Guide Books

This page includes recommended Walking Guide Books for the area. If you use the Amazon link to add the book to your Amazon basket then the Society will receive a small donation from Amazon. Alternatively, you can access Amazon using this link and the Society will receive a donation for every item you buy.
If you have any other books that you would recommend then please contact the .

The d’Arcy Dalton Way Across the Oxfordshire Cotswolds and Thames Valley

Book coverThis newly revised edition of Nick Moon’s guide to the route is an essential companion to anyone walking all or stages of the 52 miles which pass through almost wholly unspoilt countryside, taking in tranquil and little known villages with much wildlife to be enjoyed along the way. The book includes eight circular walks and is available from the CPRE or bookshops.

Oxford, the Cotswolds and the Cherwell Valley-Oxfordshire Walks Vol 1

Oxfordshire Walks: Oxford, the Cotswolds and the Cherwell Valley: v. 1This book, again by Nick Moon, is the first in a series of two of walks in Oxfordshire (excluding the Chilterns). This book concentrates on the northern half of the county. There are 30 walks between 3.3 and 12.0 miles although the majority are in the 5 to 7 miles range. Many of the walks have several alternative routes. For the more adventurous walker, Nick has indicated which walks could be joined together to give walks up to 22.4 mile in length. The book is written in the same style as the d’Arcy Dalton Way book.

Oxford, the Downs and the Thames Valley: v. 2 (Oxfordshire Walks)Oxford, the Downs and the Thames Valley-Oxfordshire Walks Vol 2

This second book of the series covers walks around Oxford and in the southern part of Oxfordshire in a similar style to the first book. It includes walks in the Downs and along the Thames Valley.

The Seven Shires Way

Written by Elaine Steane (OFS member), this book is about The Seven Shires Way. Unlike other walking guides, this newly revised (2023) edition leads the walker through a richly illustrated mixture of local landscapes of the popular long distance footpath around the 234 miles of Oxfordshire’s county boundary. It has been updated to include many new features: footpath and road changes; archaeological detail, such as vernacular buildings; lists and shows flora from open downland to ancient woodland.

The Roman Way

Written by Elaine Steane, “The Roman Way” is a 174-mile walk, on the theme of Roman roads, using public rights of way. It follows a triangle formed by three Roman roads from Chesterton, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, to Cirencester in Gloucestershire, and on to the Roman walled town of Silchester in Hampshire, returning to the Roman military fort at Alchester near the starting point. The route follows Akeman Street as it crosses the limestone heights of the Cotswold Hills to Cirencester, then south-east following the Ermin Way across the Wiltshire Downs, through the village of Speen in Berkshire, descending to cross the River Kennet as the Romans did. The way continues through the heathlands and pine forest north to Dorchester on Thames. From this Roman settlement, the route goes directly north beside Oxford and across Otmoor, the marsh where the Romans built a bridge to reach the fort at Alchester.

Milestones to Millstones

Written by Elaine Steane, this book describes 17 circular walks exploring mills and the surrounding landscape in Oxfordshire and just beyond.

The walks feature the following mills: Ardington, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Brill, Chinnor, Coleshill, East and West Hanney, Great Haseley, Lacey Green, Mapledurham, Pitstone, Quainton, Turville, Tysoe, Wantage, Wheatley, and Wilton. The book includes details of the mechanics and history of the mills and everyday idioms such as ‘run of the mill’ that demonstrate how integral milling was to our culture.

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