Arching around the peripheries of London, beyond the
orbital M25, the "Home Counties" of England form London's
commuter-belt. Beyond the suburban sprawl, however, there is plenty to
entice the visitor. The northwestern Home Counties - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire - are at their most enticing amidst the Chiltern Hills
, a picturesque band of chalk uplands whose wooded ridges rise near
Luton, beside the M1, and stretch southwest, petering out beside the
River Thames near Reading. The hills provide an exclusive setting for
many of the capital's wealthiest commuters, but for the casual visitor
the obvious target is Henley-on-Thames , a good-looking old
town famous for its Regatta and with a good supply of accommodation.
Henley is also a handy base for further explorations, with the village
of Cookham - and its Stanley Spencer gallery - leading the way, though Reading is also of interest as the host of two of Europe's most prestigious music festivals.
The Chilterns are traversed by the Ridgeway
, a prehistoric track - and now a national trail - that offers
excellent hiking. However, the finest portion of the trail is further
to the west, across the Thames, on the downs straddling the
Berkshire-Oxfordshire border. Here, the Ridgeway visits a string of
prehistoric sites, the most extraordinary being the gigantic chalk
horse that gives the Vale of White Horse its name. The Vale is dotted with pleasant little villages, and both Woolstone and plainer Uffington have places to stay; but neither is it far to the university city of Oxford
, which, with its superb architecture, museums and lively student
population, can keep you busy for days. Oxford is this region's star
turn and it's also close to Woodstock , the handsome little town abutting one of England's most imposing country homes, Blenheim Palace .
To
the northeast of Oxford, beyond the Chilterns, the plain landscapes of
north Buckinghamshire hardly fire the soul, though modest Buckingham is pleasant enough and it is also within easy striking distance of Stowe Gardens
, which hold a remarkable collection of outdoor sculptures, monuments
and decorative buildings. Travel east from Buckingham and you soon
reach Bedfordshire, mostly flat agricultural land with a hint of
industrial Midlands. It is not a county you'd cross England to visit,
but Bedford is interesting for its John Bunyan connection and possibly useful for its hotels and restaurants.
Hit
Bedfordshire and you're on the edge of the East Midlands, but travel
back towards London and you'll cross Hertfordshire. The prime target
here is St Albans , an ancient and dignified town with Roman
remains and a superb cathedral - but marooned amidst a knot of
motorways and new towns on the fringes of London.
The area covered in this section of the website is threaded by five motorways
, the M25, M4, M40, M1 and A1(M). These give swift access from all
directions, though drivers will need a detailed map to successfully
explore the rural nooks and crannies. Long-distance buses
mostly stick to the motorways, too, providing an efficient service to
all the larger towns, but local services between the villages are
patchy, sometimes non-existent. There are mainline train
services from London's Paddington station to Oxford, Henley-on-Thames
and Reading, and from London's St Pancras to St Albans and Bedford.
These main routes are supplemented by a number of branch lines, the
most useful of which links Henley-on-Thames with Cookham.
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