Newbury and Thatcham

Newbury has a population of about 35,000 and has become something of a booming company town recently as it houses the world headquarters of Vodafone, a major mobile phone operator with operations in many countries.
Newbury also attracted a lot of national and international coverage in the 1980s when it was the scene of the Greenham Common Peace camp in protest at the stationing of nuclear armed cruise missiles at a nearby air base, and in the 1990s when it hosted perhaps the most famous road protest against the Newbury bypass. The vast majority of the population probably did not appreciate either campaign.
Thatcham is best known as England's fastest growing town, with large housing areas being built to house a population which largely commutes to work in Newbury, Reading or London.
Visitors may hear both the terms 'Newbury District' and 'West Berkshire' in use; these are effectively synonymous and refer to the town of Newbury and its surrounding rural area. They are also the old and new names for the local government which runs the area that includes Newbury and Thatcham.

By train

Newbury and Thatcham have rail stations on the main line from London to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. Some through trains between those cities stop at Newbury Station, but these are relatively infrequent. Local trains stop at both stations and run from Reading approximately every half hour taking some 20 to 30 minutes for the journey; some local trains start their journeys in London. From London, travel from London Paddington Station and, if necessary, change at Reading. Train times (from any station) can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.

• Newbury Railway Station

  address: Station Approach, Newbury RG14 5DG

• Thatcham Railway Station

  address: Station Rd, Thatcham RG19 4PP

By car

Newbury is 17 miles west of Reading on the A4, 18 miles north-west of Basingstoke on the A339, 26 miles south of Oxford on the A34, 27 miles east of Swindon on the M4 and 25 miles north of Winchester on the A34. Thatcham is 3 miles east of Newbury on the A4.
The M4 motorway also runs just to the north of Newbury, for which the junction is number 13.

By plane

If arriving by plane, see the 'Get In By Plane' section of the Reading article, and then travel on from Reading as described above.

By bicycle

• The towns are on National Cycle Route 4 running London and Fishguard.
• National Cycle Route 246 starts 8 miles W of Newbury (in Kintbury) running to Timsbury (Hants) via Andover.

By boat

The towns are on the Kennet & Avon Canal (running 87 miles from Bristol & Bath to Reading).

By foot

The central area of Newbury is easily walkable.

By bus

There are several town routes within Newbury and Thatcham, with hourly (or better) services during the day, and infrequent service in the evenings and on Sundays. Beyond that distance, bus routes are much less frequent, with often only a handful of buses per day and no evening or Sunday service.

• Traveline, telephone 087-608-2-608 from within the UK, provide an impartial online travel planner and telephone query service for local bus services.

• Newbury Bus Station

  address: Market St, Newbury RG14 5DP
  Newbury Buses run services throughout the Newbury, Thatcham and surrounding rural areas. A regular service to Reading is also operated. There is one National Express bus a day from here to London. All buses leave or terminate from the Market Street Bus Station which can be found on the south side of the canal, adjacent to the Kennet Shopping Centre.

By car

Newbury's roads can be congested at peak periods, but in general are less congested than London or even Reading. A car is one (possibly along with cycling) of the only really practical ways of seeing a lot of the local countryside and villages.

By map

If you are planning to do any visiting or exploring beyond central Newbury, you will probably want to obtain a decent map of the area. You should ensure that any map you buy clearly shows the national grid reference lines, and explains how to use them, as grid references are frequently used to indicate out of town locations. The best maps for this purpose are those published by the Ordnance Survey (Britain's national mapping agency) and both the following maps cover all the locations mentioned below:

• Ordnance Survey Explorer 158. This map covers the area around Newbury and Thatcham at a scale of 1:25000 and is best for walking or local touring by car or cycle.
• Ordnance Survey Landranger 174. This map covers the area around and between Newbury and Thatcham at a scale of 1:50000 and is best for longer range exploration by car or cycle.

These maps can be found in any good bookshop, or can be bought online from the Ordnance Survey's web site.

Central Newbury

• West Berkshire Museum

  phone: +44 1635 519562
  address: The Wharf, Newbury RG14 5AS
  Housed in historic half timbered buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, the museum houses exhibits on local history and archeology

Surrounding area

• Donnington Castle

  address: Donnington, RG14 2LE
  This ruined castle was reduced (i.e. torn down) after the second battle of Newbury in 1644 during the English Civil War. Much of the striking, twin-towered gatehouse of this castle survives amid impressive earthworks, but access is only to the exterior.

• Highclere Castle

  phone: +44 1635 253210
  address: Highclere Park, Highclere RG20 9RN
  Highclere Castle is more a stately home than a castle, and is the ancestral, and current, home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon. Tours of the castle are available. The castle also hosts exhibitions on Egyptian archeology (the fifth earl funded the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun) and horseracing (the seventh earl was the Queen's Racing Manager). 21st-century visitors are likely to recognised Highclere as Downton Abbey.

• Sandham Memorial Chapel

  phone: +44 1635 278394
  address: Harts Lane, Burghclere, near Newbury, RG20 9JT
  It was built in the 1920s to house wall paintings by the artist Stanley Spencer, inspired by his experiences in the First World War, and regarded by many as his finest achievement. As there is no lighting in the chapel, it is best to view the paintings on a bright day. The chapel is set amidst lawns and orchards with views across Watership Down.

• Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre

  phone: +44 1635 874381
  address: Muddy Lane, Lower Way, Thatcham, RG19 3FU
  The Lower Way, Thatcham. The centre provides an exciting base from which to explore the nearby lake and reed bed habitats. A variety of events including exhibitions, workshops, walks and talks are provided throughout the year. The surrounding area is of outstanding importance for nature conservation, with the reed beds representing one of the largest stands of inland reeds remaining in the country.

• The Living Rainforest

  phone: +44 1635 202444
  address: Hampstead Norreys, RG18 0TN

• Go to the races at

  Newbury Racecourse

  address: Racecourse Rd, Newbury RG14 7NZ
  This has frequent flat races April-Oct and occasional jumps races Nov-March.

• Newbury & Crookham Golf Club

  phone: +44 1635 40035
  address: Bury's Bank Rd, Newbury RG19 8BZ

Theatre

• Corn Exchange

  phone: +44 845 5218 218 (premium)
  address: Market Place, Newbury RG14 5BD
  This venue situated in central Newbury presents drama, comedy, music, dance, exhibitions, films and the resident orchestra Southern Sinfonia. For performance information, times and prices see their website or telephone the number above.

• Watermill

  phone: +44 1635 46044
  address: Bagnor, RG20 8AE
  The Watermill is the home of a repertory company and has earned a reputation nationally and internationally for presenting quality work. Every year the company mounts eight or nine new productions each showing for an average of seven weeks, and is considered to be in "the premier league of British regional theatres" (Daily Telegraph). Normally open M-Sa with performances at 7:30PM, and matinee performances at 2:30PM on Th and Sa. For performance information and prices see their website or telephone the number above.

Newbury has a number of shops and a number of leading high street chain-stores. See NewburyTownCentre.co.uk for more information.

• Camp Hopson

  phone: +44 1635 523523
  address: 7-11 Northbrook St, Newbury RG14 1DN

• Kennet Centre

  phone: +44 1635 40748
  address: RG14 5EN

• Tesco

  phone: +44 345 671 9522
  address: London Rd, Newbury, RG14 2BP

• Waitrose

  phone: +44 1635 552061
  address: Oxford Rd, Newbury RG14 1NB

Cyclists

• Banjo Cycles

  phone: +44 1635 43186
  address: Unit 4 & 5, Norman House, Hambridge Rd, Newbury, RG14 5XA

• BikeLux

  phone: +44 1635 48113
  address: Ampere Rd, London Road Ind Estate, Newbury RG14 2AE

A reasonable range of choices including Pubs, the usual chain restaurants (Pizza/Pasta or French), Indian and most recently a New Thai. Local restaurants of note include

• Crab & Boar

  phone: +44 1635 247550
  address: Wantage Road, Chieveley RG20 8UE

• Yew Tree

  phone: +44 1635 253360
  address: Hollington Cross, Andover Rd, Highclere RG20 9SE

• The Pot Kiln

  phone: +44 1635 201366
  address: Frilsham, RG18 0XX

• The Vineyard

  phone: +44 1635 528770
  address: Stockcross, RG20 8JU

• Gurkha Chef

  phone: +44 1635 37333
  address: 24 The Broadway, Newbury RG141AU

• Toby Cavery

  phone: +44 1635 45719
  address: 110 London Rd, Newbury RG14 2AJ

• The Cross Keys

  phone: +44 1635 552205
  address: London Rd, Newbury RG13 1JX

• The Lock, Stock & Barrel

  phone: +44 1635 580550
  address: 104 Northbrook St, Newbury RG14 1AA

• The Catherine Wheel

  phone: +44 1635 569897
  address: 35 Cheap St, Newbury RG14 5DB

• The Old London Apprectice

  phone: +44 1635 41483
  address: 2 Hambridge Rd, Newbury RG14 5SS

• King Charles Tavern

  phone: +44 1635 36695
  address: 54 Cheap St, Newbury RG14 5BX

• The White Heart

  phone: +44 1635 863251
  address: 2 High St, Thatcham RG19 3JD

There are a number of hotels in and around Newbury

• DoubleTree

  phone: +44 1635 247010
  address: M4 Junction 13, Oxford Rd, Newbury, RG20 8XY
  Not advisable for light sleepers. Parking £3.00

• Alma House

  phone: +44 7785 708787 (mobile)
  address: 21 Oxford Rd, Newbury RG14 1PH

• Guywood

  phone: +44 1635 41231
  address: 384 London Rd, Newbury, RG18 3AA
  Free Wi-Fi. Free off-road parking.

• Manor Gate

  phone: +44 1635 528460
  address: 12a Manor Place, Speen RG14 1RB

• Hare & Hounds

  phone: +44 1635 521152
  address: Bath Rd, Speen RG14 1QY

• Post Office

  address: 87-89 Northbrook St, Newbury RG14 1AE

Phone

The area code for Newbury and Thatcham is 01635 when dialed from within the UK or +44 1635 from outside the UK.

• Swindon - Known for its history as the heart of the Great Western Railway, a 35-minute journey by car on the M4 motorway
• Reading
• Oxford