Welcome to the Drayton St Leonard Activities page

Activities, clubs and societies

For such a small village, there is a surprising range of local activities and clubs organised by the villagers for the villagers. These include:

Drayton St Leonard History Society. See the seperate page dedicated to the History Society

 

Gardening Society. A group of villagers who share ideas and plants relating to all aspects of gardening.

 

Tennis. We are lucky that two of the houses in the village have tennis courts and so a tennis club has evolved. The climax of this is the annual Drayton St Leonard tennis tournament. Click here for a page on the 2003 tournament.

 

Aunt Sally. This pub game is unique to Oxfordshire pubs. We have our own team that takes place in the annual tournament in which we host home games and play away games at other pubs.

Book Club. A group of villagers meet regularly to read a selected book and then discuss what they think of it.

Village fete. One of the major events in the village calendar is the Church fete. This is held each year in June and raises a significant sum towards the upkeep and maintenance of the church.

 

Investment club. We have an investment club open only to village residents by invitation.

 

Aston Martin Owners Club. The magnificent Grade II* listed old barn in the village has been restored and converted to become their headquarters and museum. Their web pages are at www.amoc.org and www.amheritrust.org/home.htm . Whilst this is not strictly a village activity, as their members are located in all parts of the country, it is becoming an important part of the village. Their architects won an award for the design, see www.architectureplb.com and www.ibstock.co.uk/ibstockpages/news/downland-2003.htm .

 

The Village pub - The Catherine Wheel. The pub is an important centre of village life. As well as providing a place to meet for drinks or food, many other functions are held here such as an RNLI fund raising evening which raised a very respectable £630.

 

Walking. See the article in the Mar04 News & Views, page 5, "Countryside Stewardship", which includes a map. To complement the public footpaths, two "permissive paths" have been established, one on each farm. Larger versions of the map in the article are attached to posts at the start, end and waypoints along the way. These maps and the one in the printed paper edition of News & Views are better than the one at the Countryside Agency website or indeed of the above web version of News & Views. For the latest information see The Countryside Agency website . Scrolldown, click the agreement, select the relevant buttons and a map of our village should come up. Presently it is available in 'draft' and 'provisional' versions but eventually a better 'conclusive' version should be available.

 

Walk 1. The first of our village "Permissive Paths" branches off the footpath to Lower Grange. It starts at this end of the footbridge, don't cross over the Thame to Lower Grange/A329, the permissive path runs on the west bank over the Emmett's land along the river to the old pumphouse, then to Four Winds along a farm track. The footpath from Four Winds to the High Street/Church Lane/Osiers corner completes it. Hazards: Nothing unusual, but keep clear of heifers occaisionally kept in the river meadow.

 

Walk 2. The other "permissive path" runs over George Farrant's Manor Farm. Starting on the farm's drive near Drayton View it runs around the farm joining the river near Garden Cottage, and runs along the river's south bank to Haywards Bridge, then on the north bank to Chiselhampton, on the B281. To complete the circuit, walk over the bridge through Chislehampton, turn left straight after the bridge on the footpath that initially leads through a private garden. This path takes you twice over the moat round Camoys Court. There used to be many moated farmhouses in past times in various parts of the country but naturally they are rare now. Follow the footpath on through a field to join the Green Lane ("road used as a public path"). Alternatively, from the B281 road bridge continue up to opposite the Coach and Horses, take the left turn at the junction (road to Golden Balls/Mattocks-Notcutts) and follow the signpost 'Public Right of Way'. Take the concrete track round the Camoys farm buildings and continue on it until it really becomes a Green Lane, the prettiest part of the walk. This gradually transitions to the farm track network into The Marsh at the junction of The Osiers and Ford Lane. Hazards: Nothing unusual but more care needed as it is a much longer walk. Watch for the end of the microlight runway. I came across a Mink Hunt (visiting from a hunt based in the Thames/Kennet area), bullocks (between Hawards and Chislehampton) and well indicated beehives on the last section.

 

This list is by no means exhaustive and other activities will be added in due course. Suggestions welcome.

 

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