Eleven of us set off in very warm sunshine down the Portway path. No deer in sight behind the Park House, but lovely views across the valley. We passed through the two fields and crossed into Oxfordshire before walking through the buttercups and up to the B4100 to cross into Upper Aynho Grounds. Water bottles came out as we saw everyone safely across the road. The next stage took us through the grounds and into the woods where we were glad of some shade. At the bottom of the hill men were working on putting in extra tubes to allow more water to flow from the stream into the lakes. We continued up through Warren Farm woods and into the meadow where we had been warned of Aberdeen Angus cows grazing. There were none there although there were a couple of horses in the next field. Mill Lane in Croughton brought some welcome shade and this continued on the path behind the village as we walked towards the church. We rested again briefly by the church gate and the old tree. After a drink of water we crossed through the village and over to the Croughton Lane. Next we took the path through Camp farm and finished up along the ridge to Green Lane. back at the Pavilion it was very pleasing to see Anita back with her usual delicious refreshments. 6.5 miles in hot sunshine left us all glad of a rest in the shade.
