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Image © Sue Osborne, 30 June 2012. The slideshow follows the seasons, with room for lots more contributions - please get in touch. Sarah Bannerman has supplied a striking image of Bitterell footpath 206/5 before the creation of pedestrian access to Swinford Green.
UPDATES
MAPS: Eynsham Parish Council has published a map of local footpaths and brideways, using Oxfordshire County Council's definitive statement dated 21 February 2006. It is available to download in 3 sections: Central & South; North; West including Barnard Gate.
Although they are designed to be printed at A3 size, they are still readable at A4 and of course you can view them comfortably on screen. We hope they will suggest new directions for your walks - and increase your enjoyment of them.
SURVEY: During the summer / autumn members of the Footpaths Committee aim to cover the footpath network and make an inventory of problems such as broken stiles and gates, missing sign-posts, impassable vegetation, etc. The completed inventory is passed to the County Council - which is responsible for the maintenance of rights of way - with a request for the repairs to be implemented.
CONTACTS: Keeping rights of way in good condition is an ongoing, collaborative task so please get in touch if you would like to help with the survey - or, of course, if you find a particular problem such as a fallen tree obstructing a path. OCC have a clearing schedule, to which they add the paths and bridleways which are reported to them year on year. It is therefore important to report paths that are overgrown, as well as those with obstacles and hazards. If you know the path number, you can report directly to Daniel Weeks: 01865 810225 email. If not, please contact a member of the Footpaths Committee.
In future years the Parish Council hopes to suggest further improvements and developments, but the immediate priority is to ensure that paths and bridleways within the Parish conform to the County Council's definitive statement.
DEFINITION of terms used on the maps:
FURTHER READING
A reminder of footpath 206/5 before the advent of Swinford Green.
Another scene from the Abbey Fishponds.
The repair schedule finally caught up with this footbridge in October 2009, as a later slide shows.
The footbridge on Cassington Road - considerably improved!
A new housing development being marked out, north of the path between Bitterell and the B4449 Eynsham bypass.
The far side of this area is now being redeveloped under a landscape and habitat creation project.
CATTLE: The Ramblers website has some useful tips about cattle in fields.
opening of a new pathway to the Lock by Fred Wright as Parish Council Chairman in 1998
Sue Chapman's campaign for a circular footpath exploiting the old railway line took her into the fastness of County Hall; here she leads Eynsham Morris at the official opening.