Attractions and Places To See around Milcombe - Top 20

Great little climb with enough twists turns and gradient variation to keep things interesting.

At one time Banbury had many crosses (the High Cross, the Bread Cross and the White Cross), but these were destroyed by Puritans in 1600.[7][50] Banbury remained without a cross for more than 250 years until the current Banbury Cross was erected in 1859 at the centre of the town to commemorate the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal (eldest child of Queen Victoria) to Prince Frederick of Prussia. The current Banbury Cross is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form. Statues of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V were added in 1914 to commemorate the coronation of George V. The cross is 52 feet 6 inches (16 m) high, and topped by a gilt cross. Towns with crosses in England before the reformation were places of Christian pilgrimage. The English nursery rhyme "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross", in its several forms, may refer to one of the crosses destroyed by Puritans in 1600.[50] In April 2005, Princess Anne unveiled a large bronze statue depicting the Fine Lady upon a White Horse of the nursery rhyme.[51] It stands on the corner of West Bar and South Bar, just yards from the present Banbury Cross. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banbury#Banbury_Cross)

Great climb. Relatively wide and good quality road. Nice views during the ascent. The road is quite exposed, so if you are aiming for a good time, ride the climb with wind from Westerly directions.

This building, designed by Edward George Bruton in the Gothic Revival style and built by Chesterman Brothers of Abingdon, was completed in October 1854 and is the fourth town hall building built in Banbury town from 1590 onwards. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing the junction of the High Street and Market Place; the central section, which projected forward, featured an arched doorway on the ground floor and a balcony with an ogee headed window on the first floor. A clock tower and spire were added in 1860. The principal room was an assembly hall on the first floor. The building was extended to the south west to create a council chamber in 1891. The town hall was the headquarters of Banbury Borough Council until the council moved its administration to the mechanics' institute in Marlborough Road in 1930. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banbury_Town_Hall

The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist are the nave and the arcade of the north aisle, both of which were built late in the 12th century. They are in the transitional style between Norman and Early English. In the 13th century the nave and north aisle were extended westwards by the addition of a fourth bay. In the 14th century a clerestory and a two-bay south aisle were added to the nave and most of the doors and windows were remodelled. Also in the 14th century the interior was decorated with wall paintings including a Pietà, a Saint George and a Doom. The bell tower was built around 1400 and the present Perpendicular Gothic east window of the chancel was added in the 15th century. Many of the wall paintings were painted over with limewash after the English Civil War. The tower has a ring of five bells, all cast by Henry III Bagley of Chacombe in 1741. They are currently unringable because the fourth bell is cracked. St. John's is now one of eight ecclesiastical parishes in the Ironstone Benefice. Non-conformist groups in Hornton included Baptists in the 17th century and Quakers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hornton had a Primitive Methodist congregation by 1836, which had built its own chapel by 1842. Hornton's present Methodist church was built in 1884.

Designed by Edward Bruton in 1854, Banbury Town Hall is a magnificent Gothic-style building in the town centre. It was once used as a police station and cells still exist in the building. However, the prisoners are gone today and the town hall is now used for weddings and conferences.

Built in 1727 in the Oxfordshire countryside, Wroxton Abbey is an impressive Jacobean manor complete with a great hall, minstrels' gallery and chapel. The house is named after the original 12th-century abbey that was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. Its ruins can still be seen in the grounds today. In 1932, the house was donated to Trinity College, Oxford and it now serves as a campus for the American university Farleigh Dickinson. You can visit the 56 acres of lawns, lakes and woodlands, as well as a number of follies. Entrance is free and the gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk. You can find more information, here: https://www.wroxtonabbey.org/

Very nice garden https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/wroxton_abbey_garden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wroxton_Abbey