'It's a small concrete bottomed ford - only about 4-5' across and a couple of inches deep - it may get bigger in winter, or after lots of rain.'

'This ford is where the old road south from Bampton crossed the Shill Brook. The ford looked quite deep, and about 30 yards in length. The ramp to the south was concrete and in surprisingly good order; the northern exit looked rather overgrown. Predictably, there were no signs and its location seems to have evaded the OS maps.'

'Tried this ford today, but unfortunately the exit is completely blocked, so its a no-go, but I did at least get the tyres wet.' Rob Harrison

'At one side of it is a no through road on a back road in Drayton St Leonard and the other side is reached by an unsurfaced right of way. I crossed it in my land rover no problem, the depth was about 1' and there is a steep ascent on the Drayton St. Leonard side. Very pretty and approx 30' from dry land to dry land. A Gravelly base. It crosses the river Thame (not Thames!).'

'The ford over the Thames at Duxford once marked the county boundary between Oxon. & Berks. before the county reorganisation in 1974. The image was taken in July 2003 during low flows. In winter the posts are nearly covered and the ford is impassable.'

'This watersplash lies on Birds Lane, between the centre of the village and the more northerly village green. The stream passes over the road in a shallow gully with a brick bottom. The water is about two inches deep, the ford about half a car long. There are no signs or depth gauge, but there is small footbridge. The OS Explorer map (but not the Landranger) shows the ford’s position clearly. With the stream flowing from a well-kept garden on one side to a meadow occupied by a few interested horses on the other when I visited, so attractive is the setting that a wooden seat for onlookers has been placed very close to the ford, bearing the inscription 'In loving memory of Sheila Reeves of Village House 1928-2003 beloved wife, mother, nanna, who loved this place'. Those wishing to make a splash in this one would be well advised to check first that the seat was unoccupied!'

Middle Barton (x2!)

'These two fords are located in the back lanes of the village and are easy to miss on a map. Both fords are deep and cross the actual riverbed so have rocky bottoms which make for tricky crossings, but are open to anybody who wishes to cross.'

'I think people should be warned, the one closesed to the pub has a realy deep drop off on the down stream side about 12" so its best to stay over to the otherside where its smoother.' Daniel Fasham

'This ford is just beyond the end of a tarmac road at the point where it becomes a bridleway. It’s about a foot deep with a natural river base. The bridge alongside is wide enough for vehicles.'

'Shilton is a lovely concrete-bottomed ford in a pretty village of Cotswold stone, set beside an old two-arch footbridge. It is about 15 yards across; the depth gauge read 4 inches. No Ford signs seen (but there may be one higher up the east approach road). Beware the very steep exit ramp on the east side of the ford!' Image mouseover credit to Bernard, Taff and Ian (02/08/2004)

'It's been much higher than normal over the last 2 or 3 months due to the weather (Image 2), which has resulted in an increased number of vehicles becoming stranded. On my first day of landrover ownership I rescued an OAP couple who'd not noticed the high water levels and managed to completely flood the engine of their new Jaguar! Water was approx 18" deep (I know this as it reached the bottom of my doors when I had to fetch the jag's towing eye from it's boot in the middle of the ford!). I think the steep exit ramp has a lot to do with vehicles becoming stranded as their exhausts become deeply submerged which encourages stalling.' Pete Fner (03/02/2007)

'The ramps have been repaired and it can now be taken at a fair lick' Steve Rutherford

'Shilton ford is in very good condition, concrete bottom and approach ramps. The approach ramps require a little care if you don't have good clearance as they are quite steep - just okay in my Saab 9-3 Aero (not the best fording vehicle!). There is a "FORD" warning side at the top of the hill on the East side - no such sign on the west. As the ford is at the exit of the village pond, you do get a nice ripple effect all the way along it.Rob Weeks

'This ford across the River Swere is at the eastern end of Moor Lane where it joins The Baulk, which leads northward past the remains of Milcombe mill and then on towards Milcombe. Moor Lane becomes a restricted byway after it emerges from the village houses (the maintained tarmac surface stops at this point) and The Baulk, which is mostly unsurfaced, is a restricted byway along its whole length. Therefore the ford must not be approached by any motorised vehicles. The ford itself has a concrete base (although cracked at the eastern end). The base stops two to three feet short of the wooden footbridge on the north side of the ford. The depth of River Swere varies considerably. It is normally about six inches deep across the concrete base but can reach two or three feet. There is no depth gauge. When not flooded the ford is 20 to 30 feet long. The sign at the village end of Moor Lane indicates a no through road without mentioning the ford. The ford is marked on both OS Landranger and Explorer maps, though only labelled ‘Ford’ on the latter'

'A watersplash in a charming setting, on the more northerly and lesser of the two metalled roads which cross the brook in this Cotswold village. There are no road signs or depth gauge, and it is not marked on either the Landranger or Explorer OS maps. The ford has a concrete bottom (a little bumpy), is a couple of inches deep, and about one car in length. There is a low footbridge of wooden planks. The stream flows in an artificial channel next to the road for some 60m downstream before piercing the adjacent stone wall into a garden.'

'There’s a ford hidden away on Locks Lane in this “Old Berkshire” town. It was a foot deep (during a dry winter) and has a natural base with a smattering of larger stones. The eastern approach has an old “unsuitable for motors” sign. From the west it is simply signed as being a dead-end.'

'It's on a byway so has legal vehicular access. There were tyre tracks at the ford either side of the footbridge. I cannot imagine how they got there as both sides of the brook are very steep! My Land Rover 90 with all terain tyres would have had no chance. Ginge Brook at the ford is about 6" deep with a silty base. Worth a look if you're in the area, if only to work out how vehicles could get up & down the north approach. Some very nice byways in the area, but Land Rover only.'