deserved pint, sit down, and packet of crisps before heading back to the car.

All in all not a bad walk and a good start to the day. The only thing that really spoilt it was the constant noise from the M40.

Photos

Route Details

If you’re interested you can download the KML file and/or GPX file of the plotted route. Please be aware though that the route was hand-plotted and so may not be 100% accurate.

Walk Statistics

Route Map

Elevation Details

More information about climb ratings can be found at Map My Walk.

Oxfordshire