Sibford Scene Archive

Oxfordshire Bridleway No.8 — Backside Lane

Backside Lane is older than Roman, it was the way into the village from Brailes/Tysoe via Ditchhedge, there being no top road. Today it is twice the width it was when I came some 30+ years ago. Then, vehicles paused in driveway entrances to allow other vehicles to pass. The lane is wide enough for two cars to pass if you drive carefully and slowly.

Today, a mentality exists whereby, if you can not pass another vehicle on the lane, the verge is OK. (On rare occasions this has to be). It does not take a moment to pause and ask a driver to move. It is polite. The driver will not be far away. Concerning my house, people are usually collecting or delivering a Village Hall key, a matter of a moment.

The ruling with a bridleway is that those who live on the lane are responsible for the maintenance of the verge outside their property. If driven over too many times the verge will become like a ploughed field as it has no ‘bottom’ as has the lane. A bridleway needs to be 2 metres wide, sufficient for a horse and rider and a bier.

Some years ago the council offered to take over Backside Lane, at our expense. This would have meant a wide road with a white line and pavements both sides and street lighting. Some of these not existing in the rest of the village. It did not happen happily.

It‘ you wish to live in a town with those amenities so be it, but we live in a lane which needs to be cared for as part of our heritage. I quote;

“and so all men run after time Lord. They pass through life running, hurried, jostled, over burdened, frantic and they never get there. They haven’t time. In spite of all their efforts they are still short of time, of a great deal of time”.

“You who are beyond time, Lord, you smile to see us fighting it, and you know what you are doing. You make no mistakes in your distribution of time to men. You give each one time to do what you want him to do”.

K M Winter

The recent high winds in the area have been creating havoc with the lids of the blue waste paper boxes supplied by the Cherwell District Council. Lids have been flying through the air and smashing into many pieces. even without being run over by cars, which adds to the chaos. Interviewed by our reporter, Uncle Bulgaria, the convenor of the local Wombling association said “Our members are being driven frantic by smashed blue lids. the smaller pieces being particularly difficult to pick up”. He added a plea for householders to place a brick or other heavy object on the lids but to remove the lids altogether to a safe place just before the contents of the boxes are collected by the Cherwell rubbish operatives who normally have no time to replace the lids and whatever might be holding them down.

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