Day 131 - Sunday walk? As sure as the wind blows!

When we went to bed last night, Phil and I had planned to take the train to Hereford, a cathedral city at the end of the rail line we're on that originates at Paddington in London. But upon checking the weather when we awoke this morning, as one must do, we noted that Hereford was expected to face anything from sun, sleet, or rain at any point in the day...all day.  However, the area around Moreton in Marsh and further east toward Oxford was expected to be predominately sunny with only a chance of sleet or rain (depending on what cloud you happened to be under at the time). So, we chose to take the train to Hanborough and then walk back to Charlbury, a hillside town we have admired from the train on many occasions, and hope for the best the day's weather had to offer.

Today's walk. We actually went across the field between 2 Hill Barn Cottages and Charlbury, but Google
maps doesn't have the Oxfordshire Way on its maps.

Christ Church parish church built in 1893 in
Long Hanborough. Source: www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

Hanborough (or Long Hanborough) was our starting point. It was from here that a few weeks ago we walked to Blenheim Palace heading in the opposite direction of today's walk. The train station here was made famous as the place where the train carrying Churchill's coffin stopped, and his coffin removed to be carried to his final resting place in the nearby village of Bladon.

Combe Bridge.
Source: Wikipedia

Combe Mill, a heritage building and
museum, that once operated for
nearby Blenheim Palace.
Source: http://www.combemill.co.uk

At the main intersection in Long Hanborough, we turned north toward Combe, a village with close ties to the Blenheim Palace Estate which it borders. We crossed over the narrow Combe Bridge, a stone bridge that spans the Evenlode River. The Blenheim estates former sawmill, Combe Mill, is just down the road from the bridge. A mill still exists on the site as does an active wood-related industrial estate. The site also housed the workshop for Blenheim where various iron objects were cast.

From Combe we made a gentle uphill climb along a country road that had been closed to traffic. It was lined with tall trees on either side, which helped to block some of the high winds we were walking directly into.

The next village was Stonesfield, which sits on the crest of the escarpment we had climbed. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Stonesfield as Stunsfeld, meaning "fool's field," interesting as we did comment on how much rock made up the ploughed fields we passed over in the area. The area was famous for its slate used on many Cotswold roofs and on the roofs of many Oxford colleges.

Unfortunately, the walk out of Stonefield led us back downhill, and at a farm road we had to make our way back up the escarpment again. However, we were pleased to discover that this part of the walk, which is part of the Oxfordshire Way Path, was actually a straight lane, paved for most of the way, so it made for relatively easy walking.

The wind was now directly in our face and it was bringing toward us two rather ominous clouds. The one slightly to the right of us was obviously dumping snow. The one directly in front was grey with heavy rain. The path ahead changed into a treelined bridle way so provided some protection from the wind. We made plans to snuggle together under the large umbrella I was carrying and using as a walking stick once the rain hit and were hoping we'd still be in the tree cover when that happened. But as luck would have it, the band of rain skirted us across the valley to our left...although a snuggle in the rain would have been nice.

The bridle way seemed to go on forever and required some careful stepping. Horses had softened the centre of the path and so with the recent rains it could be a bit muddy. But we managed to step along the edges most of the way, knocking overhanging branches out of the way as needed. Good thing it was winter as we did not have to fight back the nettle...a nasty weed that stings when you get the oil from it on your skin.

We reached Charlbury dry and with boots surprisingly clean. Charlbury is a pretty town (although not quite what our imaginations had built it up to be from our views from the train). We had, however, arrived by about 1:30, so lunch was in order. At the centre of Charlbury are three pubs and a deli cafe, all open on this Sunday. We chose The Bell Inn, which turned out to be the perfect choice! Fabulous food in a really cosy environment. They were doing a booming business, so we were lucky to get a table for two next to a stone fireplace. My meal of courgette and quinoa fritters with a really fresh shredded courgette (zucchini) salad was lovely, although I did steal one of Phil's Yorkshire puddings (they were the best we've had yet).

A brisk walk to the Charlbury rail station and we were soon on our way back to Moreton in Marsh...oh, and we enjoyed another Sunday of free rail travel...always a lovely bonus!