Thursday 10th July 2014 Oxford Canal Walk Ramble 11: Lower Heyford to Thrupp

Thursday 10th July 2014 Oxford Canal Walk Ramble 11

Lower Heyford (Bridge 206) To Thrupp, which is about 7½ miles.

We, with Margaret B, Hugh, John, Julie, Sue C., Jem, Dot, Dave, Liz and Jean, set out from Lower Heyford and headed south along our route through rural North Oxfordshire at about 11am. 

Close to our start are the splendid gardens of Rousham House. They were created by William Kent and are rather special as they remain largely unaltered from the 1700s.

A stretch of the Oxfordshire Way long distance footpath follows the course of the metalled Akeman Street near here. This major Roman road linked Cirencester with St Albans and crossed the Cherwell River via a ford near to Tackley.

Alongside the opposite side of the canal there was once a limestone quarry near to Kirtlington (a small village, which has a thriving polo club with seven pitches and full programme of events).

This area is famous for its mammal fossils, and the quarry is the richest mammal-bearing site of the Middle Jurassic Age known anywhere in the world. Many bones and teeth found here are now in local and national museums.

The strip of land adjacent to the canal is now an important nature reserve. Small paths go along the steep sides, much of which is dense woodland. We spotted pretty tables and chairs under shelters and wondered if they were Jane's famous Cream Tea Garden that opens on alternate weekends during the summer. There is also a farm shop and wooden wheelbarrow maker there too; so unexpected in such a remote and hidden location.

Pigeon or Enser’s Mill Lock is where we stopped for picnic lunch and superb Eccles cakes made by Julie’s husband, Ian.

For much of the time as we walked along, we seemed to be in a natural green tunnel. At a low level and with lush vegetation all around, we could only occasionally glimpse through the screen to view the surrounding countryside. One thing that did stand out was the tall landmark chimney of North Oxfordshire at the abandoned Shipton-on-Cherwell cement works and quarry. Also, from a couple of viewpoints we could just see Whitehill Earth Station with several white communication dishes. It doesn’t appear to be a large complex, but seems to be rather important for metrological, air traffic and other satellite communications.

We knew that we were getting near to Oxford when we saw a Latin phrase Omnia causa fiunt (everything happens for a reason) written on a small blackboard in one of the small gardens, besides the more permanently moored narrowboats.

In a major railway accident at Shipton on Christmas Eve 1874, the crowded London to Birmingham express was derailed as it crossed the Cherwell just east of the village. Several carriages plunged down a steep embankment into the meadows between the river and the canal, killing 34 people and seriously injuring a further 65.

Shipton Manor House, again very close by, but well hidden, has had two well-known owners; William Turner, (a water colour painter not quite as famous as JWM Turner) and Richard Branson, (Virgin boss who used the house as a recording studio).

We had brilliant sunshine all the way; none of the predicted heavy rain.  At Thrupp Wharf at Annie’s Tearooms we enjoyed a nice cup of tea or two, and reflected on the fact that this must be one of the nicest stretches of canal in the country, certainly one of the greenest; one that is well-used and enjoyed.

I found this from an obituary in the Guardian -

In 1967 Jack Skinner, a local canal worker, helped to save the Oxford Canal from closure a second time. Treasury officials had recommended closing it down and filling it in, arguing that it was no longer commercially viable. Jack was asked to take Barbara Castle, the Minister of Transport, on a fact-finding trip from Thrupp to Lower Heyford. He took the precaution of going out the night before and getting the co-operation of the lock keepers en route, to ensure that there would be enough water in the pounds to give the impression that there was more water in the near-derelict canal than there actually was. ‘She never knew the difference – and it done the trick’, he recalled with pride many years later. Mrs Castle decided to save the canal, ultimately securing enough subsidy to keep open 1,400 miles of commercially non-viable canals for pleasure cruising. Everyone who now enjoys fishing in the Oxford Canal, or cruising on it, or walking along the towpath should remember with gratitude Jack Skinner and the trick that he played on the Minister of Transport.