Objective: Cycle from Lower Heyford to Oxford along the Oxford Canal, returning by train from Oxford to Heyford.
Trip Type: solo cycle
Distance: 16 miles
Time to complete: 2.5 hrs, 6.4 mph
Nicholson Guide: Guide 1, pp 153-159
Costs: free parking in Lower Heyford. Train from Oxford to Heyford £6.40, infrequent
Difficulty: hard
Adjacent Rides: Banbury to Lower Heyford
Overview
Only attempt this ride in April or May, after a couple of dry weeks, otherwise it is too difficult. There are a number of sections where the towpath is sloping or has collapsed completely, and a lot of uncut undergrowth which makes riding very difficult later in the year.
1. Lower Heyford to Kidlington (9 miles)
Park your car at Heyford station car park, OX25 5PD. If the car park is full you can park in Lower Heyford village. The streets are narrow but there are no restrictions. Access to the towpath lies between the station platform and the canal. Cross the old footbridge parallel to the road bridge and drop down the slope, then turn back on yourself under Station Road to head south on a narrow earth and grass path.
At the next bridge, Cleeves Bridge, 207, the towpath is sloping and collapsed, and you get the picture of what sort of ride it’s going to be.
After Dashwood Bridge, 209, the towpath is sloping and collapsed and you will need to walk 300 yards along this section.
It’s bumpy and difficult going, but there is a slight improvement at Tackley, although there are sandbags to fill the breach there. Continue to Kirtlington, where the canal runs next to the River Cherwell, and riding conditions are better.
At Thrupp there is a sharp right hand bend by Annie’s Tea Rooms, and the towpath switches back to the right. Just past Thrupp there is a narrowboat lodged on the banking (as of 2025), which apparently happened after a flood, and there no way of getting a crane close enough to refloat it.
Where the main road crosses there is no towpath, just bumpy rocks. However the towpath is generally better.
2. Kidlington to Oxford (7 miles)
Once in the outskirts of Kidlington the towpath is better again, and from the A44 (Woodstock Road) bridge it is metalled all the way into Oxford.
At the junction, just before you pass under the A40, Northern Bypass, turn right on Dukes Cut. This 200m stretch is populated by many off-griders, and you need to weave your way through the wood between old sofas and barbecues. Once you reach the River Thames turn round, return to the junction and turn right to continue down the Oxford Canal. It is easy going into the city centre. Just before the canal ends at Hythe Bridge, cross the bridge at Isis Lock to continue between Castle Mill Stream and the canal to the slight ramp up to Hythe Bridge Street.
Turn right on Hythe Bridge Street/Botley Road to cross Castle Mill Stream, and at the second roundabout turn right into the station.
Trains are approximately 2 hourly, so if you time it right you’ll have time to find a nice hostelry in Oxford, of which there are many. Perhaps try the Eagle and Child, St. Giles, OX1 3LU, the famous watering hole of Tolkien and C S Lewis, only 6 minutes from the station (temporarily closed for refurbishment as of end 2025). The Bell Inn, in Lower Heyford, is sadly no longer open.