A trial of a hop on hop off tourist bus is coming to Faringdon this summer
Places to stop off on the route
We are in the process of populating this information so you can enjoy the tourist bus to the full, so please bear with us! Send us your recommendations and photos of your trips to help us, thank you.
Faringdon
Wander around the Market Place in the town of Faringdon taking in the 17th century Old Town Hall, Portwell Pump and the Divers Helmet stone bench.
Find the lost cannon ball at the 12th century All Saints Church (key held at Tourist Information Centre).
Walk to Faringdon Folly (the last to be built in England) and take in the views towards the Ridgeway and the Thames.
Visit local shops, pubs and café’s.
Circular Walk leaflets in and around the town are available from the Information Centre or online at www.faringdontowncouncil.gov.uk.
Radcot
Ye Old Swan, a 16th century riverside pub situated on the River Thames, is the perfect starting or stopping point for walks along the Thames Path to Kelmscott or Lechlade.
Kelmscott Manor
Come and visit the Manor house and adjoining farm buildings loved by Morris as a work of true craftmanship, totally unspoilt and unaltered, and in harmony with the surrounding countryside.
View the iconic collection of artwork and objects owned and designed by the Father of the Arts & Crafts Movement and discover why the Cotswold home became an inspiration for him and his family. Take a stroll around the enchanting gardens and enjoy homemade food from our licensed tearoom.
Kelmscott Manor is a place where creativity and imagination thrive, and we encourage you to fully immerse yourself in the experience.
Enjoy your visit!
Lechlade
The Thames makes Lechlade a centre for all types of river-based pursuits: boating, kayaking, camping, fishing, birdwatching and walking. It is especially popular with walkers following the Thames Path and the Thames and Severn Way. The Roundhouse to the west of the town, at the bend of the river, indicates the start of the Thames and Severn canal where it meets the river Thames.
A series of six local walk leaflets have been produced by a small group of local walkers and historians. The leaflets are available from the local Library and Post Office at 50p each. The circular walks, all starting in Lechlade Market Square, include several old favourites for both residents and visitors including St John’s Lock, Lechlade Mill, seven stiles, Inglesham Church, Kelmscott and Lechlade Town Heritage Walk. All leaflets include an OS map, old and current photos, and historical information of features en-route. The Town Heritage walk is of particular interest with many old photos from the History Society archive.
Built in the 1470s, the parish church with its elegant spire is one of the four great wool churches of the Cotswolds. The church was built using local stone from a quarry near Burford. It was originally known as the church of St Mary, but Catherine of Aragon (wife of Henry VIII and Lady of Lechlade Manor) ordered that it be re-named St Lawrence, after a Spanish saint born in Aragon. Local wool merchants furnished money for the building. You can also find pubs, cafes, independent shops and antiques in this historic small town.
Coleshill
Visit the beautiful village of Coleshill which is home to Coleshill Estate and the new rural skills centre. The estate is criss crossed with walking trails.
Renovated and reopened in 2019 the Old Carpenters Yard acts as a welcome area with maps and information as well as a café (The Carpenters Canteen) and toilet facilities.
Visit the Radnor Arms for a pub lunch or stroll around St Peter & St Paul’s Church.
For the more energentic you can set out on one of the many walking trails across Coleshill, which take in farm tracks, landscaped parkland and sections of the river Thames or reveal the history of the village’s first family and some of its Second World War history.
See the National Trust websites for further details
Highworth
When you hop off in Highworth there is so much to do. If you love to shop, we have award winning independent businesses on our High Street. From the Highworth Emporium offering all manner of gifts to Weigh it up, our own zero waste and refill shop and so much in between. Or why not call in to Visit Highworth, Tourist Information and Craft Centre featuring over 40 local artists and makers. All the pieces are handmade from jewellery, ceramics to textiles and candles and so much more. You can also book a guided town tour to find out more about the history of the town from 13th Century St. Michaels church to the ABBA fan club. Contact the centre to book. The visitors centre also houses the Highworth Museum. It has the history of Highworth as well as changing exhibitions, currently Highworth Railway. Did we mention it’s in a bank vault? If you are looking for somewhere to eat or drink, we have traditional pubs offering lunch in relaxing beer gardens for sunny days or cosy interiors when it rains. If an all-day breakfast is called for then Highworth cafes can provide or if cake and coffee is more to your liking, you can indulge in them too. So many reasons to visit Highworth!
Shrivenham
Joining up many existing footpaths, this attractive circular family walk around the village has been clearly signposted using the S logo.
St Andrew’s Church just off the High Street.
Guides are available at Shrivenham Post Office
The countryside can be a daunting experience, now, thanks to a series of leaflets prepared by local walking enthusiast, Jane Archer, you can also discover a variety of easy and enjoyable routes based around Shrivenham.
All the walks are circular, from 1.5 to 3 miles, using tracks, public rights of way and permissive paths. There may be stiles to cross and some footpaths are muddy after rain. In the introduction to each walk there is a brief description giving the distance, number of stiles and particular cautions to take.
White Horse Hill
The White Horse can be dated back to the late bronze age making it the oldest chalk figure in Britain.
The Toposcope is the perfect vantage point to view the Vale of the White Horse and its points of interest including Uffington Castle Hillfort, Dragon Hill, the ripples of the Manger known as the Giant’s Steps and a number of Burial Mounds.
You can also visit Wayland’s Smithy, a neolithic burial mound around a mile’s walk from the White Horse. Pick up a copy of walking trails from Faringdon Information Centre or find them online on the National Trust site
Uffington
‘Things to do in Uffington’:
– Pick up a village trail leaflet & follow 3000 years of Uffington’s history. Brass rubbing kits available from the shop
– Visit one of the smallest museums in Oxfordshire for free – Tom Browns School Museum with exhibits on the White Horse & Uffington
– Gaze at the White Horse from the lovely garden of the Fox & Hounds pub – & enjoy a drink!
– Visit the 11th century ‘Cathedral of the Vale’ – St Marys Church – teas served every Sunday afternoon June to September
– Play at the children’s park next to the village shop & enjoy ice cream & drinks or cakes from the bakery
– Play tennis at the sports field or watch cricket in the summer & football in the winter
– Picnic & play games on the Jubilee Field common
Fernham
From the village green you can find St John’s Church, Fernham Manor and the Woodman Inn (a 17th century pub).
Badbury Clump
Visit the beechwoods at Badbury Clump, the site of a former Iron Age hillfort known for its springtime bluebells. Walk down the hillside to explore the adjacent woods, perfect for family adventures and nature filled walks.
Buscot Weir
Visitors can picnic along the bank of the river, visit the Church of St Mary’s or play with their children in a lovely, enclosed playground.
From the carpark you can walk to the smallest lock on the River Thames and watch the boats while listening to the water rushing through the weir.
Walks along the river can be accessed from the lock to either Lechlade (via St John’s Lock) or Kelmscott. The Buscot Red Walk is a circular 3 mile riverside walk where you can take in the lock, the weir, two second world war bunkers and the remnants of a Victorian-era industrial farm,
Buscot tearooms is perfect for an afternoon tea (just a two minute walk from the lock and weir).
Buscot Park
Buscot Park is the family home of Lord Faringdon, who looks after the property on behalf of the National Trust, as well as the family collection of pictures, furniture, ceramics and objets d’art, known as the Faringdon Collection, which is displayed in the house.
Buscot Park was built between 1780 and 1783 for a local landowner, Edward Loveden Townsend. In 1859 his great-grandson sold the estate to an Australian tycoon, Robert Tertius Campbell. He died in 1887 after spending a fortune turning Buscot into a model agricultural estate. In 1889 the estate was purchased by Lord Faringdon’s great-grandfather, Alexander Henderson, a financier of exceptional skill and ability, who in 1916 was created the 1st Lord Faringdon. He greatly enlarged the house, commissioned Harold Peto to design the famous Italianate water garden, and laid the foundations of the Faringdon Collection. Among his many purchases were Rembrandt’s portrait of Pieter Six, Rossetti’s chalk drawing of Pandora, and Burne-Jones’s famous series, The Legend of the Briar Rose.
To enjoy Buscot Park to the full, time should be taken to explore the extensive pleasure gardens that surround the late eighteenth-century house. To the west of the house, the mellow red-brick walls of the original kitchen garden now shelter the Four Seasons garden, bright with the blooms of spring bulbs, flowering trees and drifts of multi-coloured day lilies, according to the time of year. To the east, woodland walks lead to one of Britain’s finest water gardens, an unusual marriage of Italianate formality with an English parkland landscape.
Please note Buscot House is only open alternate weekends (12 August, 26 August, 9 September, 23 September).
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