Chinnor Parish Footpath

You may have noticed that things are really starting to move on our local footpath network. Besides all of the damaged stiles that have already been replaced by nice new easy to use gates, there are a couple of major projects in the pipeline. All of the decrepit stiles around Emmington are waiting the installation of a whole new set of gates. 

Unfortunately, we had planned to have these installed last year but owing to the series of lock downs and shielding, the volunteers from the Chiltern Society have not yet been able to do their amazing job. The good news is that they are now on the list for this year. 

We have also recently received a  generous grant from Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) to make major improvements to the network around Henton and running up to the County Boundary at Forty Green.

We are delighted to see many of our fellow villagers out enjoying some of the awesome local walks and really hope that things continue once all of the restrictions have been eased. 

Rest assured that all of your feedback to the Oxfordshire County Council website reporting issues are looked into and they are all on an action list for necessary remedial work. 

A reminder that a series of 4 local circular walks can be found here.

Alan

Parish Path Warden 

Footpaths & Bridleways

 A few lines to bring you up to date with what is happening with our footpaths and bridleways.

The first thing is that it is absolutely brilliant so many of you are using the lockdown to get your permitted exercise enjoying our footpaths. We all know that it is a bit muddy but please keep to the paths to avoid trampling farmers crops. 

Greening Chinnor, working with Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), Chinnor Parish Council (CPC) and the Chiltern Society (CS), have been regularly checking all of our local network of paths and bridleways with a view to getting essential repairs and improvements done. You may have noticed that decrepit stiles have started to be replaced with nice pedestrian and canine friendly gates and that an extensive programme of improving waymark discs is underway. We have recently been given a generous grant from CPC towards these improvements.

Last year, together with OCC and the Chiltern Society, a major proposal for replacing all broken and unusable stiles around Emmington was put together. We are delighted that the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) approved this proposal and made a significant grant that enabled all of the gates and associated kit to be purchased ready for installation by the South Chilterns Path Maintenance Volunteers who are the group that carry out much of this major work. Unfortunately, due to current restrictions they are unable to get out and get this work done. Moving forward there is another major proposal with TOE for necessary works around Henton.

We’re pleased the list of outstanding issues continues to drop significantly. An example of an issue is a broken stile and a report is an individual member of the public recording the issue on the OCC online database.

A couple of requests: First to dog walkers please carry on cleaning up after your charge and continue to dispose of the bags responsibly and to all cyclists please make sure you do not cycle on footpaths (marked with a yellow waymark). You can use them but please dismount and push your bike until you meet a bridleway. 

Chinnor Parish Footpaths - Henton

We're delighted to report that the overgrown wasteland behind the houses on the left hand side of the main street in Henton (Footpaths 13 and 44) have now been cleared by the South Chiltern Path Maintenance Volunteers (SCPMV affiliated to the Chiltern Society) working alongside our Parish Path Warden.

This is still work in progress as the remaining rickety stiles will be replaced by gates once funds are available. Below you will see a couple of before and after pictures.

Chiltern Society Walk

Alan and Linda will be leading a Chiltern Society Walk on Sunday 25 June. 

Start at 10:00 am – Finish 1:00 pm latest. Meet at Chinnor Hill at point on the left where footpath Chinnor 31 leaves Chinnor/Sprigs Alley road opposite Drifts House on right (OX39 4BS). This will be an easy 5/6 mile circular walk with some moderate climbs. Approximately 100 yards to be walked on a minor road. Explorer Map 171 GR 757991. Come and enjoy some of the best views in the Chilterns.  Please ensure that you bring your own refreshments as there are no cafes/pubs on route.

Guided Walk

Yes we can walk and talk!
On Sunday 8^th May we led a well-attended walk organised by the Chiltern Society on a circular route from Emmington and going via Henton. It was a delightful outing and extremely interesting to talk to people who joined us from other parts of the Chilterns and were able to give a visitor’s perspective on our home ground.

The weather was kind and everybody agreed that this was one of the least hilly Chiltern walks that they had enjoyed.

This was our first foray in opening up our parish to organised walks and we were encouraged enough to offer organising a similar ramble next spring.