I want to share my guide to a Kingham circular walk in the Cotswolds with you today. This scenic walk in Oxfordshire is the perfect way to get out into the English countryside in one of the best-known Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom. Along the route you’ll see everything from quintessential villages to market towns and unusual buildings. It’s one of my favorite Cotswolds walks. Read on for the route, map, video, and photos.
Kingham Circular Walk
Kingham is a village in the Evenlode Valley in West Oxfordshire. Located between Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Norton, it’s packed with charming 17th and 18th-century cottages.
It’s a beautiful place to visit, and it’s an ideal spot to start a walk through the surrounding area. In fact, it’s one of my favorite spots for circular walks near London.
How to Get to Kingham
A Kingham circular walk is just the thing if you want to explore the Cotswolds without a car. There are direct trains from London to Kingham, and they transport passengers to the outskirts of the village in an hour and 20 minutes.
Where to Stay in Kingham
I’m here now to spend 3 days in the Cotswolds, and I can’t wait to get out into the Oxfordshire countryside and soak up the impossibly beautiful surroundings.
If you have time to spend a night or two in this part of the Cotswolds, there are lots of great places to stay in Kingham. You can book one here.
I’ve stayed in the village multiple times, and I love The Kingham Plough. I’m calling this place home-away-from-home while I do this walk, and if you want to follow in my footsteps you can book a room here.
Other Resources
Kingham is one of my go-to places for country walks near London by train, and I’m excited to do this scenic circular walk in the Cotswolds. I hope you enjoy hearing about it.
You can see more walks in the area in the book 50 Walks in the Cotswolds, too. You can get it on Amazon here. It has lots of additional ideas for rambles in this part of England.
The Cotswolds
Once in the Cotswolds, I start my trip in the town of Charlbury. It’s near Kingham, and it’s also a great place to walk. I spend an afternoon enjoying a pub lunch with a local friend and doing a Charlbury circular walk before taking the train to Kingham.
After getting off the train at Kingham station, I cover the 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) distance to the heart of town on foot. The Cotswold stone cottages here are the stuff of English countryside dreams, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of the area.
I check into my room at The Kingham Plough and take a walk around the village. From picture-pretty cottages to classic pubs and a church, there’s a lot to love about this place.
Kingham Circular Walk Route
The next day I head off on my Kingham circular walk. The route is my own combination of two separate ones, and it’s a great way to spend an afternoon in the Cotswolds.
On the way out I follow the Cotswolds Conservation Board’s “Walk Eight: Kingham and Churchill”. It starts in the heart of the village, and I set off from The Kingham Plough.
After passing the village green and turning onto the road to Churchill, I veer right to cross a footbridge over a brook and walk through green fields full of fluffy sheep.
Soon I cross over a disused railway track that once connected Kingham to Chipping Norton via rail. A branch line between them was opened in 1855 by a consortium of local businessmen, and it closed 1962.
From the track I ramble through several fields as I make my way to the village of Churchill. This hilltop number is known for its picturesque houses and the impressive form of All Saints Church. I spend a bit of time exploring when I arrive.
I’ve booked myself a reservation for lunch at The Chequers, a beautiful traditional pub with a menu full of modern British cuisine. It’s stunning inside, with high ceilings and historic-meets-modern decor.
I sit at a table in the dining room, and a heaping plate of risotto satisfies my appetite. Soon I’m off to continue my Kingham circular walk with a hike to Chipping Norton.
After passing All Saints Church, I walk down the road towards Chadlington and turn left into a field. This part of my Kingham circular walk route takes me up rolling hills, through stiles, over culverts, and past ha-has.
I ramble by sheep and through fields as I make my way towards the high church steeple in Chipping Norton that serves as a beacon to guide me along.
When I reach the town, I spend an hour exploring. Chipping Norton enjoyed its heyday in the peak of the wool trade many centuries ago, and it’s still worth a trip today.
From independent shops and classic pubs to a row of eye-catching 17th-century almshouses and a historic church, there’s plenty to see in town.
When I start my return journey to Kingham, I follow the Cotswolds Conservation Board’s “Walk Eleven: Mills and Meadows” route backwards.
This part of the hike takes me through a common, past the Royal Mail building, and down a narrow path to another expanse of grass.
As I make my way up a gradual hill, I walk past the unusual form of the Bliss Tweed Mill. This historic building looks like a cross between a factory and a stately home.
I remember it catching my attention out the window of a bus while I was on a Cotswolds day tour a while back, and I’m happy to see it up close this time.
After admiring its form, I continue my Kingham circular walk down a road and along a track in the countryside. I cross fields and meadows, then walk down a short stretch of tarmac before ending my walk on a long path and a road towards Kingham.
It starts to drizzle at the end, and I narrowly escape a downpour that erupts right as I reach The Kingham Plough. I’m grateful to have escaped the worst of it.
The 10.5-mile (17-kilometer) walk has taken me just over 5.5 hours, including my stops for lunch in Churchill and sightseeing in Chipping Norton.
It’s been an enjoyable way to see the countryside, visit the Cotswolds, and work up an appetite for dinner.
Kingham Walk Map
Kingham Circular Walk
I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to a Kingham circular walk in the Cotswolds. It makes for a fun afternoon, and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I did if you like a ramble. It’s one of my favorite country walks near London, and it’s worth a special trip.
I’ve also created an interactive Google map of all the Cotswolds walks I’ve done. You can see it here. If you click on the pins, you can see my relevant blog posts about each route.
You can find more inspiration from the book Time Out Country Walks: 30 Walks Near London, too. You can get it on Amazon here. Happy walking!
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