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Home , Dorchester on Thames, Little Wittenham, Long Wittenham, Pendon Museum, Wittenham Clumps

The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond wild swimming walks the famous on Hampstead Heath has leads you on 28 adventures into the swimming ladies been a women’s swimming beautiful countryside of southern of London’s Hampstead pond since 1926. World . Discover swimming meadows ponds share their favourite famous for its history and along the Thames, secret coves of the walks with a dip. Leave the idyllic setting, it has become Sussex seashore and hidden islands of car at home this summer a magnet for London the Essex coast. with 28 days out across residents and visitors alike. southern and eastern England. Margaret Dickinson (editor) All the walking routes are accessible is a year-round wild swimmer, by train and each comes with ideas for Featuring secret lakes, river documentary film-maker and places to visit and refreshments along meadows and sandy seaside writer who campaigned to the route. Includes suggestions for beaches, Wild Swimming save swimming on the Heath. longer weekends away as well. Walks is rich with stories, photos and natural history. Complete with detailed directions, maps and practical inspiration, this book is perfect for families, If you like Wild Swimming walkers and swimmers alike. Walks you might also like these other titles from Includes downloadable WildThingsPublishing.com: route information to print out, or take with you on your phone or tablet.

£14.99 9 781910 636015 The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond wild swimming walks the famous on Hampstead Heath has leads you on 28 adventures into the swimming ladies been a women’s swimming beautiful countryside of southern of London’s Hampstead pond since 1926. World England. Discover swimming meadows ponds share their favourite famous for its history and along the Thames, secret coves of the walks with a dip. Leave the idyllic setting, it has become Sussex seashore and hidden islands of car at home this summer a magnet for London the Essex coast. with 28 days out across residents and visitors alike. southern and eastern England. Margaret Dickinson (editor) All the walking routes are accessible is a year-round wild swimmer, by train and each comes with ideas for Featuring secret lakes, river documentary film-maker and places to visit and refreshments along meadows and sandy seaside writer who campaigned to the route. Includes suggestions for beaches, Wild Swimming save swimming on the Heath. longer weekends away as well. Walks is rich with stories, photos and natural history. Complete with detailed directions, maps and practical inspiration, this book is perfect for families, If you like Wild Swimming walkers and swimmers alike. Walks you might also like these other titles from Includes downloadable WildThingsPublishing.com: route information to print out, or take with you on your phone or tablet.

£14.99 9 781910 636015 Walk 16 to ,

An easy walk with plenty of opportunities to INFORMATION swim in the , and optional visits Distance: 8.5 miles. to an Iron Age hill fort and a medieval abbey. Time: 4.5 hours. Map: OS Landranger 164 () or OS Explorer 170 (Abingdon, n this walk you are never far from the Thames until the Wantage & ). final stretch into Didcot. The going is easy, on flat land Start point: Shillingford bus stop or gentle inclines, with constant views along the river or by The Kingfisher Inn, Shillingford. End point: Didcot Station. down towards it from slightly higher ground. Public transport: By train from There are many possible swimming places – the river is quite Paddington to Reading; bus X39 or wide and deep and easy to swim across. There is some river X40 from stop EB outside Reading Station to Shillingford (buses run by Otraffic, which you need to look out for, and there are several weirs, Thames Travel, tel 01865 785400). so avoid swimming too close to one. We had our first swim a little Return by train from Didcot. upstream from Shillingford Bridge Hotel, our second upstream Swimming: River Thames. from Day’s Lock and our last just where the route leaves the river Places of interest: weirs; the Wittenham for the last time. In fact, there are plenty of swimming spots all Clumps and Iron Age hill fort; St along the river upstream from Day’s Lock 4 - 5 , although in Mary’s church and Pendon Museum, some places the bank is steep and in others the river is shallow ; optional visit to which has a at the edge, but it is easy enough to paddle out to deep water. medieval abbey and museum. In the earlier part of the walk a relative absence of recent Refreshments: The Kingfisher development allows the landscape to evoke its long human Inn (OX10 7EL, tel 01865 858595) and Shillingford Bridge Hotel (OX10 history. There are Roman and pre-Roman earthworks and a 8LZ, tel 01865 858567) in pattern of small villages on ancient sites. Most of them trace Shillingford; The Plough Inn (OX14 their origin back to Saxon times or earlier. Pottery excavated 4QH, tel 01865 407738) and from the Sinodun Hills – site of a hill fort, crowned by the Waggon & Horses (OX14 3BW, tel 01235 525012) in Long Wittenham; oldest planted hilltop beeches in England and also known as the plenty of places in Dorchester on – indicates occupation from the first to the Thames, just off the route. fifth centuries. Weekend suggestions: Break the walk in Dorchester on Thames; Little Wittenham is a tiny hamlet consisting of a few houses places to stay include The George and the church of Saint Peter. The tower is 14th to 15th century Hotel (OX10 7HH) and Fleur de Lys but the nave was rebuilt in the 19th century. The main point of Inn (OX10 7HH, tel 01865 340502). interest is an alabaster monument to Sir William Dunch, MP for Alternatively, combine this walk with walk 15, Goring and Streatley to Wallingford in the late 16th century, his wife (who was an aunt (see this for details). of Oliver Cromwell) and his children.

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The village of Long Wittenham 6 has a number of old houses, several with cruck frames, including a cottage alleged to date from the 13th century. The church dates from the 12th century and contains various Norman features: the chancel arch, a window in the north wall of the chancel and a remarkable round lead font decorated with bishops standing beneath an arcade, with rosettes and wheels above. It was hidden from Cromwellian soldiers and forgotten, then rediscovered in the 19th century. The font cover and other woodwork in the church is Jacobean; in the chancel there is a most unusual carved piscina. At the end of the village you will find the Pendon Museum with a collection of model railways and landscapes, housed in a former pub building.

Directions

1 Shilliingford Bridge is a lawn belonging to Shillingford reeds. The path leaves the river by There are two bus stops in Bridge Hotel, which charges £15 a kissing gate (there is another Shillingford. Alight at the second for picnicking on its lawn. So, don’t good place to swim just beyond (by The Kingfisher Inn) at the west have your picnic here. this) and heads off along the edge end of the village, retrace your 0.5 miles of a field with a ditch and hedge steps to the crossroads and just on your left. At a junction of beyond Wharf Road take a 2 To Little paths, turn right on a bridleway narrow, enclosed footpath signed Wittenham Wood which runs into a farm track. for the . After about Beyond the hotel lawn keep to the (Taking this track to pass North 300 metres, at the bottom, bear riverside footpath (note, this is not Farm on your left would be the left onto a minor road, which the Thames Path) where there are shortest route, but does not takes you to the main road, where possible places to swim as the appear to be a right of way and you turn right to cross over the path soon leaves the river. At first the bridleway makes a loop below Thames by an attractive bridge. the bank is high and overgrown the farm.) Follow the bridleway as Just after the bridge turn right but soon there are spots where it veers off left to pass North along the river bank where there you can enter the water through Farm on your right, crossing

124 125 Directions Walk 16 SHILLINGFORD TO DIDCOT, OXFORDSHIRE another farm track. At a path church, a museum and a pub. As soon as you are far enough dense bed of reeds. When we Long Wittenham, passing a few an off-road track and heads T-junction turn right then left to Explore and return to where you from the weir you can swim. parted the reeds, however, we outlying houses on the right. across flat fields to Didcot. rejoin the track from the farm. crossed the Thames. (This adds Continuing mileages are for the route found there was a boardwalk in 5.5 miles 7 miles Continue on this bridleway to reach about two miles.) with neither detours nor shortcut. perfectly good repair. (If you miss Little Wittenham Wood. This is the Optional shortcut: If you do not 2.5 miles the path you reach a road a quarter 6 Towards Didcot 7 Didcot only significant wood on the walk, want another swim, you can take a of a mile upstream and can turn left Long Wittenham lives up to its The cycle track crosses a main which may be useful to bear in mind direct byroad from Little 4 Beside the Thames there to Long Wittenham, but look name as it lines the road for road and continues through fields if it is very hot or pouring with rain. Wittenham to Long Wittenham. In Follow the Thames Path by the out for traffic.) nearly a mile. As you come in to the edge of Didcot where it 1.5 miles this case retrace your steps over the river for about two miles through 4.5 miles there is a crossroads where you goes under the ring road. A short bridges (if you crossed them) back open meadows with little shade or carry straight on, down the main distance after passing under the 3 Optional detours past Little Wittenham church and shelter. After about a mile you start 5 To Long Wittenham street. (This is where the shortcut bypass, where the cycle track is and a shortcut continue on the lane to turn right at to see scattered buildings on the far Assuming you find it, turn left on rejoins the route.) The church of signed to the left, continue on the Follow the path through the a junction, taking a minor road and bank, boat houses, a few old villas the path, which soon becomes a St Mary’s is at this end of the footpath straight ahead. Soon it wood, which leads straight on and cycleway to Long Wittenham. (This and some rather dull, modern pleasant grassy track lined with village. In the middle of the village runs beside the main railway. slightly uphill. saves about 1.5 miles.) houses. Shortly after the buildings bushes. After a little over half a the main road turns left but Eventually, you reach a road where Detour 1: Just before leaving the Main route: From the last of the finish, look for a path leading away mile it comes to a junction with a continue on the minor road you turn right under the railway wood turn left to visit the Iron bridges take the sharp left path to from the river to Long Wittenham. hard track where you turn right ahead, which is a cycle route and then right again to arrive at Age fort on Castle Hill follow the river bank to Day’s It is not easy to spot because there and soon pass some buildings on (NCR5). At the far end of the Didcot station. (Wittenham Clumps), from where Lock and a weir, where you cross is no noticeable turning, the sign is your right. Keep to the lane, settlement is the Pendon 8.5 miles there is a spectacular view over back over the river and turn right inconspicuous and, when we did the which veers slightly left then Museum. From here, stay on the the Thames valley – a perfect to follow the river path upstream. walk, it appeared to point into a straightens out and continues to cycle route, which soon becomes Margaret Dickinson, Liz Valentine. place for a picnic. From here descend by a footpath to Little Wittenham to rejoin the main DDraytonrayton route. (This adds about one mile.) BerinsfieldBerinsfield SSaintaint Le Leonardonard R i v e r T h If you do not make the detour, a m CCliftonlifton e s continue straight on to emerge on HHaampddenen 5 the far side of the wood at a meadow where there are beautiful views, across the river below and DorchesterDorchester OnOn ThamesThames up to Wittenham Clumps. Follow 6 LLongong W Wiitteenhamnham the path gently downhill to a lane 4 where you turn right into Little ApplefordAppleford LLitittle Wittenham. Go past the church WiWittenhamenham SShillingfordhillingford and continue to cross three 7 Round Hill 3 1 bridges, the last two over the Castle Hill Thames. On the far side there are three paths, one that turns sharp 2 left, one that bears left, and the BrightwellBrightwell Thames Path that bears right cumcum SotwellSotwell along the river back to Shillingford. LLadygradygrove Detour 2: Take the path that bears left to the fairly large DDIDCOTIDCOT ancient village of Dorchester on FlFleet MeadowMeadow NNorthorth Thames, where there is an abbey MMoretonoreton

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