Freeland is an Oxfordshire village, in the green middle of the county, the star and finish of a celebration walk of 17½ miles.
The walk takes in some pretty, hidden villages, a canal built for industry but now serving leisure, broad farmland, and the mighty estate of Blenheim Palace. It takes in at one point part of Shakespeare’s Way, reminding us of where we are in the middle of the British imagination.
The path through the estate runs to the north end of one of the great lakes of the park, and round the Column of Victory, celebrating the feats of arms achieved by the Duke of Marlborough, and on through some of the finest of the grounds.
Even at the end of January, or the dawn of a new age, there is no better way to wash the old air out of your lungs than with a vigorous walk n some of the loveliest countryside.
Walk page
Route map
Links, maps and books
- Ordnance Survey maps:
- Explorer 180: Oxford (1:25 000)
- Landranger 164: Oxford (1:50 000)