Four walks of 3.3 to 9.6 miles, on field paths, ridge and towpath. Moderate here means mud, stiles and a climb or two rather than anything dangerous, so bring boots and pick by how long you have.
7 walksAll walks
7 walks
Walk · Starts in Badby · 1 hr, 30 mins · Circular
A 2.9-mile (4.7km) circular walk from Fawsley across the old deer park to the edge of Badby Woods and up to Badby church, moderate and about an hour and a half, with about 120m of climbing. It follows the county council's Southern Circular and the Knightley Way.
Walk · Starts in Banbury · 5 hrs · Circular
A 10.6-mile (17.1km) waymarked circular walk round the edge of Banbury, moderate and about five hours: the Oxford Canal south to Bodicote, the Salt Way past Crouch Hill, field and wood paths by Giant's Cave, and an old ironstone railway back to the canal.
Walk · Starts in Banbury · 4 hrs · Circular
The Banbury Ironstone Heritage Walk is a 9.6-mile (15.5km) moderate circular walk from Banbury station, about four hours with 180m of climbing. It follows the canal, skirts the northern estates, reaches Wroxton and North Newington, and ends at Banbury Cross.
Walk · Starts in Broughton · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4.5-mile (7.3km) circular walk from the car park on Broughton Road, about two hours of moderate walking on field paths. It crosses the Sor Brook, climbs to the Wroxton Obelisk and returns by the other bank. It does not go through Broughton or past the castle.
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.
Walk · Starts in Steeple Aston · 3 hrs · Circular
A 5.2-mile (8.4km) moderate circular walk from North Aston Green, about three hours. It crosses the Cherwell meadows on an old causeway by Somerton Mill, follows the Oxford Canal north and climbs home past Bestmoor and North Aston church. It floods after rain.
Walk · Starts in North Newington · 2 hrs · Circular
A 3.3-mile (5.3km) circular walk from Main Street, North Newington, taking about two hours of moderate walking. It follows field paths to the Sor Brook, climbs past the Wroxton Obelisk into Wroxton and returns over the fields.
Moderate here means mud, stiles and a climb or two, not anything exposed. All four are circular, and you choose them by length and by what you want at the far end. If you have one morning, do the Edgehill Circular.
The Edgehill Circular runs 5.4 miles from the National Trust car park at Upton House, about two and a half hours with 220m of climbing. It follows the Edge Hill ridge to the Castle pub and returns through Ratley, so the pub falls neatly on the way. It is the toughest of the short ones: six stiles, two flights of steps and 500m on the A422. The car park is locked outside the house and garden's opening hours, so time your return. Without a car, Stagecoach's 76A stops at Upton House once a day each way from Monday to Saturday: when we checked, it arrived from Banbury at 11.05am and left for Banbury at 3.01pm. Pair it with Upton House on the same day, or read up on the battle first.
Two shorter walks climb to the Wroxton Obelisk. North Newington and Wroxton is the shortest, 3.3 miles and about two hours from Main Street, on field paths to the Sor Brook and over the fields into Wroxton. Stiles and stock are the things to watch for. There is no public car park, so park with care. We found no pub at the end, since both of Wroxton's have shut.
Broughton Road to Wroxton Obelisk is 4.5 miles and about two hours from the car park off Broughton Road, near Giant's Cave. It crosses the Sor Brook and returns by the other bank. Do not choose it for the castle: despite the name, it does not go through Broughton or past Broughton Castle.
The Banbury Ironstone Heritage Walk is the one for a whole morning, and the only one you can reach by train. It is 9.6 miles and about four hours from outside Banbury station, with 180m of climbing. It follows the canal, skirts the northern estates, reaches Wroxton and North Newington and ends at Banbury Cross, with the town's pubs to finish in. Our parking guide has the nearest long-stay car park if you drive.
All four can be muddy, and the fields around here hold stock, so keep dogs under control. Wroxton Abbey does not allow dogs to be walked in its grounds, so keep to the public footpath on the routes that pass near them. These routes are written from their GPX lines, OpenStreetMap and official leaflets where one exists, and our team has not yet walked them with the file. Tell us if you find a problem on the ground.
We have one easy walk, Adderbury and Bloxham Grove, and none at the hard end of the scale. For Burton Dassett, use the country park's own waymarked walks, and for a flat day try the towpath on the canal weekend. A fifth moderate walk, by Drayton Arch, stays off this list until we have checked its line.
From a two-hour field walk to a four-hour circuit from the station.
All walks starting here
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.
Walk · Starts in North Newington · 2 hrs · Circular
A 3.3-mile (5.3km) circular walk from Main Street, North Newington, taking about two hours of moderate walking. It follows field paths to the Sor Brook, climbs past the Wroxton Obelisk into Wroxton and returns over the fields.
Walk · Starts in Broughton · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4.5-mile (7.3km) circular walk from the car park on Broughton Road, about two hours of moderate walking on field paths. It crosses the Sor Brook, climbs to the Wroxton Obelisk and returns by the other bank. It does not go through Broughton or past the castle.
Walk · Starts in Banbury · 4 hrs · Circular
The Banbury Ironstone Heritage Walk is a 9.6-mile (15.5km) moderate circular walk from Banbury station, about four hours with 180m of climbing. It follows the canal, skirts the northern estates, reaches Wroxton and North Newington, and ends at Banbury Cross.
What you will see, and where to stop.
Sight · Monument · Wroxton
A tall ironstone obelisk in the fields south-east of Wroxton Abbey, west of Banbury, marking a visit by Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1739. Part of the eighteenth-century landscape, and Grade II*. On farmland, beside a public footpath.
Sight · Viewpoint · Edgehill and Radway
The long view from the top of Edge Hill, north-west of Banbury, across the plain where the Battle of Edgehill was fought in 1642. There is no signed viewpoint: the ridge road, the footpaths and the garden of a 1740s sham castle are how you see it.
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
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
Village · Ironstone villages
A thatched ironstone village 3 miles west of Banbury, with a duck pond and a church tower by Sanderson Miller. Both its pubs have shut, and the Jacobean Abbey is closed to visitors, so bring a plan for lunch.
Sight · Common or park · Banbury
A patch of old rough pasture off the Broughton Road on the edge of Banbury, called Giant's Cave and said by legend to hide a tunnel to Broughton Castle. One account calls it a late medieval quarry. It is free, and a stop on Cherwell's Banbury Fringe walk.
New routes and any closures on old ones, about once a month.
The Edgehill Circular, for the ridge and a pub on the way. It is 5.4 miles with 220m of climbing, six stiles and a short stretch on the A422.
North Newington and Wroxton, at 3.3 miles and about two hours, on field paths with stiles.
Yes. The Banbury Ironstone Heritage Walk starts outside the station and ends at Banbury Cross. It is 9.6 miles, about four hours.
No. It crosses the Sor Brook and climbs to the Wroxton Obelisk, and does not go through Broughton or past the castle.
Not yet with the GPX file. We wrote them from the line itself, OpenStreetMap and official leaflets where one exists, and our walk-through is still to come.
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