Oxfordshire Way: Kirtlington to Weston-on-the-Green

The Oxfordshire Way from Kirtlington to Weston-on-the-Green is a 3.3-mile (5.3km) one-way walk on the county's long-distance path, about 80 minutes and almost flat. It leaves Kirtlington by its church, crosses Kirtlington Park and the fields beyond and ends on the Northampton Road in Weston-on-the-Green. The 24 bus links both ends, so walk one way and ride back.

The Oxfordshire Way is Oxfordshire County Council's 65-mile path from Bourton-on-the-Water to Henley-on-Thames, and the council divides it into sections; this is its section from Kirtlington to Weston-on-the-Green, 2.4 miles, plus the walk from the Oxford Arms to the path and on through Weston to the bus. Nobody from this guide has walked it yet. Our line follows the path as OpenStreetMap's mappers record it, and we will check it on foot.

Kirtlington and its church

Start with St Mary the Virgin, right on the way out. It is listed Grade II*, with early twelfth-century tower arches, a tower of 1852 to 1854 by Benjamin Ferrey after the old one was pulled down in 1770, and late fifteenth-century wall paintings of St George and St Christopher uncovered in 1905. We found no published opening hours.

Kirtlington's feast, the Lamb Ale, is in late spring, run by Kirtlington Morris; the 2027 Lamb Ale is set for 21 to 23 May 2027. Our Kirtlington guide has the village, the fossil quarry west of it and the Lamb Ale in full.

Across Kirtlington Park

Most of the first half is Kirtlington Park, the house and grounds the Dashwoods built in the 1740s. The house is listed Grade I; John Sanderson was the architect, and 'Capability' Brown laid out the grounds between 1755 and 1762. It is a private house with no public opening that we found, so the path is the way to see the park: keep to it, and close the gates.

Beyond the park the path runs through open fields to Weston-on-the-Green, a village on the Northampton Road with its church just off the line. From here the Oxfordshire Way carries on south towards Islip and the Chilterns.

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What walkers should know before setting out

It is an easy walk, almost level, with a gentle fall of about 30m towards Weston. OpenStreetMap maps field gates, one kissing gate and three stiles, the last a stepover stile just before the B430, so it is not one for a pushchair. You cross the A4095 in Kirtlington and finish on the B430, a busy road. We have no report of mud, livestock or closures on this section; treat it as farmland and expect both after rain.

Check the bus before you set out. The 24 runs about every two hours, Monday to Saturday, with no Sunday service, so a missed bus is a long wait. On a Sunday, walk it there and back, about 10.6km, or drop the last 1.4km through Weston and turn round at the church.

Getting there, parking and food

Thames Travel's 24, between Bicester and Oxford by way of Weston-on-the-Green, stops outside the Oxford Arms in Kirtlington and at Knowle Lane and Oxford Court in Weston (November 2026). The easiest plan is to take it from Bicester to Kirtlington and walk back to Weston for the return. We found no public car park in Kirtlington. Tackley station, about a mile west of Kirtlington across the river, has no Oxford-bound trains stopping until 30 April 2027 while its footbridge is closed for works; northbound trains call as normal.

The Oxford Arms on Troy Lane, at the start, welcomes walkers with dogs and serves food from Wednesday to Sunday, with fish and chips on Tuesday evenings; it is closed on Mondays. We have not checked the pubs in Weston-on-the-Green.

Other walks nearby

The Heyfords Circular is the canal walk up the valley from Heyford station. In Bicester itself, the historic town trail goes round the old centre and the West Health Route through Bure Park.