We have a fantastic breakfast at Long Crendon Manor, complete with homemade preserves, then depart through the back garden. Molly, the youngest and friendliest of the St Bernards, dolefully watches us leave. We pop into the cafe in the grounds on our way out to buy a bagel lunch, then head off down the hill.
We descend via the road and fields to the small hamlet of Shabbington then cross the river Thame again over an old stone bridge and enter Oxfordshire. We keep on going down into the village of Waterstock, where we stop on a well-mowed grassy bank by the church (no bench) for a break.
There has been a noticeable deterioration in the footpaths since we've changed counties. Gone are the maintained paths and stiles of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Here, the paths are diverted via electric fences, the stiles are high and treacherous, and gates, metal cylinders, barbed wire and large tree trunks are used as obstructions. They are also overgrown and sometimes almost completely impassable.
We cross the river Thame again. All three times we have passed over an island, as the river is rather threaded it seems. We then skirt the village of Waterperry, that Rich insists we have visited before though I have no recollection of this, and climb up the vegetated steps to attain the road and a bridge over the M40.
We follow road and intermittent footpaths for a bit then pass under the A40 and head into Wheatley. Wheatley is very mixed and is said to be a village though is the size of many towns. We stop for lunch on a bench in St Mary's churchyard, dedicated to the memory of Cedric Ewan Barbour. It's a lovely spot, but hot and humid in the sunshine. As we move on, we pass an odd, spire-shaped building that resembles a sunken church spire. This is the Lock-up or Round House, built in 1834 to house men being taken to the Oxford court.s
We leave Wheatley by the Old London Road and head up Shotover Hill. Shotover Hill was a Saxon hunting ground but is now an SSSI. It rises to 171m and used to be the main stagecoach route into London. The metalled road does not reach the summit from this side, but a rough, pitted track does reach the summit and join up with the road from Oxford. When Rich had started work in Kent and I was still a student, he would drive up every Friday night for the weekend. One Friday, the A40 was closed so Rich decided to drive over the track up Shotover Hill to get into Oxford!
We descend via Brasenose Wood to reach the ring road which we cross on foot. Thank goodness for the central reservation! We pass through a golf course and into the suburbs of Oxford, where we stop at a corner shop for ice-cream and a drink. Eventually, we arrive at Cowley Road, spotting road signs we used to know and looking for the cinema on Jeune Street, called the Penultimate Picture Palace (PPP). It is now a community owned cinema named the Ultimate Picture Palace, and the famous facade sculpture of Al Jolson's hands are no more. This erstwhile sculpture was created by John Buckley and commissioned by the eccentric Bill Heine, who had a similar sculpture of a shark installed crashing into the roof of his terraced house to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.
Cowley Road arrives at the town centre at Oxford Plain. At the intersection between Cowley and Iffley Roads sits the Cape of Good Hope, where Rich and I first met and mentioned in the opening sentence of the HoCWalk blog.
On the opposite side of the roundabout is a Sainsbury's Local which was once a Youth Hostel Association shop where I bought my first boots and rucksack. We cross the Cherwell at Magdalen Bridge and head into the city centre along the High Street. I feel slightly anxious as we walk past the Examination Schools where we sat our exams in full sub fusc dress with hats and gowns. I still remember being gowned in an ermine robe by the porter in the college lodge in the height of summer to go and take my medical finals.
For old times' sake, we divert down Magpie Lane (John Speed's 1605 map shows this as a red light area with a very different name) to pass by Corpus Christi College, my alma mater by and where we were married.
We then return to the High, passing the covered market where the flowers were arranged for our wedding. We finally arrive at Carfax Tower, the nominal terminus of this first stage, and a good spot for a selfie.
Total distance: 187 miles
Hopefully see you again for the HoLEwalk part 2!
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