The Oxfordshire Way
The Oxfordshire Way is a 68 mile route stretching from the beautiful Cotswolds to the glorious Chilterns. It starts in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire and runs all the way to Henley-on-Thames. The majority of the path is in Oxfordshire and it passes through beautiful local sites and villages such as Blenheim Park, Islip, Waterperry and Beckley. We walked the 2 mile route from Noke to Beckley.
The walk skirts the southern edge of RSPB Otmoor Nature Reserve so bring some binoculars for wildlife spotting as you have views across the whole reserve. Not only did we see a huge array of wildfowl, we also spied some very fast brown hares and muntjac deer sprinting across the vast expanse. We went just after the snow had fallen last weekend and were lucky that some had stayed on the path; snowball fights ensued en route — both welcome and unwelcome!
The map is simple to navigate and the paths are easy to walk, with only one long stretch of mud through the woods. My nearly 2 year old managed to walk the majority of the 2 miles and only asked to be carried through the really muddy bits, whilst the two big boys loved the new adventure and could run off ahead whilst still in sight. We didn’t see a single person on our walk.
Depending on who you are with and their ability to walk for extended periods, it may be worth getting dropped off at one end then collected at the other. We ambled half the route as a family to make sure the terrain was walkable, then my partner doubled back on himself and bought the car around to meet us in Beckley. The children were delighted! Despite being fuelled along the way by Oreo Cookies and Innocent smoothies, they couldn’t get in the car quick enough to rest their weary legs — it was like the reunion scene at the end of Shawshank Redemption!
If you fancied a longer walk, you can connect up to the 1.5 mile visitor trail that runs into the heart of Otmoor. A real treasure trove of wildlife can be found with plenty of places to stop, look, listen and marvel at the wonders of nature.
💴 Free
❌ Not wheelchair or pushchair accessible due to muddy terrain and gates
🐶 Dogs welcome on the Oxfordshire Way, not on the Otmoor visitor trails.
🅿️ Parking options in Beckley, this part of the walk ends on Church Street, or in Noke, at point 2 on the map near Lower Farm.
🚗 Beckley is 4 minutes from Headington roundabout and Noke is 9 minutes.
ℹ️ Maps of the Oxfordshire Way can be found here.
More information on the RSPB Otmoor Nature Reserve can be found here.
⭐️ If this walk is not local to you, please enjoy it after lockdown⭐️
⭐️Please stay socially distanced from others⭐️
