Distance 5.75 miles (9.3km)
Classification Moderate
Duration 2 hours 30 minutes
Begins Canons Ashby car park
OS grid reference SP577506

Walk in a nutshell
This route forms a loop that starts off in Canons Ashby and visits the village of Moreton Pinkney before following fairly easy terrain on farm tracks and field boundaries.

Why it's special
Northamptonshire is a woefully under visited county containing many very pleasant surprises, of which Canons Ashby is just one. Built near the site of a 13th-century priory, the Elizabethan manor house delights in its tranquil setting. This walk takes in the best of the local historical architecture as well as providing ramblers with exquisite views of nearby hills.

Keep your eyes peeled for
Canons Ashby, a village of around 40 houses that all but disappeared in the 14th century, thanks to the Black Death and land enclosures. Traces of what was the main street can still be seen. Also look out for the wonderful relief carving on the Victorian Scottish baronial-style gatehouse in Moreton Pinkney.

Most of the brown ironstone houses in this attractive village date from the early 18th century but the settlement's origins go back to medieval times. Witness the church of St Mary the Virgin, for instance, which dates from the late 12th century (though it was later altered by those meddling Victorians). Going further back in time still, the hills are formed of Jurassic limestone and make up a vertebra of the spine of England.

Recover afterwards
The immediate area is short on pubs and restaurants, but there is a tearoom serving freshly cooked food (and with its own garden to boot) at Canons Ashby.

If it's tipping down
Your starting point is Canons Ashby house so it's extremely convenient if the weather is less than clement. The manor house was built from stone taken from the Augustinian priory previously on the site and was in the possession of the Dryden family from the 15th century. A small church is all that remains of the priory. However, recent archaeological investigations of a mysterious mound on the estate have uncovered a castle – possibly a Norman motte and bailey affair.

How to get there
From Banbury railway station, take the 200 bus to Woodford Halse, which is 3 miles away, just north of Cherry Tree Farm.

Step by step

1 Turn right out of the car park and go down the hill until you reach a footpath sign on the left, before the farmhouse. Follow the sign straight over a paddock and a field.

2 Get on to the road through the kissing gate. Then turn right to go over the old railway bridge, before turning back on to the footpath on the right.

3 Cross the field diagonally towards a gap in the hedge and go over a pair of stiles. Cross the next field, over medieval ridge and furrow earth features, to reach the stile bridge.

4 Walk ahead and left over the field to the path into Moreton Pinkney. Walk through the village on the main road, stopping to admire the gatehouse and the church next to it (set off the road).

5 Opposite the church, take the path to Prestidge Row, admiring the 18th-century cottages around the green. Then turn left down the hill, crossing the ford over the brook.

6 Stay on the main track, bearing slightly left after a bench, until you reach the old railway bridge. Continue on this track, passing Foxhill Farm, and go through an old railway cutting until you reach a crossroads.

7 Cross the road ahead and walk to Crockwell Farm. Just before the farmhouse, turn sharp right up a short hill. Enjoy the view and then continue to follow the track to the left until you reach the next road and then turn right.

8 Continue along the road, passing Cherry Tree Farm, until you reach Mitre Barn. Then turn right on the byway through the farm gate.

9 Follow the path, keeping to the left of the trees. When the path forks, turn right.

10 At the pond follow the track to the right. At the wood turn right and follow the boundary, which turns sharp left, where you will reach a collapsed stile. Cross over, keeping the hedge on your left.

11 Go through the gap in the hedge, continuing straight along the field boundary until you reach the road.

12 Turn left and head back towards the car park.