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’ – Soundscape 4:

‘Halse Copse’

On the edge of the HS2 trackway, the sounds from within Halse Copse propagate out across the field.

11th April 2019

© 2018-2021 Paul Mobbs; released under the CC-BY-NC-SA logoCreative Commons license.
Created 26th February 2021.


Halse Copse is a home for birds and a shelter for local hares, in the path of HS2. From the footpaths around, the sounds from within the woodland echo across the landscape.


This is the top of a long arcing ridge, bridging the local boundary between the river catchments of The Wash and The Thames. Away from the flat ridgeline, in the steep-cut small valleys, much of it still pasture on the lumpy boulder clay beneath. As a result the copses and hedgerows roundabout are one of the more easy places to see wildlife absent in other parts of the local area.

For more views and information about this location, go to the ‘Last Chance (HS)To See’ blog.