Wednesday 26 September 2007

Brill and back

Brill Windmillstart: Oxford, Marston [SP530079]
finish: Oxford, Marston
distance: 46.1 km

This cycling route is a favorite of mine. It takes you to Brill, a nice village on top of a hill with a pretty windmill. There are a few climbs of which the one between Boarstall and Brill is the hardest. If you feel like stopping at a teashop I recommend the one at Waterperry Gardens.

Route map:
Brill and back, elevation profile This route is also published on MapMyRide

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Excellent Blog! Thanks for the great routes.

Wonderful ride today! Make sure to make a quick stop at Boarstall just after the golf course to see the Tower, built in 1312! http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-boarstalltower

The hill to Brill is a tough one, but you will be rewarded with a beautiful village, views and downhill.

Paul,
Cleveland, Ohio

Unknown said...

love this ride

Unknown said...

Hi,
Thanks for an excellent blog. I have just started cycling recently ( on a single speed ) and working my way up your route list.
How difficult is this one compare to the round Otmoor ?
The 2 climbs there where not very easy for me but just about manageable. Any tips ?
Adi

Meenso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Meenso said...

This blog is great thanks. I'm new to Oxford and was looking for routes and this is just what I needed. I've managed to do two so far, Boars Hill and Brill and back. In response to Shandor there is only one prolonged climb (maybe half a mile) up into Brill (I did the route anti-clockwise) you would probably struggle on a single gear, you could walk that bit but apart from that you should be ok

Unknown said...

Did this one yesterday, and even shared it on everytrail.com ( for those who use iphone/andriod for gps/cycling tracking )
This is a beautiful ride. The climb to Brill is difficult on a single speed, but I had to walk only a very small part of it.

Unknown said...

Did this ride in the rain - the windmill and the views in Brill definitely make it worth it.

Platform3 said...

A good thing about Brill is that there are about 6 distinct routes to the top, so you can choose an easier or harder route if you like. For example, an easier route than shown by Mchoen is to turn right instead of left on the B4011 after Boarstall and then take the first left.

Conversely, if you're feeling fit you can descend and take a different way back up too.

Another hot tip is that on weekends during the warmer months, the church does a great cream tea. That and the fact that there is also a pub next to the windmill always helps me convince friends that it's a good idea to come out for a bike ride.

Unknown said...

Thanks for this route!

My girlfriend and I did it last weekend, and it was good fun. Unfortunately, when we were in Brill, it started raining in the towns on the way back, so we ended up cycling to Bicester to get a train back to Oxford.

Adi: I think the worst hill in this route is as difficult as the worst in the Otmoor route. At least for me. I had to get off the bike and push it at one point.