{"id":2314,"date":"2021-08-21T03:42:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-21T02:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2314"},"modified":"2021-08-14T10:13:42","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T09:13:42","slug":"ascott-under-wychwood-oxfordshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2314","title":{"rendered":"Ascott-under-Wychwood and Evenlode Valley, Oxfordshire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/> First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Evenlode.gpx');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321821128_7d68528881_z.jpg\" title= \"51321821128 Bruerne Abbey\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321821128_7d68528881_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322618695_e94fb01c6d_z.jpg\" title= \"51322618695 Bruerne Abbey 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322618695_e94fb01c6d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51320884522_a62be50277_z.jpg\" title= \"51320884522 Harvest field margin\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51320884522_a62be50277_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51320884507_0d05ce2a26_z.jpg\" title= \"51320884507 Silver barley as yet unharvested\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51320884507_0d05ce2a26_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321821033_337ae12193_z.jpg\" title= \"51321821033 rolling harvest fields\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321821033_337ae12193_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322618510_3dafcc9f0e_z.jpg\" title= \"51322618510 River Evenlode\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322618510_3dafcc9f0e_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321621536_45091fff6c_z.jpg\" title= \"51321621536 Ascott Martyrs tapestry, Holy Trinity Church, Ascott-under-Wychwood\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51321621536_45091fff6c_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322338359_9bc51711e0_z.jpg\" title= \"51322338359 looking across River Evenlode valley\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322338359_9bc51711e0_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322617960_a30cef1a83_z.jpg\" title= \"51322617960 Lovely old barn and house near Ascott-under-Wychwood\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51322617960_a30cef1a83_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=2314\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=2314','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nA peaceful morning in Ascott-under-Wychwood. &#8216;Walking round the village?&#8217; panted the runner as she passed us. &#8216;Do go into the church and see the Martyrs&#8217; Tapestry &#8211; wonderful piece of work &#8211; &#8216; and she sped purposefully away.<\/p>\n<p>Against the north wall of Holy Trinity a beautifully embroidered tapestry depicted the labours of 19th-century rural women &#8211; harvesting, corn stooking, hay forking, glove making. Not just any females, but the &#8216;Ascott Martyrs,&#8217; sixteen women from this village sentenced to prison with hard labour (two with tiny children) in 1873 for the crime of dissuading local men from breaking a strike called by the newly formed National Union of Agricultural Workers.<\/p>\n<p>The Martyrs were exonerated by Royal Pardon. Queen Victoria sent each woman five shillings and a red flannel petticoat; and the NUAW, not to be outdone, topped up the largesse with \u00a35 and enough blue silk to make a dress apiece.<\/p>\n<p>The Oxfordshire Way headed west out of the village, an old country lane that passed a low green castle motte on the banks of the River Evenlode before reaching Shipton-under-Wychwood, bright with morning sunshine beside the river.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Shipton the Oxfordshire Way ran among cornfields, golden wheat stubbles and silver barley as yet unharvested. Crows bounced among the furrows, snapping up leatherjackets, worms and spilt grain.<\/p>\n<p>We passed the paddocks at Heath Farm where the horses twitched up their ears and flared their nostrils to see and scent us go by.<\/p>\n<p>Bruerne Wood, a scrap of ancient woodland, lay cool and dark under the blowy blue sky. A chiffchaff, not yet departed for winter in west Africa, gave out its two-tone call. A muntjac stag was barking like a cross old dog among the trees as we followed a ride north towards the handsome 18th-century country house of Bruerne Abbey.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the house we picked up the D&#8217;Arcy Dalton Way, another of the proliferation of long distance paths in these parts. The route ghosted across a golf course, then rose to the roof of the countryside at the Iron Age hillfort of The Roundabout.<\/p>\n<p>Before descending to the river and the homeward path, we sat savouring the view across the Evenlode Valley. Reaped fields, plough and stubble made a 21st century rural tapestry under the last of the afternoon sunshine.<\/p>\n<p>How hard is it? 9\u00bd miles; easy; waymarked trails across farmland<\/p>\n<p>Start: Ascott-under-Wychwood village green, Oxon OX7 6AA (OS ref SP 301187)<\/p>\n<p>Getting there Bus 210 from Witney<br \/>\nRoad &#8211; Ascott-under-Wychwood signed from A361 (Burford to Shipton-under-Wychwood)<\/p>\n<p>Walk (OS Explorers 180, OL45, 191): Left along main street. At T-junction, right (297183, &#8216;Oxfordshire Way&#8217;\/OW). In 500m, OW crosses railway, but keep ahead (291184, &#8216;Circular Route&#8217;). In \u00bd mile, just before house, left (285184, kissing gate); half left across field to A361 (282182). Left across river; in 300m, right (279182, OW).<\/p>\n<p>In 550m, just past Crown Nurseries, left (278187) along field edge. In 150m, right (276187); follow OW for 1\u00bc miles to road at Bruerne Abbey (264204). Right to cross railway (268206). In 50m, right (kissing gate, &#8216;D&#8217;Arcy Dalton Way\/DDW&#8217;) across golf course (DDW waymarked); on to cross road in Lyneham (280205); on for 1\u00bc miles. At top of rise DDW goes left (296212); but keep ahead to cross A361 (299213). Down Pudlicote Lane; in 1 mile pass Pudlicote House (313205); in another 200m, right (316203) on OW. After \u00bd mile OW sign points left, but keep straight ahead to gate on far side of field; follow OW back to Ascott-under-Wychwood.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch\/Accommodation: Swan Inn, Ascott-under-Wychwood OX7 6AY (01993-832332, <a href=\"http:\/\/countrycreatures.com\">countrycreatures.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Info: Witney TIC (01993-775802)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A peaceful morning in Ascott-under-Wychwood. &#8216;Walking round the village?&#8217; panted the runner as she passed us. &#8216;Do go into the church and see the Martyrs&#8217; Tapestry &#8211; wonderful piece of work &#8211; &#8216; and she sped purposefully away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}