[1] From the Village Hall (SP382475), follow the lane down beside it past the attractive honey-brown Hornton stone houses to the historic Rose & Crown pub.
It’s worth having a look at the nearby 14th-century Church of St Peter ad Vincula (St Peter in Chains).
Head on past the pub to a fork and signpost. Bear right and follow the track until you reach a footpath and stile on the right. Turn down the path.
The small stream you cross marks the Warwickshire-Oxfordshire county boundary, so you are now in the latter county.
Continue on the bridleway to Poplars Farm where you join a track leading to the road. Carry straight on down into the village of Hornton.
[2] Leave the road where it turns left and follow the track waymarked as the D’Arcy Dalton Way.
(A) This was named after Col W.P. D’Arcy Dalton who worked for over half a century to preserve rights of way in Oxfordshire. The route links four major paths that cross the county.
After an initial climb through the trees, the track runs over level ground to the A422.
[3] Turn right along the verge for around 300m, then bear left (with care) onto a side road. Almost immediately there is a path on the right, the ongoing route of the D’Arcy Dalton Way. The path crosses several fields, then drops down to a junction with the Macmillan Way. Turn right along this way which follows a valley north-west, continuing up the hillside to reach a road that runs along the Edge Hill escarpment.
[4] Cross the road - back into Warwickshire - and go down the track opposite for a short distance, then right up a path (still the Macmillan Way) through trees. A bit further on, another path joins this ridge-top route from the left.
(B) This is the Centenary Way, devised to celebrate 100 years of Warwickshire County Council.
Bear right onto this path, where a short break from the trees provides a welcome opportunity to savour the views of the plains below, before you head back into the woods again. On reaching the A422, turn left down the road then take the path on the right, taking great care crossing the road. Continue along the ridge-top path until you reach a path junction with the signposted Battlefields Trail
(C) The Battlefields Trail is a 32km/20-mile route that links three of Britain’s most important battlefields: Edgcote (1469), Cropredy Bridge (1644), Edgehill (1642).
Turn right up to the road and the Castle Inn pub.
Its striking octagonal Radway Tower was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Edgehill.
[5] Turn left then immediately right, and at the next road turn right and immediately left onto a footpath. Follow it along a field boundary to a T-junction with another footpath, and turn left to return to Ratley.