Helen Peacocke has a starter for ten trailling Brakspear's rural pub challenge

Brakspear has thrown down the gauntlet and is challenging us all to walk or cycle to the ten south Oxfordshire pubs featured on their latest ale trail that covers the countryside between Kingston Blount and Middle Assendon. Get your trail map stamped by each of the participating pubs and you can claim a free T-shirt and a pint of Brakspear Bitter at your final destination.

Although I haven’t walked the entire Country Ale Trail devised by Brakspear, I have visited each of the participating establishments over the years. First with my border collie Pythius and now Barnaby, another border collie, chosen because he has such remarkably kind eyes and is great company. Together we visit a different Oxfordshire pub every week, sharing a three-mile walk before settling down to a delicious pub lunch. (Well I have the pub lunch, he laps up a nice bowl of tea cooled down with a couple of ice cubes and chews on a pig’s ear, which he seems to enjoy too.)

This latest trail covers at least 30 miles which is far too long to cover in a day. But visiting one pub a week and enjoying a local walk while in the area makes for an ideal compromise. The ten pubs on this trail are: l Chequers, Berrick Salome l Catherine Wheel, Goring on Thames l John Barleycorn, Goring l Cherry Tree, Stoke Row l Half Moon, Cuxham l King William, Ipsden l Perch & Pike, South Stoke l Red Lion, Blewbury l Red Lion, Cholsey l Six Bells, Warborough It is difficult to know where to begin when describing these pubs as they are all quintessentially British and all offer fine pub experiences. Well let’s start in the middle of the English countryside with the King William, a fine old pub that stands in the most glorious chalky area near the hamlet of Ipsden, which is 10 miles north of Reading and 16 miles south of Oxford. You reach it by taking the A4074 or A4130 if travelling from Wallingford.

A small notice in the car park asking you to Please Park Prettily may make you smile, particularly when you realise this order appears to be taken seriously. Dogs are welcome here, but they must be kept on a lead. Beer is poured from barrels placed at the back of the bar. A two-mile circular walk that takes in small sections of the Chiltern Way and the Ridgeway will add something to your visit, particularly if you choose a day when a perfusion of red kites are flying overhead. The views you will experience walking in this area really are stunning.

The Cherry Tree stands in breathtaking scenery, too. This charming pub, which has been serving beer for more than 200 years, was created from three red-brick flint cottages.

Together they make for an imposing building standing back from the main road that runs through the charming little village of Stoke Row. Stoke Row is not any ordinary village. It offers visitors something extra that’s not to be found anywhere else.

Walk just a few yards down the road north of the Cherry Tree and you will discover an ornate 19th-century well adorned with a golden elephant. Dug by hand, this 368ft-deep well was a gift to the village from an Indian Maharajah in return for kindnesses he received from a local squire during the Indian mutiny. The well’s full history is available on site. Be assured, it really does warrant a visit, its history is fascinating.

The Red Lion in Cholsey, thought to be 250 years old, is another imposing building. It offers visitors a chance to pay homage to Agatha Christie who is buried in St Mary’s churchyard close by. Colourful hanging baskets set against whitewashed exterior and large stone statues of red lions ensure that you can’t miss it as you drive past.

The Six Bells, Warborough, which stands a little way back from the village green and cricket pavilion offers you a chance to explore Midsomer Murders. Television actor John Nettles was once a frequent visitor to this pub. Now it’s Neil Dudgeon who frequents the area.

I could continue but space doesn’t permit, even though each pub on the trail deserves a mention, so you had better take the trail and discover the rest for yourselves and toast the joys of an English pub with a glass of Brakspear Bitter or Oxford Gold Be assured that by following the trail, you will travel through some glorious countryside, and enjoying food cooked mostly from local produce. When you have finished the Brakspear Country Ale Trail you can then go on to explore more pubs by taking the Brakspear Henley Ale Trail.

Trail maps are available at all participating pubs, but it is only at the Cherry Tree and the Red Lion, Blewbury, where you can collect your free T-shirt and pint of beer when you have visited all the pubs.

To obtain more information, visit countryaletrail.co.uk