Rolling hills between Pishill and Maidensgrove
Start & Finish: Parking spot opposite Russell’s Water Village Hall, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 6ES
Distance: 9.2 km (5.7 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 166m
Terrain: Undulating woodland trails, steep chalky valley paths, open common land, and quiet country lanes across the Chiltern Hills.
Shakespeare’s Way section covered: Maidensgrove Common to farm at south Maidensgrove: 1.3 km
Oxfordshire Way Section Covered: Maidensgrove to (near) Hollandridge Farm: 3.7 km
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Chiltern Way, Oxfordshire Way, Shakespeare’s Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Pubs / Cafes on route: Just off: The Five Horseshoes (just off route at 8.2 km in). Note that this pub was permanently closed when last checked in 2026.
Map: Chiltern Hills West Map | Henley-on-Thames & Wallingford | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 171
Links: Russell’s Water, Pishill, Maidensgrove
This walk is the intersection of the Chilterns Sections of both the Oxfordshire Way and The Shakespeare’s Way. The Oxfordshire Way 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 Shakespeare’s Way is a 235 km / 146 mile mile long-distance path connecting Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon with the Shakespeare's Globe (Theatre), Southwark, London. For a complete overview of route through the Chilterns, please read my Shakespeare’s Way Guide.
Walking Directions
Starting from the hamlet of Russell's Water, the route immediately showcases the classic character of the South Oxfordshire hills: ancient beech woodlands, steep-sided valleys, and open commons. While the long-distance trails are reasonably well waymarked with painted arrows and roundels, the network of intersecting woodland tracks and return loops requires careful attention to navigation.
What makes this route particularly rewarding is the contrast between the sheltered valley bottoms and the high ridge paths. After descending into Russell's Water Bottom and climbing through Greenfield Wood, the trail turns south along the Oxfordshire Way to drop into the historic village of Pishill. A sharp climb out of the Stonor valley brings you up onto the plateau of Maidensgrove, where you join Shakespeare's Way to traverse the open expanses of Maidensgrove and Russell's Water Commons before winding through the woods back to the village hall.
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.
The route starts at in the small village of Russell’s Water where there’s some parking spots opposite the village hall.
Take the road to the south-east of the village hall, passing the duck pond and then a left the Chiltern Way, following it in a northerly direction.
Continue along the Chiltern Way for ~3km following the large white arrows painted onto trees. Make sure you keep to the main Chiltern Way path though as some of the arrows also point to side paths.
When you hit Patemore Lane the Chiltern Way takes a left on the road then a right into the woods. Rather than taking the road you can cross straight over and take a steep path up the woods to cut this corner and avoid the road.
At around 3km from Russell’s Water you’ll meet a path junction with the Oxfordshire Way. Leave the Chiltern Way here and take a right onto the Oxfordshire Way. If you reach Hollandridge Farm on the Chiltern Way you’ll have gone too far.
Continue south along the Oxfordshire Way, through Pishill, until you meet the Chiltern Way again just south of Maidensgrove.
Follow the Chiltern way in a north-westerly direction. You’ll meet Maidensgrove and Russell’s Water Common where you’ll follow the edge of the road until you reach a small group of houses on the right of the road. If you need a rest the Five Horseshoes pub is among these houses.
Here you have a choice to continue along the road back to Russell’s Water or, as we did, take a path around the back (east side) of the houses, and through the woods back to the start.
Points of Interest along or near to the Route
Russell's Water and the Duck Pond: Russell's Water is a small hamlet centred around its prominent village pond. The pond gained cinematic fame in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, featuring as the location where Truly Scrumptious drives her motorcar into the water at the start of the story.
Pishill: Nestled in the Stonor Valley, Pishill is first recorded in 13th-century documents as Pushulle (1219) and Pushull (1247). Its name is generally understood to mean "hill where peas grew", although sources differ slightly on its linguistic origins: some derive it from the Latin pisum (pea) and Old English hyll (hill), while others favour the wholly Old English form peose-hyll ("pea hill"). In 1922, the ancient civil parish of Pishill was merged with neighbouring Stonor to form the present civil parish of Pishill with Stonor
Pishill Parish Church: Standing on the hillside just above the village lane, this Church of England parish church has an unknown dedication. Originally constructed as an 11th-century Norman building, it was extensively rebuilt in 1854 and features a 1967 stained-glass window designed by the renowned artist John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens.
The Crown Inn, Pishill: Located at the valley bottom where the route crosses through Pishill, this Grade II listed public house and adjacent thatched barn have a rich history as a country coaching inn. Please note that sources conflict regarding its exact age: Historic England and Wikipedia classify the building as 17th-century, whereas the venue's own historical literature states it dates back to the 15th century.
Maidensgrove and Russell's Water Commons: These adjoining areas of open-access common land occupy a prominent position on the Chiltern plateau above the Stonor Valley. Maidensgrove Common was partly ploughed during the Second World War to help increase food production and is now managed as grassland, while Russell's Water Common includes areas of more recent woodland and ancient hazel coppice. Across the commons, hollows created by historic clay extraction for brick and tile making have left a distinctive legacy in the landscape. The duck pond on Russell's Water Common is also notable for its appearance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Trail Intersections (Shakespeare's Way, Oxfordshire Way, and Chiltern Way): This loop highlights a major crossroads of long-distance footpaths in South Oxfordshire. It links the Shakespeare's Way (running from Stratford-upon-Avon to London), the Oxfordshire Way (linking Bourton-on-the-Water to Henley-on-Thames), and the circular Chiltern Way.
Shakespeare’s Way previous section (north): Nettlebed, Park Corner and Maidensgrove
Shakespeare’s Way next section (south): Stonor and Turville Heath
Oxfordshire Way next section (north): Christmas Common, Watlington Hill and Greenfield
Oxfordshire Way previous section (south): Middle Assendon, Bix and Crocker End