Peter Schrammel - Mountains

20. 4. 2025

Peter Schrammel

Weather

sunny, overcast in the late afternoon

Interest

***: Lovely stroll across Buckinghamshire with a palace and two hills

Route

Oxford, 60m - Bicester, 84m - Stowe House, 132m - Buckingham, 90m - Quainton Hill, 187m - Brill, 192m - Oxford

Elevation gain

926m

Distance

113km

Timing

6 1/2h (1 1/4 + 1 1/2 + 1/2 + 1 1/4 + 1 + 1)

Stamina

Difficulty

++: everything tarmacked except Stowe Gardens (but cycling forbidden anyway) and Quainton Hill: tarmacked bridle way to Hogshaw Hill Farm, then a dirt track (turns left through the gate 100m before the house) followed by a steep meadow (pushed; would be +++, requires a mountainbike) to the summit plateau, traverse of the plateau grass +-++, bridle way straight down across a pasture with one steep section ++

Danger

0: only car traffic

Visitor frequency

c: quite a lot of cyclists and dog walkers

Report

On this Easter weekend there were too many replacement buses to get by train to any interesting place. So, I looked where I hadn’t yet been around Oxford and discovered Stowe House, a palace north of Buckingham in reach for a day trip. The weather was stable sunny with some clouds announced for the afternoon. I left at 8.45am via Banbury Road to Kidlington. I followed the marked cycle route to Bicester. First I had to climb the detour over Bletchingdon hill which is a bit wasteful, but at least the elevation gain could be transformed into distance towards Weston-on-the-Green, with a dead badger in the ditch and a former pillory on the village green. After crossing to the south side of the A41 I made fast progress into Bicester. I missed the town centre by following cycle paths along Banbury Road until I turned onto a country lane through Caversfield. After passing by another casualty in the ditch, a roe dear, I stopped next to a pond with beautiful reflections of the sun and spring foliation. The relief remained relatively flat until the A421 while the density of cyclists and dog walkers increased. After crossing the HS2 construction site near Mixbury I rolled down into the valley of the Great Ouse. A cyclist in front of me tried to take a photo of a red kite flying at short distance in front of them. Of course, the metres lost downhill needed to be regained towards the A422. I avoided cycling on this A road by quite a big detour via Shalstone. Stowe House used to have three 3km long perfectly straight approach alleys leading to the palace from all cardinal directions. I entered through the southwestern gate, crossed the idyllic Oxford Water and climbed up towards the northern front of the palace. It was after 11.30am and the sun was right behind the building, which made it difficult to take any pictures from this side. So, I followed the road signs to the Parish Church which is located on the southern side. From there I had a great view of the perfectly lit, majestic south facade. From the church I decided to walk down to the gardens to find a sunny spot for lunch. The gardens were a real surprise: lakes, temples, bridges, spooky castles and a lot of green. While I was enjoying lunch and sun, suddenly a friendly gentleman approached me and asked me how I entered the site. He told me that bicycles are not allowed here and that access to the gardens requires a paid entry to support the National Trust. I hadn’t seen any signs and would pay the entry on exit, which I did after benefitting from the great views across the lake to the south facade. I continued along the southern approach alley which features a huge triumphal arc. The palace is visible through the arc’s opening, provided you are on the bump of the road at 2km distance from the arc. Arriving in Buckingham, I turned right too early and missed the town centre. So, I had to climb back up to the church and across to the Old Gaol, a former prison. Towards 1.30pm I embarked on the ride back to Oxford. The plan was to pass via Quainton Hill. So, I followed the country roads towards East Claydon, which I reached after crossing the recently rebuilt railway line from Bicester to Bletchley. After descending towards Hogshaw farm Quainton Hill appeared – not very impressive, but certainly a hill. I decided to try to climb the hill from the northern side, even though I might have to push my bicycle. To my surprise, the bridle way was tarmacked, which made the decision even easier. Unfortunately, the tarmacked section ended at a house, and the bridle way continued as a dirt road and soon after disappeared in the steep pasture. Fortunately, I only had to push the bicycle for 30m elevation to reach the flat hilltop. From there a track led me to the top of Quainton Hill with its transmission tower. The view across the flat lands of Buckinghamshire is less interesting than the few hills in the south: Waddesdon Manor and Brill further west. The other point of interest is colourful Quainton windmill at the foot of the hill. As forecast, a blanket of clouds was pushing in from the south, sharply separating sunny Buckinghamshire from cloudy Oxfordshire. I explored whether I could cycle down the road a bit further east, but a shut gate of a farm blocked access. So, I rode down the steep bridle way that crossed a huge pasture full of shy lambs and their moms. Leaving Quainton behind I crossed another HS2 construction site. I started to feel a certain heaviness in my legs. Hence, I rolled more energy efficiently towards the foot of Brill hill, which I definitely wanted to climb. The steep section felt shorter than I had it in my memories and so I reached the famous windmill site at 4pm. A group of 4 cyclists arrived soon after me and enjoyed the view. I didn’t stop for long and continued downhill via Oakley towards Stanton St John. Unsurprisingly the 4 cyclists on their race bikes overtook my shortly before the road steepens up through the village. The last hill in Barton took me by surprise - I had to tackle it slowly to keep enough energy for the last few miles through Headington into Oxford where I arrived after 5pm.

Oxford - Stowe House - Quainton Hill - Brill