Checkendon Village Sign – Sheep Sculptures at Stoke Row loop from Goring & Streatley

Checkendon Village Sign – Sheep Sculptures at Stoke Row loop from Goring & Streatley

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riders

Checkendon Village Sign – Sheep Sculptures at Stoke Row loop from Goring & Streatley

01:16

24.7km

250m

Road cycling

Easy road ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 19, 2026

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After 8.48 km for 82 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

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7.49 km

The Nuba Survival Sculpture

Highlight • Monument

Created in 2001 by English sculptor John Buckley after he visited the Nuba peoples in Sudan, this piece featuring two giant skeletons embracing each other is called 'The Nuba Survival'.

Adapted from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Buckley_(sculptor)

Also see: atlasobscura.com/places/nuba-survival-sculpture

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If you are cycling along you'll have to make an effort and consciously look for this sculpture, which sits a few hundred yards from the road and is not immediately noticeable from afar.

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8.52 km

St Peter and St Paul Church, Cleeckendon

Highlight • Religious Site

This is a beautiful and striking church, set in beautiful grounds. It is unsurprising that it's Grade I listed. The church dates back to the Norman times. The semicircular apse has early 13th century wall paintings. The nave inside the church is aisleless, giving a very impressive view of the choir and the sanctuary.

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8.58 km

Checkendon Village Sign

Highlight • Monument

Standing on a small green near the church of St Peter and St Paul, the double-sided sign depicts a delightful scene of the church and a path through the bluebell woods for which the village is noted.

Like a painting in appearance it reflects its surroundings admirably. The format is a tribute to two local artists, one, Peggy Beeton, a distant relative of Mrs Beeton of cookery book fame, and Robert Lobley.

The tiny dated golden crown that tops the sign marks the Golden Jubilee.

Cit. oxfordmail.co.uk/news/3742783.rural-pride-display

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10.7 km

St John the Evangelist Church, Stoke Row

Highlight • Historical Site

The Church of St John the Evangelist, Stoke Row, was consecrated on the 19th October 1848.

The building is a beautiful example of simple Victorian architecture. The rectangular floor space accommodates a nave seating about 90 people and a spacious chancel area.

There is a tower at the north-east corner which houses the vestry, clock and bell.
The exterior of the building is a fine example of flintwork in a variety of styles and the roof is slate, with cedar shingles on the bell tower.

A delightful rose window was designed and made by Barbara Batt. The clock is a rare example from the 1920’s which is still in working order. It has recently been restored.

Cit. langtreechurches.org/locations/st-john-the-evangelist-church-stoke-row

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10.9 km

Maharajah's Well and the Golden Elephant Statue

Highlight • Monument

A gilded elephant stands on top of the cast iron machinery of this unique Victorian well at Stoke Row, Oxfordshire, an amazing gift from an Indian prince.

The 368-foot deep well, under its domed canopy (made by a foundry in Wallingford), was paid for by the Maharajah of Benares (now Varanasi). He had met the young Edward Reade, the local squire, who spent many years in India where among other work he helped to sink a well for a village in Benares. He told the Maharajah that drought conditions also occurred on parts of the Chilterns.

Moved by Reade's stories of water shortage in Ipsden (the parish which then included the settlement of Stoke Row) – the water had to be fetched by hand from miles away – the Maharajah paid for a well to be dug in Stoke Row, at a cost of around £400, as well as a small well-keeper's cottage and a cherry orchard. The cherries from the orchard provided an income to help pay for the well’s upkeep.

The well is 4 feet in diameter, dug by hand mostly through chalk, and is deeper that the height of two Nelson's columns. It took a year to complete and was opened on the Queen’s birthday in 1864. The well was in use for over 70 years and was a huge benefit to Stoke Row as a community.
Prince Philip's visit to mark the well's centenary in 1964 is still remembered in the hand-coloured red helicopter on every copy of the village newsletter, the Stoke Row News.

In 2008 the canopy was re-painted to restore it to its original Victorian glory.

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11.4 km

Sheep Sculptures at Stoke Row

Highlight • Monument

18.9 km

Woodcote Village Sign

Highlight • Monument

If you're riding through Woodcote you won't be able to miss the village sign by the Villgae Green and Cricket Club.

A thatched cottage on a green field takes centre stage in the sign between 2 different types of trees, a clear blue sky behind it.

The name 'WOODCOTE' is carved in golden letters in an arc above the cottage on the blue background, while at the bottom the sentence 'A CHILTERN VILLAGE 2002' is carved in the same golden letters on the green field.

Incidentally, Woodcote won the Oxfordshire Village of the Year title for 2008.

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24.7 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types