Historic SiteOxfordshire4.5
No charge for anyone.
Great Coxwell Barn is the sole surviving part of a thriving 13th-century grange that sent its income to the monks of Beaulieu Abbey, a vast tithe barn of Cotswold rubble stone under a timber roof that shows off the skill of its Gothic carpenters and the wealth of the monastic orders. William Morris brought his guests here to wonder at it and called it unapproachable in its dignity, and standing beside it you are asked to imagine the windmill, pig farm and dairy herd that once surrounded it. The barn is open from dawn to dusk and free, with no lighting inside and an uneven floor, and information boards in the open-fronted building beside it tell its story. Dogs are welcome on leads inside and around the barn, though the Trust's moderate 4-mile Ancient History and Agriculture walk to the Iron Age hillfort at Badbury is not suitable for them. Reviewers call it atmospheric and peaceful, and several add the half-mile stroll from the gate at the back to Badbury Clump for spring bluebells. Tips from visitors: parking is a handful of spaces in the roadside layby, and there are no toilets or cafe, the nearest being at Coleshill.
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Not suitable for dogs
4 miles (6.4km), moderate, 1 hour 30 minutes, circular from the visitor car park at Badbury (SN7 7NL) taking in Great Coxwell Barn and the Iron Age hillfort at Badbury across several tenant farms; can be started from the barn but parking there is limited. Nearest cafe at Home Farm, Coleshill, 2 miles from Badbury car park.
