Shipchi one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Lovely walk from Chipping Norton to Shipston-on-Stour. A mix of fields, small woodland areas and different track surfaces. Great views over the countryside along the way. Five of us walked it on a dry day late September, after some rain the week before. Good blackberry picking walk! Some parts follow national trails, including the d’Arcy Dalton Way. It would have been 5 stars but have given less due to a section of the route which could do with some improvements.

Heading out of Chipping Norton we passed by the alms houses and church.
Keep an eye on map as signage isn’t great in parts. On the whole it is an easy route to follow though.

Between a stile at what3words ///rushed.brimmed.thinnest and ///interacts.hangs.lines is tricky in parts: a stile overgrown with brambles and foliage and fallen tree nearby (can avoid this if use nearby 5-bar gate in same field to cut this part out), a badly damaged bridge over river, and a few overgrown brambles between fields and over a small brook, also a couple of fields that could potentially be quite muddy to cross, and an occasional tricky stile. This part is Shakespeare’s Way. If walking in opposite direction from Shipston to Chipping Norton, look out for a small unsigned gap in hedge on Burlington Road heading towards Cherington (what3words approx location looking at map afterwards is ///chucked.game.movements). Approaching Shipston there was a sign saying bull in field but we only saw horses in it.

From Little Rollright, the Rollright Stones are not far away and are worth a detour.

Chipping Norton: bus (check timetable before travelling), accommodation, food and other shops, cafes and pubs.
Shipston-on-Stour: bus (check timetable before travelling), accommodation, food and other shops, cafes and pubs.
Along the way: village shop (check opening hours) and pub in Long Compton and pub in Cherington. Campsite and pub if detour through the woods above Long Compton to Whichford.

I completed this walk yesterday walking northwards from Chipping Norton. It's a really good route which is fairly undulating throughout. There is greater total descent than ascent in this direction if that is a factor you're interested in, however there are still two good ascents in the walk, Baker's Hill on leaving Little Rollright and Margett's Hill on leaving Long Compton.

I agree with the four star rating given by other reviewers. Although relatively quiet, the route does have a small amount of road walking which deters me from giving the full five star treatment. There are also one or two minor deviations around field perimeters, and just one section which was slightly tricky to find. Full details below.

The route leaves Chipping Norton fairly quickly via a playground (photo 1) and out in to open countryside. It's a nice descent into the village of Salford, with decent views ahead (photo 3). On passing through Salford, keep an eye out for a green painted early 20th Century Gilbert & Barker petrol pump which seems a little out of place, but a nice curiosity nevertheless.

Leaving Salford, the route climbs gently before descending again into the pretty Little Rollright. The route then climbs steadily away from the village up a metalled farmers track (photo 7) and over the route's first significant hill. The highest point of the walk (795' a.s.l. - photo 8) is reached after a section of road walking which passes next to Rollright Quarry.

The descent into Long Compton offers splendid views ahead. On reaching the village, there's a walk alongside the main A3400 road before leaving on the northern side and up the second significant ascent of the route, Margett's Hill. After descending on the other side of Margett's Hill and before reaching Cherington, the footpath lies directly over the source of a spring which makes the path muddy (photo 13).

On leaving Cherington, the path towards the footbridge in need of repair can be hard to find as it passes through a small section of woodland (photo 14). It is also slightly overgrown, but not impassable. The route towards Willington then tends to force the walker around field perimeters, particularly between Flaxen Hill and Ivy Ground Spinney. The rest of the route towards Shipston is then pretty straightforward.

The route has a good amount of gates, stiles, footbridges and steps to negotiate. The footbridge near Cherington had a sign explaining that repairs were forthcoming so maybe by the time you take this route the footbridge is in a better state. There are pubs en route for refreshments, with the Red Lion at Long Compton the obvious at the halfway mark. I do recommend this route, and would walk again.

A good route generally. Part of Shakespeare’s Way. Just a few points:-
1. At GR SP285369 a wooden bridge is rotted in places (see photo). Best to hold on to a rail and cross along an edge.
2. At Cherington, the footpath opposite the pub is tricky to locate. It runs alongside the right hand end of the terrace of bungalows. Past some lock-up garages and then across a field. Head for the church tower.
3. At GR SP291357 the path is very muddy due to a spring. Suggest go through wide gateway on the left and rejoin path after about 100 yards.

The Shakespeare's Way is not well marked and some paths are missing where crops have been panted causing the route to be modified to go around field boundaries.

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