
Banburyshire Rambles Photo-Journal
Paul Mobbs’ photographic record of his walks around ‘Banburyshire’ and ‘The Irondowns’, and occasionally, as part of his work around Britain, the areas beyond.

‘Last Chance (HS)To See’ index
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‘Last Chance (HS)To See’ – Scene 30:
‘On the Welsh Lane in Danesmoor’
Pausing at the ancient crossroads in the middle of nowhere, as my cross-country route crosses the Medieval drove road from Wales
11th April 2019
© 2018-2021 Paul Mobbs; released under the Creative Commons license.
Updated February 2021.
All the settlements in these parts are near the top of the local hills; a reflection of how wet the local valleys are. Here my route into Culworth crosses an old drove road that once traversed this broad valley bottom from London to Wales – the Welsh Lane or ‘Welsh Road’. It tangles with the route of HS2 along that course, given that both are designed to follow as flat a route as possible remote from urban areas.


Welsh Road emerges from the network of old green lanes around Charlton and Newbottle, arcing westward into Warwickshire towards Kenilworth, and on through the West Midlands towards the Welsh border.
In Medieval times these routes congregated (drove roads were not a single ‘road’ as such, but often a set of parallel lanes heading in one direction) at certain points to intersect with other routes, or significant centres or markets along the way. Northampton was a significant market for drovers in the Medieval era, as was Banbury in Victorian times.
This lane was once more rough than pictured here; the surface having been reinforced with stone a couple of years ago to allow HS2’s surveyors to have access. The section to the north-west of here is mostly road; to the south-west though it is mostly broad trackways through fields. Connecting the radial 200 and 500 bus routes from Banbury, it’s a really good route to follow in Winter as it keeps you out of the mud of the ploughed fields.
Despite its historic significance for transport, today all is quiet. The livestock are still in their sheds. All I can hear are larks, and the distance hum of a tractor.
