LOCAL ATTRACTIONS |
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One of England’s oldest manor houses and owned by the same family of the same faith for 850 years, Stonor Park is the ancestral seat of the Stonor family. The 7th, and current, Baron Camoys was the first Roman Catholic Lord Chamberlain since the Reformation. Set in a most beautiful setting, there is a wealth of art, ceramics and other collections for a special day out.
Henley, RG9 6HF T: 01491 638587 |
Covering 23 acres, it is home to the country’s finest collection of GWR steam locomotives, carriages, wagons, sheds, artefacts and 180 years of railway history. For children, the many other major attractions include meeting Thomas and his friends, riding behind Thomas and Duck and shaking hands with the Fat Controller!
Didcot, OX11 7NJ. T: 01235 817200 |
Nuffield Place, NT
(9 miles) Nuffield Place reveals the surprisingly down-to-earth lives of Lord Nuffield, founder of the Morris Motor Company, and his wife. Their home and personal possessions are just as they left them, the decor and furnishings intact.
From the comfortable sitting room with a small black and white TV, to Lord Nuffield's humble bedroom with a secret built-in workshop, this intimate home exudes the tastes and interests of its remarkable owner. |
A picturesque and fascinating 16th century mansion in delightful gardens with much to see. Don’t miss the 19th century thatched ice-house and the 16th century well house with its huge and extremely rare Tudor donkey tread wheel and mechanism built in 1586 where the donkey worked to draw water from the 200-foot deep medieval well.
Rotherfield Greys, RG9 4PG. T: 01491 628529 |
A World Heritage Site, the Palace was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation to the 1st Duke of Marlborough following his famous victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 – a masterpiece of Baroque architecture on the grandest scale. Exquisite collections of furniture and art and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill with its 2,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown-landscaped parkland including “The finest view in England” and stunning formal gardens.
Woodstock, near Oxford. T: 0800 849 6500 |
The River & Rowing Museum is just one of the many delights of this attractive medieval market town.
The classic children’s book The Wind in the Willows is brought to life with realistic 3D models of Ratty, Toad, Mole, Badger and friends in beautifully made theatrical sets with music. You can also walk through the succession of sets with an audio guide that tells the story that children will love. The museum itself is also full of other interesting and fun things to do for both children and adults. |
Mapledurham was chosen as the main film-set for the classic 1977 film The Eagle Has Landed (and also Midsomer Murders), because it depicts many people’s idea of a quintessentially English hamlet centred around a beautiful manor house and rustic watermill.
There has been a mill here since the time of the Domesday Book and the present one is the only working mill on the Thames producing high-quality stone-ground flour. The Elizabethan mansion is also a major attraction. Mapledurham, RG4 7TR. T: 0118 972 3350 |
Agatha Christie Trail
(6 miles) |
Oxford has so many famous buildings with its 38 colleges and other places of special interest to see, so take time to visit as many as possible. These include Christ Church Cathedral, Ashmolean Museum, Bodleian Library, Sheldonian Theatre, Radcliffe Camera, Bridge of Sighs, Botanic Gardens, Oxford Castle, Carfax Tower and the Covered Market. Harry Potter and the detective series Inspector Morse and Lewis were filmed here.
Additionally for something special, you can take the family or friends punting on the rivers Cherwell and Thames - Cherwell Boat House OX2 6ST T:01865 515978 |
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Maharaja's Well - Stoke Row
(5 miles) The Maharajah’s Well is a rather unexpected sight in a small village in the Chilterns. Its influences are clearly Indian, with its gilded dome and elephant sitting astride the well housing. |