Upper and Lower Heyford

What to see in Lower Heyford

Heyford Bridge carries the Bicester to Enstone road over the Cherwell at the west end of the village. It is first recorded in 1255, the chamfered vaulting ribs of the arches at its eastern end are probably late thirteenth century, and it is listed Grade II*. By 1840 heavy turnpike traffic had left it in ruins; the county sued the parish for neglect, lost, and paid for its repair in 1842.

The old village gathers round a small square that served as a market place in the mid-nineteenth century. Its houses are of local ironstone, some thatched. The manor house, down the lane to the west, was rebuilt in 1669 and keeps a datestone with the initials of William and Elizabeth Bruce. St Mary's church beside it is listed Grade II*. The county history recorded a piece of glass of 1569 in a vestry window, with the pelican crest of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which bought the manor in 1533. We found no published opening hours for the church.

The canal reached Heyford in 1790, and a wharf was built on it. Heyford Wharf on Station Road is now the base of Oxfordshire Narrowboats, which hires day boats, short breaks and holiday boats on the Oxford Canal and runs a boatyard there.

Upper Heyford and its barn

Upper Heyford climbs the hill from the church and Manor Farm, close above the river. William of Wykeham bought the manor in 1380 for his New College, Oxford, which received it in 1382, and the finest building is the college's barn, south of Manor Farmhouse: built of coursed rubble, probably for the college in the early fifteenth century, 37 metres long and 7 wide, and listed Grade I. The county history set it beside the barns at Adderbury and Swalcliffe. It stands on private farmland, and we found no public access.

St Mary's was rebuilt in the nineteenth century, largely through Charles Mount, rector from 1865 to 1878, and reopened in 1867; only its medieval tower survives, and the buttresses carry New College's arms. Below the village, Allen's Lock takes the canal past it.

Heyford Park and the airbase

The RAF station on the plateau was begun in 1925 and leased to the United States Air Force in 1951; its story is told in RAF Upper Heyford. The old base is now the settlement of Heyford Park, and its Cold War shelters and bomb stores are a scheduled monument; the control tower and three nose dock hangars are listed. You cannot wander the airfield. The RAF Upper Heyford Heritage Centre opens on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and runs pre-booked tours of the Cold War airbase on most Sundays from March to November. Book before you come.

Rousham across the bridge

Over Heyford Bridge is Rousham, whose garden William Kent laid out in the eighteenth century. Its own site gives the garden open every day from 10am, last admission 4.30pm, at £10 a head paid on arrival, with no dogs, no children under 15 without prior permission, and no tea room or shop, so bring a picnic. That page carries a 2021 date, so check before you set out. Kent's Eyecatcher for the view from Rousham stands across the valley in Steeple Aston parish.

A day at the Heyfords

On a Sunday from March to November, take a booked morning tour at Heyford Park; tours start at 10am and run three hours or more. Then drive down to Lower Heyford, cross the bridge for a picnic and an afternoon in Rousham's garden, and finish at the wharf if Kizzies is open. On other days, come by train to Heyford station, walk up to the square and the church, out to the bridge and Rousham, and back along the towpath.

Walks from the Heyfords

Cherwell District Council publishes a 4.8-mile loop from Heyford station to Steeple Aston and Rousham's Eyecatcher, back by the canal. When we last checked, the council's own guide said part of it was impassable because of flooding on the low ground west of the canal, so read that notice before you go. The towpath itself is level, running north past Allen's Lock towards Somerton and south towards Kirtlington.

Food and drink

Kizzies, the café at Heyford Wharf beside Oxfordshire Narrowboats (opens in a new tab), is the nearest stop. The boat company's site gives it as open 9am to 5pm daily, but the same page still carries an old closure notice, so ring the wharf before you rely on it. The Bell on Lower Heyford's square, a seventeenth-century house, closed in April 2025, and we found no news of its reopening. Upper Heyford has the Barley Mow, and the Horse and Groom stands at Caulcott, a mile east of Lower Heyford, but neither has a website of its own that we could find, so ring before you rely on either.

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When to come

From March to November, for the Sunday airbase tours, and in dry weather: the county history notes that the Cherwell meadows flood, and the railway embankment made it worse. The heritage centre is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.