Poundon to Charndon

The countryside is vanishing fast…

Seven years ago I drove to Poundon, four miles northeast of Bicester, on a hunch.  I thought the bridleway to Charndon – a continuation of Poundon High street that starts near the “Sow & Pigs” at SP 647254 (#1) – was part of a droving route from Banbury to Aylesbury (& so to London).  I was merrily surprised by the landlord: “Oh, yes; this was a drovers' inn alright.”

I talked some rubbish to him over a pint then walked the mile-and-a-half to Charndon, a hamlet almost too small for maps to acknowledge.  It was a beautiful April day and the path lived up to expectations (#2,3,4).  It looked highly drover-ish.

Yesterday, as the rain poured down steadily, I revisited the photos I had taken; then looked up the path on Google Maps.  I was appalled.  Agribusiness has arrived (#5) and Bucks CC has rerouted the old drovers' way diagonally across fields and called it something silly like “South Bucks Way”.  I don't suppose it's worth walking now, but if it is please let me know.