Wallingford (England)

The Romans liked Wallingford but proved unreliable tenants. Now the Saxons, they really put the hours in, building the earliest recognizable settlements.
Agatha Christie wrote from Wallingford, led the local amateur dramatics society and is buried nearby in Cholsey. Resident somehow in both mind and body, she’d be happy with the town’s continuing notoriety as it is plagued by heinous murders... the penny drops: this is Midsomer Murders country and Wallingford is the fictional village of Causton.
Before you run for your life, remember: it’s only a television show. That said, a town so touched by history always has a grisly secret to reveal.
William the Conqueror crossed the Thames here and established the castle. After roaming lawless on the open South Oxfordshire roads the murderous Dick Turpin rested up here, the law chasing his blood-stained coat tails.
In 1646 Oliver Cromwell gave the order to sack Wallingford Castle, undoing 600 years of fortifications. Even so, with boats moored under drooping willows that arc into the Thames, Wallingford remains the best example of a Saxon town in England.
The prehistoric road, the Icknield Way, crosses the River Thames at Cholsey.

By car

The town lies on the A4130 which runs to Didcot (6 miles) and the A34 to the W and to Henley-on-Thames (14 miles) and on to Maidenhead (23 miles) to the E. The A4074 connects the town to Reading (15 miles) to the SE and to Oxford (14 miles) to the NW.

By train

• Cholsey Railway Station

  address: Railway Approach, Cholsey OX10 9QD
  Cholsey station is a calling point for stopping services operated by First Great Western on the Great Western Main Line between Reading and Didcot. The station was also the junction for a branch line to Wallingford, which is now used on an intermittent basis by the heritage Cholsey and Wallingford Railway.

By bus

The area is well served by buses from Reading and most local towns.

By boat

Visitors may arrive by riverboat in the summer, from Reading and Abingdon.

By bicycle

• The town lies on National Cycle Route 5 running from Reading to Hollyhead.
• The town lies on the 170 mile circular Chilterns Cycleway at the SW end of the loop.

On foot

The Ridgeway long distance path (running 87 miles from near Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon) passes only 1 mile SE of the town.

The town is small enough to see on foot.

Plenty of things to see in Wallingford - the Castle, the River Thames, the ancient market town built on Saxon foundations, the Castle Gardens and Castle meadows, quirky antique shops, coffee shops, and places for supper.

• Wallingford CastleRuins dating from 11th century motte-and-bailey.

• Wallingford Bridge270-m medieval stone road bridge

• Wallingford MuseumCollections of local interest, in a Tudor house.

• Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary

  phone: +44 1491 833938
  address: Old Didcot Rd, Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell, OX10 0SW

Take one of the self-guided historical walks (information from the tourist information office in the Market Place), or visit Wallingford Museum. Have a picnic on the banks of the Thames, or investigate the Saxon ramparts which surround the town.
If you visit on a Sunday, why not attend the Sunday Gospel Service held by the Wallingford Christian Assembly, at the Gospel Hall, Atwell Close. (5:00-5:45PM each week.)

• Cholsey & Wallingford Railway

  phone: +44 1491 835067
  address: Wallingford Station, 5 Hithercroft Rd, Wallingford, OX10 9GQ

Wallingford has a large number of independent shops, antique shops and specialist shops. Where else can you buy a violin, visit numerous antique shops, purchase a stunning hat to complete a special outfit, or buy lovely clothes and shoes? Wallingford has it all - and many markets.

• Olde Sweet Shoppe

  address: 56A St. Mary's St, Wallingford OX10 0EL

• Waitrose

  phone: +44 1491 832030
  address: 1 St Martin's St, Wallingford OX10 0EF

Markets

• Farmers Market

  address: Market Place, Wallingford

• Country Market

  address: The Regal Centre, Goldsmith Lane Car Park, Wallingford
  Selling traditional fruit and veg

• Local Producers Market

  address: The Regal Centre, Goldsmith Lane Car Park, Wallingford

Cyclists

• Rides on Air

  phone: +44 1491 836289
  address: 11 St Martin St, Wallingford OX10 0AL

• The Partridge

  phone: +44 1491 839305
  address: 32 St Mary's St, Wallingford, OX10 0ET

• Avanti

  phone: +44 1491 835500
  address: 85 High St, Wallingford OX10 0BW

• The Old Post Office

  phone: +44 1491 836068
  address: St Martins St, Wallingford OX10 0A
  Great coffee and food.

• Memories of Bengal

  phone: +44 1491 652399
  address: 12 Wallingford Rd, Closely OX10 9LQ

• Shangri-La

  phone: +44 1491 651919
  address: 20 The Forty, Cholsey OX10 9ND

• fish and chips take away

  address: across from Waitrose
  excellent fish and chips in newspaper

• Morning Star

  phone: +44 1491 659046
  address: 98 Papist Way, Cholsey OX10 9QL

• Red Lion

  phone: +44 1491 651295
  address: 39 Wallingford Rd, Cholsey OX10 9LG

• The Boat House

  phone: +44 1491 834100
  address: 103 High St, Wallingford OX10 0BL

• The Dolphin

  phone: +44 1491 837377
  address: 2 St Marys St, Wallingford OX10 0EL

• Bean & Brew

  phone: +44 1491 520685
  address: 57 St Mary’s St, Wallingford, OX10 0EL

• Shillingford Bridge Hotel

  phone: +44 1865 858567
  address: Shillingford Hill, Wallingford OX10 8LZ
  Free Wi-Fi.

• The George Hotel

  phone: +44 1491 836665
  address: High St, Wallingford OX10 0BS
  A traditional coaching inn, it has well appointed bedrooms and a lovely courtyard for coffee or a drink in fine weather.

• The Old School House

  phone: +44 1491 839571
  address: 23 Castle St, Wallingford,, OX10 8DW
  Min 2 nights stay at weekends

• Little Gables

  phone: +44 1491 837834
  address: 166 Crowmarsh Hill, Crowmarsh Gifford OX10 8BG
  Pets welcome. Free Wi-Fi in rooms

• Post Office

  address: 18a Market Place, Wallingford, OX10 0AD

• Didcot
• Abingdon
• Newbury and Thatcham
• Oxford
• Reading