Start & Finish: The Rainbow Inn, Middle Assendon, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 6AU
Distance: 10.9 km (6.8 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 190m
Terrain: Undulating chalk hills, ancient woodland trails, open field paths, and quiet country lanes across the Chilterns.
Oxfordshire Way Section Covered: Middle Assendon to Maidensgrove: 4.3 km
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Chiltern Way Southern Extension, Chiltern Way, Oxfordshire Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Other Pubs / Cafes on route: The Rainbow Inn at start and finish.
Map: Chiltern Hills West Map | Henley-on-Thames & Wallingford | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 171
Links: Middle Assendon, Bix, Maidensgrove, Warburg Nature Reserve, Bix Brand Old Church
Welcome to Part 2 of our series of short circular walks along the Oxfordshire section of the Oxfordshire Way. This is a 66 mile long-distance path connecting Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds with Henley-on-Thames. For a complete overview of the trail's history, and the end-to-end route, please read my complete Oxfordshire Way Guide.
The Walking Directions
This circular route in the southern Chilterns connects a network of historic trails, including the Oxfordshire Way, the Chiltern Way, and the Chiltern Way Southern Extension. Starting from the village of Middle Assendon, the route climbs steadily out of the Stonor Valley across open chalk hillsides and through ancient beech woodlands towards Bix, Catslip, and the picturesque hamlet of Crocker End.
The second half of the walk traces high woodland ridges and quiet valley bottoms, dropping down into the remote landscape of Bix Bottom beside the Warburg Nature Reserve. Along the way, you experience the classic variety of the Chilterns National Landscape: peaceful commons, sheltered holloways, and historical curiosities such as the ruined walls of Bix Brand Old Church. Whether you are walking the Oxfordshire Way in circular stages or simply looking for a varied half-day hike with a traditional pub at the start and finish, this route offers a rewarding journey through rural South Oxfordshire.
The guidance below will help you navigate but don’t use it as a fully accurate turn-by-turn guide. Always take a map and/or a GPX route and prepare well for the weather and terrain.
Start at the Rainbow Inn where there’s a small car park and also free on-street parking.
Walk south down the B480 for 50m then take the footpath on your right, leading up the hill.
Follow this path in a westerly direction as it takes you onto White Lane and Rectory Lane along the edge of Bix Common Field.
At the end of Rectory Lane continue onto a path through a field, following it through the woods until you reach the small village of Catslip.
At Catslip take a right and follow the lane north to Crocker End. Here you’ll meet the Chiltern Way Southern Extension.
Follow this north out of Crocker End for 1.7km. When you reach the bottom of the field in the banner photo above take a right onto the Chiltern Way following it in an easterly direction.
At Park Lane, keep on the Chiltern Way, now following it in a south-easterly direction.
When you reach the end of the driver at the converted farmhouses, continue south, now on the Oxfordshire Way and leaving the Chiltern Way.
Follow the Oxfordshire way in a south-easterly direction, descending past Bix Bottom until you reach the B480 again. Take a right on the B480 and you’ll be back at the Rainbow Inn.
Points of Interest along or near to the Route
Middle Assendon and The Rainbow Inn: Situated in the Stonor Valley around two miles north-west of Henley-on-Thames, Middle Assendon is home to The Rainbow Inn, an unspoilt traditional country pub serving Brakspear ales. Please note that spelling conventions vary: while the GPX metadata records the name as "Middle Assenden", Ordnance Survey maps and parish records use "Middle Assendon".
Bix and Bix Common: The village of Bix sits at around $130\text{ m}$ above sea level and historically comprised two settlements: Bix Brand and Bix Gibwyn. Bix Common dates back to the 1300s and was the site of a 1955 archaeological excavation that uncovered the remains of a Roman farmhouse and later Saxon activity before being re-covered for preservation.
Crocker End: A peaceful hamlet in the civil parish of Nettlebed whose name translates as "Potter's End", reflecting the brick, tile, and pottery industries that operated in the area from the 14th century until the 1930s. Nearby Crocker End House is a spacious Victorian property built around 1870 that served as the country retreat of the Duke and Duchess of Kent from 1989 until the early 21st century.
Warburg Nature Reserve (Bix Bottom): Occupying a $102.3\text{-hectare}$ biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), this reserve is owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). Its ancient beech woodlands and chalk grassland clearings support over 500 species of vascular plants, including 18 species of orchid, alongside 650 species of fungi.
Church of St James (Bix Brand Old Church): Located in the valley of Bix Bottom, the ruins of this small Norman church feature surviving outer walls from the nave and chancel. Historical sources show a minor discrepancy regarding its closure: the on-site information board states the church closed in 1874 after the walls became unstable, whereas parish and architectural records note it was abandoned in 1875 when the new St James' Church opened on Bix Common. In 1971, the overgrown ruins were used as a filming location for the British horror film The Blood on Satan's Claw, and in 2015 the structure was stabilised with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Oxfordshire Way next section (north): Russell's Water, Pishill and Maidensgrove
Oxfordshire Way previous section (south): Henley, Middle Assendon and Lambridge Wood