Linking Routes
These numbered routes, shown in different colours on the map, are provided to enable shorter walks to be taken from and to Thame which link with parts of the Outer Circuit. These routes are all on public footpaths and are generally well marked. The routes are described both going out from and returning to Thame.
Outbound routes take you from Thame to the Thame Outer Circuit.
Inbound routes take you from the Thame Outer Circuit back into Thame.
Linking Route 1
Outbound: From Priest End take the Old Long Crendon road up to the by-pass. Cross this, with great care, and take the path opposite to a stile on the left signed “Thame Valley Walk”. Cross this and follow the TVW waymarks across three fields to a track, go right for 80 yards then left on a path across a field. Then across several more fields in the same direction until reaching a road. You are then on the Outer Circuit between points 4 and 5.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, follow the Thame Valley Walk (TVW) sign and waymarks across several fields until reaching a track. Turn right for 80 yards, then left still following TVW waymarks. After three more fields cross a stile and turn right onto a path leading to the by-pass. Cross this, with great care, to the Old Long Crendon road opposite and follow this into Thame.
Linking Route 2a
Outbound: From the Recreation Ground follow Moreton Lane in a straight line across the Phoenix Trail and continue until reaching a tarmac path on the right. Take this and continue through the village of Moreton straight on past the war memorial until reaching another path junction where the route divides. Take the right fork, bear left, and follow the bridleway past the golf course. Immediately after passing the club house over to the right you meet the Oxfordshire Way and the Outer Circuit between points 11 and 12.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, stay on the bridleway and follow it in a north-easterly direction into Moreton. At Moreton continue in the same direction through the village, passing the war memorial. Bear left at a small green, then where the road ends turn right onto a tarmac footpath. Follow this to a T junction, then turn left to follow this wide track across the Phoenix Trail and into Thame by the Recreation Ground.
Linking Route 2b
Outbound: From the Recreation Ground follow Moreton Lane in a straight line across the Phoenix Trail and continue until reaching a tarmac path on the right. Take this and continue through the village of Moreton straight on past the war memorial until reaching another path junction where the route divides. Take the left fork and follow the lane, initially on tarmac and past various farms, for some miles until you reach the main A40 road in Tetsworth. This is the Outer Circuit between points 13 and 14.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, at the top of the rise on the A40, take the bridleway and follow it all the way into Moreton. At Moreton continue in the same direction through the village, passing the war memorial. Bear left at a small green, then where the road ends turn right onto a tarmac footpath. Follow this to a T junction, then turn left to follow this wide track across the Phoenix Trail and into Thame by the Recreation Ground.
Linking Route 3
Outbound: Leave Thame on the Phoenix Trail heading towards Princes Risborough. Some 500 yards after passing the sloping exit to Towersey you come to a crossing public footpath. This is the Outer Circuit at point 22.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, take the Phoenix Trail in a westerly direction all the way into Thame.
Linking Route 4
Outbound: Leave Thame via East St and Kingsey Road. Just before the Eastern Bypass bear left and follow the bridleway, crossing the main road and continuing past the Rugby Club and Thame Showground. When reaching a stile on the right, cross this and another and through a large gate (the pedestrian side will not be locked). After passing the cottage, bear left and follow the footpath across several fields, keeping in the same direction. When you meet a crossing path at a junction, this is the Outer Circuit between points 23 and 24.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, take the footpath at right angles just before a wooded area. Follow the waymarks across several fields in the same direction until reaching Keepers Cottage. Continue straight on through a gate and over two stiles. Then along the bridleway passing the Showground and Rugby Club and over the by-pass into Thame.
Linking Route 5
Outbound: Leave Thame on Moorend Lane, turning left at Cromwell Avenue and crossing the main road Eastern Bypass to the lane opposite. Continue on the lane past the sewage works and a farm and about 100 metres after passing under some power cables, turn left at a footpath sign. Take this and follow the waymarks across three fields to Scotsgrove Mill. Then take the well-marked bridleway straight on for about a mile until you reach a large 4-way footpath sign. You have reached the Outer Circuit between points 1 and 2.
Inbound: To leave the Outer Circuit here, continue along the bridleway to Scotsgrove Mill. Then straight on through a wooded area and across three fields to another bridleway. Turn right and follow this past the sewage works and over the by-pass into Cromwell Avenue. Turn right onto the path between houses 44 and 46 and follow it and then Moorend Lane into Thame.