Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Berkshire

Orange walk: Badbury and Great Coxwell Barn

Great Coxwell Barn seen in the distance with a blue sky and vivid green grass in the foreground. — The 13th-century Great Coxwell Barn | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

This gentle circular walk through traditionally rural estates is a delight for ramblers. It passes through two picturesque working farms, open fields and bluebell woods. There's an abundance of wildlife to spot whatever the season, including flowers, birds, butterflies and fungi. Follow the orange waymarks to keep to the trail.

Near to

Great Coxwell Barn

Start point

Badbury Hill car park, grid ref: SU262946

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 3.5 (km: 5.6)

Duration1 hour 30 mins

Dog friendly***

*Undulating route on natural surfaces with one significant incline. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Uneven terrain, with several stiles and gates. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Dogs on leads welcome. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Address
Great Coxwell Barn, Coxwell, Faringdon, SN7 7LZ
Directions via Google Maps
By train
The nearest station is Swindon, 10 miles away.
By bus
Service from Swindon to Oxford. Alight at Great Coxwell.
Cycling
Great Coxwell Barn is close to local cycle routes on the National Cycle Network.
Cycle route information
By road
Great Coxwell Barn is on the Buscot and Coleshill Estates, 2 miles (3.2km) south-west of Faringdon between the A420 and B4019. Parking is limited to a road-side layby.
Total stages: 7
Total stages: 7
Start point
Badbury Hill car park, grid ref: SU262946
Stage 1
At the far end of Badbury Hill car park, turn left through a gateway and turn right along a permissive path inside a road-side hedge.
Badbury Clump
An Iron Age hillfort was once at the top of Badbury Woods, in the area next to the car park. It is likely that the fort was built and occupied from around 600 BC and was in continuous use until the first century AD. It was mainly used for storage and would have housed round huts, grain storage pits and stock pounds inside its ramparts. Much evidence of the fort has been lost over the years from ploughing. Today, Badbury Clump is renowned for its beech trees and bluebell displays in spring and early summer.
Stage 2
At the second gateway, turn right, cross the road and go over a stile. Continue along a grass track, alongside a wood. Go through the metal kissing gate into a field. You can also cut through the wood but it can be very wet due to natural springs.
Stage 3
Follow a field around to the left until you see a gateway, where you can go through to Great Coxwell Barn.
Stage 4
Before you continue the walk, take some time to explore Great Coxwell Barn.
Stage 5
Walk into the village and turn right into Puddleduck Lane. Continue past farm buildings and across an open field with a ridge and furrow pattern. Continue three gates and along the field to the farm track. Turn right through Colleymore Farm.
Stage 6
Cross the road and follow Brimstone Farm drive.
Stage 7
Turn right just before the farmhouse and follow the edge of the field. Continue over the footbridge into the second field. Turn left and then right along the hedge and enter Coxwell Woods. Follow the track straight up the hill through the woods, past a half-hidden cottage, until you return to Badbury Hill car park.
Badbury Hill
Watch out for red kites and buzzards soaring overhead as you cross the fields towards Badbury Hill. In summer, enjoy the welcome dappled shade of the trees, which include oak, ash, birch hazel and wild cherry, as well as Scots pine. The woods, which we care for, are alive with insects and animals, including grey squirrels and fallow deer. Young adventurers can make a trail with sticks or try den building.
End point
Badbury Hill car park, grid ref: SU262946
Trail map
Map route for Coleshill orange walk from Badbury to Great Coxwell Barn, Oxfordshire | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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Path leading through avenue of tall deciduous trees

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Trail

Orange walk: Badbury and Great Coxwell Barn

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