North Cotswolds - Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton, the "Gateway to the Cotswolds" on the north-eastern edge, is the highest town in Oxfordshire (700 feet). We have not spent much time in this town, but stopped there on a recent trip and really liked the town. This is not a tour bus destination and feels more like a "real town".
Rollright Stones - King's Men
About the Town
Walk the High Street: The long Market Square in the center of town is lined with lots of shops, restaurants and pubs and the 19th century Town Hall.
Church: St Mary's Parish Church, Perpendicular "Wool" church with good looking exterior, but the interior was restored during the Victorian era, so is not original. There is a row of almshouses (1640) near the church.
Historic Buildings: Bliss Mill, a large Victorian tweed mill (now converted into apartments) sits across the valley from the town.
Food & Drink
Chipping Norton has a great selection of restaurants, tea rooms and pubs with at least eight pubs in the center of town, two Chinese restaurants, a Thai restaurant and an Indian restaurant, several cafe/tea rooms and more.
The Blue Boar (pub), Goddards Lane, just off the High Street. Real ale and food. website
The Chequers (pub), Goddards Lane, just off the High Street. website
Chef's Cottage (Chinese Takeaway), 4 Middle Row (down from the main parking area). Takeaway Chinese food. Very good quality food with good vegetarian options. We picked up dinner here when we were staying near Burford. (2006 notes - closed Tuesday, open for dinner, open for lunch on Thurs - Sat)
Nash's Bakery and Tea Room, Withers Court, High Steet. There is a good tea room on the main shopping street.
Nortens (tea room), 10 New Street. Cafe and tea room (using free range and organic produce). website
Food & Drink in Nearby Villages
Great Rollright - Wyatt's Tea Room, Hill Barn Farm, (on the road to Great Rollright, east of the Rollright Stones. Farm store and tea room, convenient if visiting the Rollright Stones.
Shops
Food Shops
There is a Somerfield in the center of town and many small food shops in town.
The nearest supermarkets are in Witney or Stow-on-the-Wold (see our list of supermarkets in the Cotswolds).
Chipping Norton Organics: Home delivery of organic produce. Order a box of produce to use at your vacation rentals! website
Other Shops
There are lots of interesting shops, including a good book shop and several antiques shops.
Nearby Villages & Sites
Villages
Great Rollright: Village with an interesting Norman church with a Perpendicular tower, grotesque gargoyles, Norman doorway with carvings.
Hook Norton: Historic village with the remains of dismantled railway viaduct and a Victorian brewery. Church with Perpendicular tower and a Norman font.
Little Rollright: Church has two 17th century monuments.
Prehistoric Sites
Hawk Stone: Single standing stone (8 feet high) in a field near the hamlet of Dean. website
Hoar Stone: Three stones, remains of prehistoric burial chamber, in bushes south of Enstone. website
Rollright Stones: Pre-historic stone circle and standing stones on the road from Little Rollright to Great Rollright (west of A3400 - the road north from Chipping Norton). The stone circle, called the King's Men, is on the south side of the road. When we were there in September 2004, there was a booth and a small fee was required. The King Stone is across the road and the Whispering Knights are down the road and out into a field, the same side as the stone circle. This is the best stone circle in the Cotswolds, but not as good as the ones at Avebury and Stonehenge.
Walks in the Area
Walking in the Cotswolds: Recommended guidebooks and maps for walking in the Cotswolds. We use these guides: Jarrold Short Walks - Cotswolds, Pathfinder Guide - Cotswolds and More Cotswolds, Goldeneye - The Complete Collection of Cotswold Walks (map pack). Using those books, I listed our favorite hikes in this area below. All are circular walks - begin and end at the same spot.
Great Tew (Goldeneye - 1 - 2hrs): Walk around the village of Great Tew and the Great Park (19th century Arboretum). We have not done this hike.
Wychwood Forest (Pathfinder - 4hrs): Forest walk in the Evenlode Valley. We have not done this walk yet.
The Rollright Stones (Pathfinder - 4.5hrs): I love the Rollright Stones but I did not like this walk. Too much walking on lanes (one of our group was almost hit by a car whizzing by). Drive to the Rollright Stones, but do your walk somewhere else.
Resources
chippingnorton.net: Chipping Norton. A nice website with history, things to do, restaurants, accommodations, shops. There are forums on the site - well worth reading.
BBC Video - Chipping Norton: Panoramic view of the center of town.
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