Walks in Thame

9 miles (14.3 km)

The market town of Thame is well served by a number of public footpaths branching out into the surrounding countryside. The area has nice riverside trails, woodland areas, nature reserves.
This circular walk around Thame uses the Thame Valley Walk, the Oxfordshire Way and other public footpaths to explore the countryside surrounding the town. On the way you'll visit the River Thame, the village of Shabbington, Ryecote Park, Moreton and the Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve.
Start the walk from the northern side of the town where you can pick up the Thame Valley Walk. You can follow the waymarked path west through the countryside to the village of Shabbington. The river runs through the village which also includes a 13th century church and a nice pub.
At Shabbington you turn south, following a riverside path to Ryecote Park where there's some woodland, parkland, a 15th century chapel, an icehouse and a series of pretty lakes. The park has an interesting history being the site of a Tudor palace frequented by royality including Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Jams I and Charles I.
At Ryecote you pick up the Oxfordshire Way and head south past Lobbersdown Hill before turning north east towards Moreton. Other public footpaths then take you north back into the town centre. This section takes you through the Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve where there's lots of interesting flora and fauna to see. The reserve includes about thirty acres of mixed meadows, young woodland, sedge and reed beds, hedges, trees, riverbanks and scrubland.

Thame Ordnance Survey Map - view and print off detailed OS map

Thame Open Street Map - view and print off detailed map

Thame OS Map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Thame Open Street Map - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

The Six Bells is a good choice for some post walk refreshments. The friendly pub does very good food and has a nice outdoor seating area for warmer days. You can find the inn on the High Street at a postcode of OX9 2AD for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The country trails and woodland paths on the walk are ideal for dog walking. The Six Bells pub mentioned above is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

To continue your walking in the area you could head north along the Thame Valley Walk to visit the village of Long Crendon and then continue on to the historic Notley Abbey and the village of Chearsley. Long Crendon is well worth a visit with a number of medieval timber framed properties including Long Crendon Courthouse which dates to the 15th century and is run by the National Trust.
You could also pick up the long distance Bernwood Jubilee Way and follow it to the nearby Bernwood Forest where there's an excellent Butterfly trail�where you can look out for over 40 species of butterfly. It's also a very popular place for dog walkers if you have a canine friend to exercise.
Thame is located close to the border of the Chilterns AONB which is fine walking country. Head south east towards Chinnor and you can pick up the Chiltern Way and explore the area. You can also pick up The Ridgeway National Trail near here and visit the popular town of Princes Risborough. The town can also be reached on the Phoenix Trail which runs along a disused railway line and is suitbale for cyclists and walkers.
For more walks in the county see the Oxfordshire Walks page.