Circular via Mill Field (Cotswold Gateway Charlbury Walk 1)

From the car-park (1), start by going past the Co-op then turn right into Browns Lane. Continue down this road to the junction, where you will see The Bull pub on your left and the Rose & Crown in front of you.

The walk continues down Church Street, then through the churchyard, past St Mary’s church. Continue through the iron gate to Church Lane; on your left is the 19th Century vicarage, now called the Old Rectory.

Follow Church Lane, with views across the Evenlode Valley to Cornbury Park and the
ancient Wychwood Forest. You now need to cross over Dyers Hill and continue down the right-hand side of the road. Take the small turning on the right into Mill Lane (2). The route from the station joins here, coming over the river bridge then turning left into Mill Lane.

Go down Mill Lane and cross the bridge into the Mill Field. This is a popular place for walks and picnics, bounded on one side by the Mill Cut and on the other by the River Evenlode. Follow the path through the field until you reach another bridge by a weir. Cross this and through a metal gate.

The path continues through to Watery Lane (3). If you come during the winter, the reason for the name becomes obvious! Depending on the season, you can continue the walk by turning right onto the lane and following it down past the Canoe Club to the foot of Pound Hill, which could be seen across the Mill Cut earlier in the walk.

If the lane is under water, then you can continue along the stone path on the left until you come to a crossing over a small brook. Just before this, take the path through a kissing gate into the field on the right. This footpath forms part of the long-distance Oxfordshire Way.

Go through the gate into the field; straight across, you will see the next kissing gate. Continue on the footpath into the next field and directly ahead in the hedge is another small brook, crossed by a bridge. Again go straight on, across the next field, until you reach another hedge with a road beyond.

A kissing gate in the hedge leads you to the foot of Pound Hill and the small triangle (4) where both routes converge. You now cross the road (take care as although this is in the 30 mph zone, traffic can be fast). On the other side of the road, you will see a marker with the footpath continuing through another kissing gate into a field with a stream on your right.

Walk across the footbridge over the stream. You now go up the side of the field alongside Pound Hill, and a gentle climb leads you to the gate where you leave the field and come into an extension of the town’s cemetery (5).

Passing the seat and wall on your left, follow the paved path to the left through the cemetery. Where another path crosses it, you should turn right and leave the cemetery by the field gate (6). At this point the circular walk continues slightly to the right, up through this field – which forms part of the Wigwell Nature Reserve, managed by the Wychwood Project – to the road by the Scout Hut.

By turning left you can join another permissive path, which leads to Banbury Hill Farm. Continuing the current circular walk, you now cross the road (Nine Acres Lane) and take the steps leading to a footpath (7) alongside the Nine Acres recreation ground and the tennis courts. Pass the Community Centre and continue across the Co-op car-park to complete the walk.

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