| Great Trails: Oxford Tour 3 |
It's the third day of our trip and we still have so much to see, what with the picture-postcard villages, an ancient monument dating back some 5000 years and a wildlife park. With this in rriind, it's definitely time to put the car to good use.
1 TOLLS, LIONS AND LEVELLERS
The houses and buildings in the High Street as you drive into Burford are an immediate reminder of days long gone, with many dating back to the 15th century when wool was the basis of the area's prosperity. Having parked the car, walk up the street and look down on the town and surrounding countryside. The views are superb.
Half way up the street is Tolsey Hall, a Tudor house with an open ground floor and stalls selling all manner of goods. The word 'tolsey' derives from toll
— the house being where traders paid their dues. The house is also the local museum.
At the bottom of the street is a stone bridge crossing the River Windrush. The river meanders through the lower town and past the church and free car park. Towards the end of the Civil War the church served as a prison for around 340 'levellers' — the first libertarians in the world — who opposed Cromwell. Three of the ringleaders were shot nearby. Although the church dates from Norman times, most of Burford was built up around the time the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous in the Middle Ages.
Leave the town via the A361, travel south for about two miles, and you arrive at a crossroads with a sign to the Cotswolds Wildlife Park and Gardens to the right. Covering some 160 acres, the park is open daily except Christmas Day. It is home to some 250 species of exotic wildlife, including lions, rhinos, zebras, camels, ostriches and leopards. There's also an adventure playground, picnic areas and, from April to October, a narrow-gauge railway. Directly opposite is The Caravan Club's Burford Site.
2 CHIPPING NORTON
Chipping Norton is another Cotswold town built on the side of a hill. The word 'chipping' is old English for market and the name refers to the town's medieval past as a centre for the woollen industry.
Today, if anything best represents Chipping Norton it has to be Bliss Mill lying to the right of the A44 on the outskirts of the town. It was built in 1872 to replace an earlier mill which had burnt down, and although it ceased to produce tweed many years ago, its single tall chimney makes it unique. Sadly, some years ago, the mill was converted into luxury flats.
Also on the A44, on the outskirts of the town, is the local cemetery. This is worth visiting just to see Davey Barnard's grave near the entrance. Davey was a gypsy who died in 1973, his funeral being attended by travellers from all over the country. His double plot, which is hard to miss thanks to its headstone, is a marble five-bar gate complete with a horse's head etched onto it in gold.
This is a good point at which to pop into the Blue Boar for some refreshment and to peruse the town's photographic history adorning the walls of the pub.
3 GREAT TEW
Great Tew must be one of Oxfordshire's best-kept secrets. A picture-postcard village, it's only about six miles from Chipping Norton but far enough off the
beaten track to never get too crowded. The village can e reached by taking the unclassified road on the ight, off the A361, a couple of miles north of :hipping Norton, or by the longer route on the 4022 off the A34 at Enstone.
Great Tew is a collection of Cotswold stone cottages round a village green. You'll find the one pub there, he Faildand Arms, named after Charles I's secretary of tate who was killed at the battle of Newbury. here's a memorial to him in the church. It was only rected some 250 years after he was killed.
4 THE VALE OF THE WHITE HORSE
The Vale of the White Horse lies south-west of Oxford and is named after the horse that is cut into the chalk of the hill above Uffington. The horse, together with Dragon Hill and Uffington Castle, forms an estate of some 235 acres owned by the National Trust. Access to the White Horse is from a car park just below the summit of the hill.
The horse is said to be the oldest hill carving in the UK. It is best seen from the air, but despite this, the walk to the summit of the hill is still worth the effort for the magnificent views over the surrounding Cotswold countryside.
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Distance 70 miles
Time Nine hours
Start/finish Burford Caravan
Club Site, Bradwefl Grove,
Burford, Oxon OX1 8 4JJ
Suitable for All the family
Tourist Information
The Old Brewery, Sheep
Street, Burford, Oxon,
OX1 8 4LP Tel 01993 823558.
The Guildhall,
Chipping Norton Oxon
Tel 01608 644379.
Refreshments
The Blue Boar, Goddards
Lane Chipping Norton, Oxon.
Tel 01608 643525.
Burford House,
99 High Street, Burford, Oxon
OX184QA
Tel 01993 823151
Website Click Here
Email Click Here
Attractions
Cotswold Wildlife Park and
Gardens, Bradwell Grove,
Burford, Oxon, OX1 8 4JW
Tel 01993 823006
Website Click Here
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