Asthall, Widford and Swinbrook & Widford Church and Paynes Farm

(S/E) From the entrance to The Swan Inn, turn left for a few steps, cross the road and go over a stone slab stile to the left of the house opposite. Cross the field to another stone stile next to a gate and follow the wall beyond, before heading across the field to a wooden stile left of a large tree.

(1) Keep towards the right-hand side in the next field, to emerge on the road by the bridge over the river. Turn right and walk into Asthall village, ignoring the left-hand turn to Asthall Farm.

(2) Turn right in the village and walk past the Maytime Inn to the parish church. Follow the road round to the left. At a T-junction, turn left down an avenue of trees. At the next junction, turn right onto a farm track.
Go through a couple of farm gates then, when the track bends right around a copse, take an unsurfaced track straight ahead. Skirt another copse on your left then walk up the field edge to the A40.

(3) Cross the road carefully into Burford Road and go through the gateway on the right. Turn left along the field edge. At a stile on the left, just before the path rejoins the road, turn right and walk across the field to another stile. Walk through a series of horse paddocks beyond, separated by gates.

(4) Beyond the buildings, enter a triangular field and walk along the left-hand fence to a stile into a hedged track next to a sand quarry. Turn right and walk out to the A40. Cross over and go through a metal field gate; cross four fields separated by gates to descend to Mill Farm.

(5) Walk out to the road and cross over, passing the mill and crossing the Windrush. Shortly afterwards, turn right and follow the track across the field to Widford Church. Beyond the gate by the cattle grid, turn left to a field gate into the dry valley of Dean Bottom.

(6) Walk up the valley for 600 yards, to a stile into a narrow lane. Turn right along the lane for 300 yards before turning left along a hedged green lane that descends to a gate. Ignore the valley on the right and follow the track half-right up the hillside opposite.

Walk along the edge of the wood on your left before bearing right to a gate in the corner. Follow a stony track downhill to meet a metalled road.

(7) Turn right and walk down to a grass triangle in front of some stone cottages. Turn right to another junction, where you turn left, signposted to Fordwells and Leafield.
Walk up the lane with woods to left and right. About half a mile from the junction, shortly after the woodland on the right gives way to open fields, turn right onto an obvious track signposted “BRIDLEWAY LEADING TO BYWAY”.

(8) Follow this track for three quarters of a mile, to meet a road at a junction. Take the descending lane (Ninety Cut Hill) opposite, signposted to Asthall. Pass the driveway to a farm on the left, then take a footpath over a stile on the right signposted “Swinbrook 1⁄2”. Follow the right-hand hedge to a gate, and then a stone wall to a second gate with a slab stile. Bear left to another slab stile opposite The Swan Inn. (S/E)