Countryside

Clifton Reynes

A short circular walk of 2.5 miles through an historic landscape from Olney. Route map

The way from Olney to Clifton Reynes across the river has always been popular as a recreational walk and as a trade route between the two communities. The walk is pleasant at any time of the year.

The best place to park is in Olney Market Place near the Cowper and Newton Museum from where a short walk to Church Street will lead to the start of the country walk itself.

COWPER AND NEWTON MUSEUM The Museum is worth visiting to see some of the discoveries that help to piece together the history of the are right back to the Ice Ages. Local enthusiasts have collected animal bones, rock specimens and potter fragments showing something of the previous character of the Ouse Valley nearby.

However the main collection concentrates on the 18th Century, when the poet William Cowper and his friend the Reverend John Newton were responsible for bring ing to the locality through their poems and hymns.

The local landscape forms the setting for some of Cowper's poems and he certainly enjoyed the walk to Clifton Reynes, 190 years ago.

MILLS The walk begins at the site of Olney Mill, through a bridleway gate just past St Peter and St Paul's Church. There were two mills less than a mile apart on this part of the River Ouse and they generated much cart traffic to and for across the pastures. Just beyond Mill House and the Granary, the mill race makes an attractive small waterfall where it rejoins the main river.

After the field gate, a stone causeway appears underfoot which links three points known locally as the plank brides, with the site of Clifton Mill. Causeways are common near the river here and were probably built to prevent horses and loaded grain carts sinking into their own ruts.

The river has always been guilty of spreading vast quantities of water over the surrounding countryside and a situation can be imagine where Clifton Mill would have been stranded by flood. This was much regretted by Cowper who wrote the following lines when his favourite walk to a church event was cut off.

"I sing of a journey to Clifton
We would have performed if we could!"
Without cart or barrow to life on
Poor Mary and me thro' the mud.
Sle sla slud
Stuck in the mud
Oh it is pretty to wade through a flood.

The Distressed Traveller
or Labour in Vain COWPER 1808

TOOTH AND CLAW The list of prehistoric inhabitants of the valley may times have included aurochs (Wild Ox), mammoth, wooly rhinoceros and sabre-toothed tiger, who were preceded by a 14 metre long dinosaur called Cetiosaurus oxonensis 170 million years ago. The main river sometimes washes up their remains as well as stones from Scandinavia brought by the last great ice sheets, but most of the bones have been found in gravel pits nearby.

Today, bright blue dragonflies are the fiercest creatures that you are likely to see in and around the mill race marsh and scrubland beyond. A legacy from prehistoric times, dragonflies are one of the oldest types of animal on Earth. They come in small sizes these days but are still voracious hunters, patrolling the river for other flying insects which they catch, then hold in a cradle formed by their front legs which eating on the wing.

ON CLIFTON HILL
On Clifton Hill 20m above the river, a view extends across Olney to Yardley Chase forest on the horizon. The whole valley between was carved out of a gently hilly plateau by water from melting ice sheets towards the end of the last Ice Age. This is how the river Ouse originated.

Many yeas later, about 8,000 years ago, Stone Age man could have stood here in a dense woodland overlooking a river 1Km wide with many gravel banks and rivulets, in the hope of spotting some of the red deer whose bones are even now washed up on the banks below.

CLIFTON REYNES Clifton Reynes is a village of old stone houses and barns ranged along a peaceful rod of irregular width. The older buildings sitting at right angles to the road is typical of a medieval settlement. Later, during the Inclosures, new straight rod put paid to this higgledy-piddledy style.

At one end of the village, the Church and Rectories are just south of the original Clifton Reynes Manor. Its cellar walls can be seen in the humps and lumps over the Church wall.

There is a very medieval feel to the inside of the St Mary's Church where table tombs carry wooden and stone effigies of the Reynes family. Look for "Bo" the medieval dog with his name on his collar, and for the brass plate in the floor showing a Reynes knight who fought at Agincourt.

Many other local families are commemorated by stone coats of arms and by wall plaques. In particular Alexander Small was a past lord of the manor who was known as a womaniser and big spender. He is commemorated by one of his many children.

WAKES MANOR Some of the village houses bear the name of the second village manor. It is believed that the Wakes manor occupied a place of Spring Land where a large square dyke surrounds an area more recently occupied by a massive dovecote 60ft across. Before 1350, Sir Hugh Wake had given acres of land known as Kites Close to the Church to provide a treat for all the residents who turned out to beat the bounds of the parish, a very long walk.

CLIFTON ROADS The short cut is the original main coach road from the village. The row of horse chestnuts lines its route. They continued towards the Reynes manor in one direction and, in the other, the road went downhill across the next field on another raised causeway. Before 1823, the village was on a main thoroughfare and it owes its current quiet status to the Inclosure awards of that date. The whole road system was rationalised to upgrade some roads and downgrade others with the happy result that modern traffic can no pass through the village

GENERAL INFORMATION
FOOTWEAR The walk crosses fields by the river which demand suitable footwear in wet conditions. After several days of rain, the walk becomes flooded.

WAYMARKS Yellow arrows indicated public footpaths and blue arrows bridleways. A special "circular walk" version marks this route.

COUNTRY CODE Dogs should be kept on a lead where farm animals are present. Please close the gates as you go and make sure you keep to the waymarked paths. On bridleways, expect to meet horses.

PARKING Ample space is available in Olney. There is a market on Thursdays in the central car park.

FACILITIES A range of refreshments and a public toilet are available in Olney. Organised walking groups are requested to telephone (01234) 711574 in advance if intending to stop at the Robin Hood, Clifton Reynes

MAPS This leaflet can be used with Landranger No 152 (Northampton & Milton Keynes) or Pathfinder No 1001 (Olney)

ENQUIRIES Please refer to the rights of way Officer if you encounter any difficulty on the walk. Milton Keynes 01908 252406

COWPER & NEWTON MUSEUM Telephone 01234 711516 for details of seasonal opening hours.

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