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View over field containing Frisian cows, with copse of trees behind and hills in the distance
View over the Coleshill Park, Oxfordshire | © National Trust Images/John Miller
Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Berkshire

Coleshill purple walk

Splendid views of the White Horse Hill and Uffington Castle are a highlight of this gentle trail through the traditionally farmed estate land at Coleshill. Ramblers can also take a short detour to visit the magnificent Great Coxwell Barn and the nearby 12th-century village church. Route is marked with purple way markers.

Total steps: 8

Total steps: 8

Start point

The Cuckoopen Plantation, Coleshill, grid ref: SU243939

Step 1

Park at the Cuckoopen Plantation. Follow road towards Faringdon and cross the road to Ashen Copse Farm drive. Continue straight on to the farm. From here you will find the best views of White Horse Hill.

Step 2

A shorter walk can be taken by turning right at Ashen Copse Farm and following directions back to Coleshill across the park as described in Coleshill's red or green walks.

Step 3

Turn left immediately before the farm and keep the farm buildings to your right. Turn right into a field.

Step 4

Walk diagonally across the field, through two gates and continue diagonally across a second field. Go through another gate before entering into a small wood. Turn left to cross over a footbridge and a stile.

Step 5

Bear right, then left, and walk around a field following the hedge. Follow a track which bends to the right until you reach a gate. Go through the gate and cross three fields, going through more gates and over a stile until you reach Great Coxwell village.

Step 6

Turn left through a kissing gate and cross a gravelled driveway past some private houses, following the footpath past Cedar Lodge. Go through a gate into a paddock, then bear right through two gates, after which you continue around the edge of a field to the left of a white house.

Step 7

To continue the walk, turn left at the track. (To make a detour to visit the Great Barn and the 12th-century church, turn right onto Puddleduck Lane and into the village, then return to this point). Continue along the track across open fields until you reach a farm track. Turn right through Colleymore Farm.

Step 8

Cross the road and follow Brimstone Farm drive. Turn left before the right-hand bend. Cross a field, a stile and a footbridge, passing Fern Copse on your right and walk uphill to Cuckoopen Plantation. Turn left at the woods and follow the perimeter to return to the car park, or turn right to skirt around the wood. Enter the wood and follow the path to the left back to the car park.

End point

The Cuckoopen Plantation, Coleshill, grid ref: SU243939

Trail map

Map of Coleshill purple walk, Oxfordshire
Coleshill purple walk, Oxfordshire | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey

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Get in touch

Coleshill, near Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 7PT

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