1
From the war memorial, walk along the High Street past the market hall, cross over the road going right to Bourton and continue on the right hand pavement of the A429 Stow Road. After about 50 metres, immediately before a duck pond, turn right along Parkers Lane and walk to its end where a footpath with a Monarch's Way waymarker begins (A). Turn left along the path, which is tarmaced at first. Keep straight on when the tarmac ends to reach a gate into a field. Follow the right edge of two fields then turn right and follow the right edge of three more fields, now on a grassy track. At the end of the 3rd field go left for about 30 metres then right through a silver metal gate. Follow the hedge on your left to a wooden gate.
(A) Your navigation on this stretch will be assisted by waymarks for The Monarch's Way. This is a 615 mile long distance footpath tracing the escape route taken by Charles II from his defeat at the battle of Worcester in 1651. It takes a winding route through the Midlands and South of England to the Sussex coast, from where he escaped to France. Apart from the English coast path, this is the longest long distance path in the country.
2
Go straight ahead across the field, then a little before reaching the far side turn right and follow the woods on your left to the far left field corner. You have now left the Monarch's Way. Go through a gate in the corner and go across the field to a gate in the far left corner just left of two large barns. Go straight on through a second gate and keep straight on along a track with a fence to your right. The track soon becomes tarmaced. Keep on it, following it downhill to cross a cattle grid then climbing steeply uphill past cottages on the right to reach a second cattle grid. Turn right immediately before it.
3
You are now on the Heart Of England Way (B), whose waymarks will assist your navigation until Bourton-On-The-Hill. Follow the track a short distance to reach two gateways in front of you. One will be shut and the other will be open, which way round will depend on local cattle movements and path erosion. Walk through whichever is the open one and follow the wire fence all the way down to the bottom end of the field. On your way, note Sezincote House (C) to your left, with its remarkable green onion dome. Go through gates at the bottom then go through a small wooden gate just right of a large gate in front of you. Follow the enclosed path to another gate then keep straight on with a fence to your left. Go through a band of trees and keep in the same direction, now with a fence on your right. The fence reverts to the left again in the next field, with young trees to the right. Cross a stile and go straight on through a gate with tall conifers just to the right. Head straight across the field towards the church tower, follow the left edge of the next field then follow a walled track to a road. Dogs are not allowed in Bourton Churchyard, so if you have one, turn left uphill and right at the top to reach the main road. Canine free walkers should turn right and very soon left a short distance, then opposite a house on the right called 'Tawnies', go left up steps into Bourton Churchyard, which is a pleasant place with benches that makes for a good coffee stop. Go past the church to find a gate onto the main road in Bourton-On-The-Hill (D).
(B) The Heart Of England Way is a popular 100 mile long distance path running from Bourton-In-The-Water and through the West Midlands To Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.(C) Sezincote House, completed in 1805, is a notable example of neo-mughai architecture, a style based on Indian architecture from the 16th and 17th Century. Around 1805, India was becoming a popular and ever more important part of the British empire, so Indian architecture was popular at the time. The owner of the estate, John Cockerell, had also spent time in India. It is said that the Prince Regent, the future George IV, was inspired to build the Brighton Pavilion after a visit here in 1807. The strange name, (pronounced Seezincote) is derived from Cheisnecote, from chêne, French for oak, and cot for dwelling. (D) Bourton-On-The-Hill is a small village straddled along a steep road that is now the A44 and has for many centuries been the main turnpike road from Worcester to London. The stage coaches must have struggled to get up here! The pillars in the south aisle are all that remain of the original Norman church here, there was much rebuilding in later centuries to produce the beautiful light airy building we see today. Inside there is some good high quality wood work done by local Arts & Crafts artists in the early 20th Century.
4
Turn left up the main A44 road then just after the pub car park turn right along a tarmac drive marked as a bridleway. At the top go left, then immediately before a cattle grid go right through a silver gate. Follow the clear path between a hedge and a fence. Keep in the same direction with a wood to your left, and when that ends keep straight on to metal gates that lead onto a road. Turn right along this, ignore a left turn and continue with good views to your left and woods on your right until you reach the start of a high wall on the right, where there is a prominent cross path.
5
Turn left on the path, which is both the Heart Of England and the Monarch's Way, both of which you will be following all the way to Blockley. Very soon go through the rightmost of two gateways and follow the wall on your left for two fields to reach a cross track, from where there is a glorious view ahead down to Blockley (E). Go left through a wooden gate and continue through trees for about 100 metres then cross a stile by a gate on the right. Go straight downhill, following the marker posts, to reach a stile about 30 metres left of a house in the bottom right corner. Go half left down the next field, keeping just right of a pond and roughly aiming for the church, to a gate in the bottom corner. Follow the right edge of the next field for a short distance then keep straight on down a track leading to a road. Turn right and follow the road around a few bends then, just before white iron railings on the right, go left up a steep tarmac path then a past black metal barrier into the churchyard and continue up towards the porch of Blockley church. Just before the porch, note the large tomb on the left with a brown cross, it contains a few of Winston Churchill's close relatives who lived at nearby Northwick Park.
(E) Blockley is a large village beautifully situated in a fold in the Cotswold Hills. The large impressive church is well worth a look inside. It has become famous in recent years for featuring in the BBC television series Father Brown. The small cafe and shop at the churchyard entrance is an excellent community run scheme and is well worth visiting too.
6
Put your back to the church porch and go half left to leave the graveyard by the village shop and cafe, which also has a public toilet. Go ahead a few more paces and then right into a grassy area, with the bowls club ahead of you. Turn left and walk clockwise around the edge of the grassy area, at first on a tarmac path, then after the war memorial on the grass. Continue down to the bottom left hand corner where steps lead down to the road by a junction. The village pub, The Great Western Arms, is just to your left. Turn right along Lower Street for about 200 metres, after some bends take the small road on the left, immediately before the white gabled Rose Cottage.Follow the small road uphill, when the tarmac ends keep straight on over a cattle grid and continue uphill on a track until it angles left in front of a barn. Leave the track here, keep right of the barn and continue up the right edge of the field to a gate. Follow the enclosed path which continues uphill then levels off at another gate. Keep ahead along the right edge of the next field with a steep down-slope and good views to the left. Go through a gate in the next corner, ignore a path going left into trees and keep straight on, following the hedge on your left. 20 metres into the next field go half right up to a hedge gap just right of double metal gates that lead onto a road at a bend.
7
Go left and follow the road downhill to a junction. Here, turn right along the small road through Batsford village (F). At a T-Junction, you can divert right a short distance to see more of the village and the beautiful church. When done, the route goes left down the road to a cross roads. Turn right for about 50 metres then take the signed path starting through a wooden gate on the right. Follow the path between two lines of trees and then along the right edge of a field. Cross a stile in the corner and keep in the same direction across the next field, soon with a wooden fence on your right, to reach a gate and stile. Keep ahead along the right edge of three fields, with good views of Batsford House to your right. (Would it look better with a green dome on it?)
(F) Batsford is the smallest village of the day. Note the impressive stud farm entrance to the right as you walk through. The church was massively rebuilt, with a large budget, in 1862 and is an impressive piece of Victorian architecture with a beautiful domed chancel. With this being the estate church for the important Batsford estate, it was once the main parish church for the area, with the large church at Moreton-In-Marsh being a chapel of ease for this one.You see more of Batsford Park later in this section, including a view of the manor house and maybe some deer roaming around. The estate is privately owned, but the arboretum in the grounds is a popular visitor attraction.
8
Enter a large grassy field ahead of you, with a finger post to your right indicating a path junction. Turn left, you are now on the Monarch's Way again and its waymarks will guide you all the way back along this clear path. Soon cross a footbridge in the field boundary and keep ahead along the left edge of two more fields. Cross another footbridge and go through the wooden kissing gate a short distance beyond. Keep straight on across the middle of two grassy fields then straight on across a large arable field. Keep in the same direction across two more grassy fields and cross a footbridge into a small narrow field. Go ahead about 50 metres then turn left through a kissing gate. Turn right and follow the field edge for a short distance then start angling left away from it across the field. Aim just right of some allotment sheds in front of the houses to find a metal kissing gate, beyond which an enclosed path leads to a road. Keep straight on to reach the High Street.
