Dave.Dunford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fenny Compton
A rambling stone and thatch village under the Dassett hills, with the Oxford Canal and the railway on its eastern edge, a church open every day, and Burton Dassett Hills Country Park about a mile and a quarter away. A place to walk from rather than to linger.
- Nearest station
- Banbury, about 7.5 miles south. Trains pass through the parish without stopping
- Parking
- No public car park that we could find. Park with care on the village streets
- Best time
- A dry day, for the field paths and the hills
- Toilets
- None that we could confirm in the village. The nearest are at Burton Dassett Hills Country Park, 9am to 3pm
- Dogs
- Field paths cross working farmland, so keep dogs on leads near stock.
About Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton is a working village of stone houses, many of them thatched, about 7.5 miles north of Banbury in a straight line. Its roads curl round in loops west of the church, the Dassett hills rise to the south-west, and the Oxford Canal and the railway run along its eastern side. There is no single sight here, so most people come to walk or to cross to the hills.
What to see in Fenny Compton
The Church of St Peter and St Clare is listed Grade II* and is open every day, from 8am to 5pm in winter and 7am to 7pm in summer, says its page on A Church Near You. The county history dates the chancel arch to about 1320 to 1330, and the west tower, spire and north porch to the late fourteenth century. A stone in the porch gable carries the date 1675.
Look for the seventeenth-century communion rails with turned balusters, a hexagonal pulpit of the late seventeenth century, and a massive iron-bound chest in the north aisle. A brass remembers Richard Willis, who died on 10 June 1597, of the family that held the manor. Outside, a disused font of the sixteenth or seventeenth century stands against the blocked west door, listed in its own right.
Walk the loops of the village for the houses. Compton Farm, north-west of the church, probably dates from the early seventeenth century, with a tablet naming Thomas Blicke and Elizabeth, and the county history notes a barn inscribed 1667 and a house nearby dated 1593. To the south-west, Gredenton Hill rises past 198m and carries earthworks scheduled as Gredenton Hill Camp. We found no statement of public access to them.
The Oxford Canal at Fenny Compton
The parish council describes the village as sandwiched between the Burton Dassett Hills and the Oxford Canal, which runs with the railway along the eastern edge of the parish. Close by, the canal passes through a narrow cutting still called Fenny Compton Tunnel, after the tunnel that once stood here: the Canal & River Trust's archive holds the Oxford Canal Company's working plans of October 1864 for its southern portion. Fenny Compton Wharf, by bridge 136, is where the road meets the canal. Our guide to the Oxford Canal near Banbury follows it south to Cropredy and the town.
A morning in Fenny Compton
Begin at the church, which is open from 8am, then take one of the Footpath Group's walks round the village. In the afternoon, cross to Burton Dassett Hills Country Park, about a mile and a quarter west in a straight line, for the beacon and the views, and finish at All Saints, Burton Dassett below the hills.
Walks from Fenny Compton
The parish council publishes two walks by the Fenny Compton Footpath Group as downloads on its website, uploaded in March 2024. The towpath of the Oxford Canal is the other easy walk, and it is flat. We have not yet published a walk from here with a route we can stand behind.
Food and drink near Fenny Compton
The parish council says the village has two pubs and a Co-op shop. We could not find 2026 evidence from either pub, so we name neither here. The nearest checked pick is the Lost Pug at Northend, the next village south-west, under the Dassett hills.
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When to come to Fenny Compton
Spring to autumn suits the field paths, which cross farmland and will be muddy after rain. The church's longer summer hours, to 7pm, make it easy to end a walk there. There are no big events to plan round.
Last verified 11 November 2026 by our editors
Things to do in Fenny Compton
Parks and gardens · Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett Hills Country Park
A hundred acres of open hilltop in south Warwickshire with wide views, old quarry workings and a beacon, plus the medieval church of All Saints. A country park since 1971. Car parking £3.50 a day.
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Farnborough Hall
Historic houses and heritage
A Palladian house north of Banbury, still lived in by the Holbech family and run with the National Trust, with a raised terrace walk to an obelisk. A few rooms and the grounds open from April to September. Closed until 7 April 2027.
Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The National Herb Centre, Warmington
Parks and gardens
A plant centre at Warmington, near Banbury, growing culinary and medicinal herbs, fruit and native wildflowers, most of them on site in peat-free compost, with a café bistro, a play area and nature trails.
Verified Nov 2026
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Upton House and Gardens
Historic houses and heritage
A National Trust house on the Edge Hill ridge, remodelled in the 1920s for the oil magnate Lord Bearsted to show his paintings by Bosch, El Greco, Stubbs and Hogarth, above terraced gardens that drop 30m to a Mirror Pool.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Rainy days
Verified Nov 2026
Where to eat and drink in Fenny Compton
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The Lost Pug, Northend
Pubs · Burton Dassett
A village pub at Northend under the Burton Dassett Hills, taken over by Pug Pubs in 2024 after a couple of years shut as the Red Lion. It opens from 9am every day, with a kitchen until 9pm, a west-facing garden and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Castle at Edgehill
Pubs · Edgehill and Radway
A pub and restaurant in the castellated 18th-century tower on top of Edgehill, above the 1642 battlefield, with Hook Norton ales, large gardens, five en-suite rooms and a gin school in the tower.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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The Brasenose Arms, Cropredy
Pubs · Cropredy
A 17th-century inn on Station Road in Cropredy, with four refurbished bed and breakfast rooms, a bar and garden, and its own music fringe alongside Fairport's Cropredy Convention each August. The pub says it is the only one in the country with the name.
Verified Nov 2026
Walks in and around Fenny Compton
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Edgehill Circular
Walk · Starts in Edgehill and Radway · 2 hrs, 30 mins · Circular
The Edgehill Circular is a 5.4-mile (8.6km) moderate circular walk from the Upton House car park, about two and a half hours with 220m of climbing. It follows the Edge Hill ridge to the Castle pub, returns through Ratley, and has six stiles and 500m on the A422.
Getting to Fenny Compton
- By train
- No station. Banbury is the nearest, about 7.5 miles south, with Chiltern and CrossCountry trains.
- By bus
- Stagecoach's 77A (Leamington to Banbury) calls at Fenny Compton, Monday to Saturday, about four times each way (November 2026). Coventry Minibuses' 497 runs on Thursdays only, one trip each way.
- By car
- About 9 miles and 16 minutes from Banbury Cross by road.
- Parking
- No public car park that we could find. For the hills, use the country park's pay car parks (CV47 2AB).
- Access
- The village streets loop and climb gently. We have not checked the church's step-free access, and the parish's walk leaflets do not say whether their routes have stiles.
Places near Fenny Compton
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Burton DassettA lost market town on the Warwickshire hills: a Grade I church on a slope, a holy well, and quarried humps with views all round. Park at the country park, walk up to the beacon and down to All Saints. Bring a coat.
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FarnboroughA small estate village of yellow stone and thatch beside Farnborough Hall, the Holbech family's Palladian house, whose terrace walk to an obelisk opens from April to September with the National Trust. A church with a Scott spire, and a 5.5-mile parkland walk.
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WarmingtonA village round a sloping green off the Banbury to Warwick road, with a Grade I church on the brow above, a priest's room with its own fireplace, and the grave of a Scots captain killed at Edgehill in 1642. The National Herb Centre is at the bottom of the hill.
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CropredyA canal village on the Cherwell, about 4 miles north of Banbury, known for Fairport's Cropredy Convention each August and the 1644 battle at its bridge. Outside festival weekend it is quiet, with a fine church and the Brasenose Arms.