Bampton - Rushey Lock - Bampton
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Bampton is one of the oldest villages in England; there is archaeological evidence that a community has existed here since the Iron Age. The village stood in the centre of a large area of commonland until about 1850, hence its previous name of Bampton-in-the-Bush. Today, it has many 17th and 18th Century houses, several pubs and an early 19th Century, Italianate town hall.
From Bampton, the walk heads for the River Thames via RAF Bampton Castle. You won't see any aeroplanes here, but instead a series of transmitters, which are used for carrying out top secret work listening in on radio communications made all over the world.
The River Thames is crossed at Old Man's Bridge and the walk follows the Thames Path along a particularly twisty part of the river as far as Rushey Lock, which is well-known for the topiary frog in the lock-keeper's garden.
The return to Bampton is made via Shillbrook Wood, one of 200 woods created around the country through Woods on your Doorstep to celebrate the millennium.
England - Central England - Oxfordshire - Thames Valley
Features
Birds, Church, Flowers, Food Shop, Industrial Archaeology, Mostly Flat, Pub, Public Transport, River, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland
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