Hogacre Common Eco Park oxford

Great place to hire for camping or special occasion.

Hogacre Common is owned by Corpus Christi college. Many decades agp, the 14 acre site was used as a cricket field. However, about a decade ago the college leased the site out to the Hogacre community. The perfect lawn like condition of the Hogacre cricket pitch has been replaced by an orchard and community garden. Trees, bushes and grasses are growing luxuriantly around the perimeter of the site. It is now an area which is abundantly, and delightfully, green. The contrast between the manicured cricket field and the ecological richness of Hogacre’s wild areas is striking. I walked around the western and northern borders of Hogacre Common from where I could see the community orchard, the former sports pavilion and wind tower. When I got to the northern corner of the Common I could have headed south to continue exploring the Common but chose instead to head north to explore the surrounding pasturelands. I wanted to work out exactly where I was. When I was young, I’d never had any access to this massive area of fields so I wasn’t entirely sure where I was. It turned out that I was on the meadow next to the railway lines to Black Bridge. There is now access from the meadow to the Thames footpath near Bulstake Stream and Black bridge. This access did not exist when I was young. I have no idea when it was established - presumably when the meadows were opened up to the public. Fifty years ago, a huge proportion of the area between the Thames and the A34 was full of fields. The western side of the city was primarily fields or meadows. Most of the land was still being farmed either to grow crops or primarily to provide pasture for livestock animals. Farmers were, understandably, very protective of their fields and livestock. They did their best to keep people out. It’s difficult describing just how closed off much of the city’s green areas were in the past. Correspondingly, today, it is difficult describing how marvellous and refreshing it is to have access to these meadows. It feels like the Oxford equivalent of the fall of the Berlin wall. I don’t know when it happened but I certainly celebrate it. It is now possible to walk from Botley and Seacourt Nature reserve all the way south to the Old Abingdon Road and the two Kendall Copse Nature reserves. When I was a teenager this would have been unimaginable. But now virtually all of the western side of the city is open to the public. That such a huge area of greenery has become accessible is a dramatic transformation and a huge political achievement. This huge stretch of meadows almost rivals Port Meadow. Oxford has been a green city since its first building was erected. But it was green because so much of the city was pastureland. It’s surprising that the city was never renamed Meadowland. Oxford university owned a significant proportion of these meadows and leased them out to farmers. But now most of the farmers have gone - I don’t know whether they were pushed or left of their own accord. The city has declared these meadows open to the public which means that its Meadowland character is even more pronounced than it was when there were so many ‘Keep Out’ signs. This openness is not an accident but preparation for a flood protection scheme. The Hogacre website points out that the Common “is a mile South of the centre of Oxford city.” In any other city this proximity to the city centre might be regarded as surprising and noteworthy. But not so much in Meadowland given the huge number of meadows in the city centre and beyond. To have one Port Meadow is astounding enough (surely one of the country’s great untold stories) but having two is a sign of hope for the future. Hogacre Common is a fabulous area of greenery - almost at the centre of a huge area of meadows running along the western side of Meadowland.

Meadows, trees, party rentals. Lovely place a few minutes from civilisation.

Love this place! Wassailing in January is excellent fun. Great place to hire for a party too. Lovely community project.

Wholesome home grown vegan / veggie food. Cooked with love in a friendly atmosphere. Lovely other guests too. 🍻🥕🍏🤗🦄