A Canal-side Walk

I recently enjoyed a beautiful canal-side walk along the Oxford Canal.

I walked from north along the Oxford Canal from Kidlington, passing by Thrupp and Shipton-on-Cherwell. The route passes by long stretches of narrowboat mooring, churches, pubs, and a Grade II listed lift bridge. The main Oxford to Birmingham railway crosses the canal, where there was a tragic train crash on Christmas Eve 1874 (34 died and dozens more were injured).

I reached Shiptonweir Lock (SP 48774 16978) before turning round to follow a path along the banks of the River Cherwell through a beautiful water meadow with pollarded willows, before returning to the canal towpath at Shipton-on-Cherwell.

There are several pubs along the route and the wonderful Annie’s Tea Room (good value and dog friendly) near the narrowboat turning (known as ‘winding) area at Thrupp Wide.

An all round great walk at anytime of the year and remember to take a camera is there is lots of interest.

All images taken with Leica Q3 (fixed 28mm lens) and edited in Adobe Lightroom. EXIF data is displayed by clicking on images.