While it may lack the charming glow of the Long Winter snow, Narnia still looks resplendent in summer. And by Narnia I mean, of course, Shotover Country Park, Oxford’s very own portal to childhood fantasy and Christian allegory. The series’ author, C.S. Lewis, used to live at The Kilns, a house with an extensive back garden which is now the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve. Beyond that extends Shotover Hill, an ancient Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and inspiration for much of Lewis’ writing. No one quite knows where this name originates: legend has it that Oliver Cromwell fired his musket over it. Today, the hill is as charming as ever and is split into two parks. Shotover Park is estate land. Originally part of the royal forest of Wychwood, it switched to private hands after Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, unwittingly cut the hand of a man who was holding a dead stag for him to behead. The royals do enjoy the site still, as the families of both Queen Elizabeth I and II are known to have stayed at Shotover. It is the Country Park though, Shotover’s public and less storied twin, that will be our destination.
From central Oxford, one can take the bus, but a much more enjoyable route is a “park walk” starting from the University Parks. Proceeding along Mesopotamia, we skirt the Islamic Studies centre and climb into Headington Hill Park, a picturesque collection of trees best seen in autumn. From there climb further across the road into South Park, and catch a glimpse of the dreaming spires before exiting on Old Road. Just after crossing the city ring road, one is greeted by a series of sandstone boulders known as “doggers”, which predate the Ice Age and are scattered all across Shotover Hill. This is a place anchored in history and legend, a place one tends to wax lyrical about. The celebrated travel writer Jan Morris preserved the old Romantic saying that there is nothing higher between Shotover and the Ural Mountains, at the other extremity of Europe. Nothing higher in height? Not a chance. But in spirit? Well, I invite you to see for yourself.
A slightly steep climb gives way to an unassuming car park. We’ve arrived! There is no lamp-post to welcome us into Shotover; while it has never been proven, the inspiration for Narnia’s lamp-post is said to be much closer to home, just off St. Mary’s Passage and on the approach to the Rad Cam. It also wasn’t as important to Lewis as it became to later readers. After Tolkien joked that no escapist fantasy would have something as commonplace and modern as a lamp-post in it, Lewis decided to spite him and add one right at the beginning. For our purposes, we can do without it and proceed to the right into Mary Sadler’s Field, and another sharp right which puts us almost parallel to the way we came up the hill.
Image credits: Stephan Nitu
A few rabbits scurry out of the way; as the ground dips there are quite a few paths to follow on the side of the hill, and one quickly becomes alone with the undergrowth. It’s a sea of green, punctuated by the flapping of butterfly wings and the occasional flash of dark as a blackbird pokes into the bracken. Further down the slope, now on its southern side as opposed to our western entrance, someone has assembled tree branches into a sizable fort. This momentary abode even has a road approaching it, as large horizontal branches barred any other pathway through the trees. I entertain the idea of a picnic there, but it is a bit too dark under the canopy. After a trek through the lowland, grassland section of the park, I find a fallen log and two ropes swaying from a sturdy oak branch above. Without rings, it is hard to swing from them, so after an awkward attempt that looks more like a pull-up, I settle for some food on the log.
The park is vast and varied in its landscapes, and time can fly swiftly if you’re not careful. Sections can be traversed by pony, as a local company provides rides through the park. There are also red-and-white orienteering markers throughout, and following the tail end of one such path I emerged back on Old Road, which separates the northern section of Shotover from the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve and surrounding fields. One field offers a wonderful view of the rolling hills beyond; very enjoyable until I stumble across the bones of a deer, hoof and tail lying in the low grass. Another deer makes an appearance later—a live one, thankfully—just across the hedge on a footpath running by the Nature Reserve towards Risinghurst.
You can come back the same way, of course. But by snaking around the back of Lewis’ domain, or exploring the Fairy Trail within, one eventually arrives at the Headington roundabout. From here, two further parks can be alighted at for those who haven’t had their fill yet. Bury Knowle Park sits on London Road and is a pleasant community park, but exit just before the tennis courts and you find yourself in Old Headington, a charming set of streets with stone cottages and the mediaeval church of St. Andrews. No wonder Isaiah Berlin chose to live here—his blue plaque can be spotted on Old High Street. Keeping the John Radcliffe hospital on the horizon as a reference point, we arrive at Dunstan Park—slightly more forgettable, bundled between Ruskin College, a cemetery, and the highway. From here we move into Marston, veering southwest through a sleepy neighbourhood, until reaching the Marston Cyclepath at the edge of the University Parks. Full circle, then, for a day-trip version. And highly recommended, at any time of year.
Shotover is a bit of a paradox now: slightly tamed by the outgrowths obscuring the once-sprawling vistas beyond, it is equally still unbridled and teeming with the force of nature. And while there were no lions in this version of Narnia, I daresay a walk amongst its woodlands and meadows makes for a day just as fulfilling as curling up with a book inside.