Thatcham
Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England.
Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (23 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. The town has a long history dating back to prehistoric times, a claimant to the title of oldest continuously inhabited place in Great Britain. As of 2021, it had a population of 25,464, though it is part of a built-up area comprising itself and neighbouring Newbury of over 70,000 residents. It is on the route of the A4 Bath Road, the historic main road between London and Bristol.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Thatcham
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Donnington Castle
Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle, situated in the small village of Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386 and was bought by Thomas Chaucer before the castle was taken under royal control during the Tudor period.
5.4 km · ruined medieval castle in Berkshire, England · Wikipedia - 02Newbury Lock
Newbury Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in the town centre of Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It has a rise/fall of 3 ft 6 in, and is situated just upstream of Newbury Bridge.
4.3 km · lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK · Wikipedia - 03St Nicolas Church, Newbury
St Nicolas Church is the Church of England parish church of Newbury, Berkshire, and stands just south of the main bridge over the River Kennet, in the centre of the town. The Grade I listed building is chiefly remarkable for the consistency of its Perpendicular Gothic architectural style and its unusually large size for a parish church.
4.3 km · church building in West Berkshire, England, UK · Wikipedia - 04Monkey Marsh Lock
Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Monkey Marsh Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury.
1.8 km · lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Thatcham, Berkshire, England, UK · Wikipedia - 05Widmead Lock
Widmead Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Newbury and Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Widmead Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury.
1.4 km · canal lock in Berkshire, England · Wikipedia - 06Midgham Lock
Midgham Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Thatcham and Woolhampton, Berkshire, England. Midgham Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury.
3.8 km · lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Brimpton, Berkshire, England, UK · Wikipedia - 07Bucklebury Farm Park
Bucklebury Farm Park is an animal park located in Bucklebury in Berkshire, England. The Farm Park consists of mostly animals, Play equipment, Deer and Woody's Cafe which opened in 2013.
5.1 km · animal park located in Berkshire, England · Wikipedia - 08Victoria Park
Victoria Park is a small public park near to the centre of Newbury, Berkshire, England. Current features of the park include a bandstand, tennis courts, boating lake, bowls club, skatepark, and a statue of Queen Victoria.
4 km · park in Newbury, Berkshire, England · Wikipedia - 09West Berkshire Museum
The West Berkshire Museum, in Newbury, Berkshire, holds various artworks and collections related to Newbury and West Berkshire. Established in 1904, the museum is housed in two of Newbury's most historic buildings.
4.1 km · museum in Newbury, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 10St Mary's Church, Thatcham
The St Mary's Church is a Church of England parish church at Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is a Grade II* listed building.
500 m · church in Thatcham, West Berkshire, England, UK · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01West Berkshire Museum
The Wharf, Newbury RG14 5AS, museum@westberks.gov.uk.
- 02Donnington Castle
Donnington, RG14 2LE (1 mile north of Newbury off B4494; grid reference SU461691).
- 03Highclere Castle
- 04Sandham Memorial Chapel
Harts Lane, Burghclere, near Newbury, RG20 9JT (5 miles south of Newbury on the A34; grid reference SU463608), sandham@nationaltrust.org.uk.
- 05Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre
Muddy Lane, Lower Way, Thatcham, RG19 3FU, ndc@bbowt.org.uk.
- 06The Living Rainforest
From Wikivoyage: Thatcham, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Go to the races at
- 01Newbury Racecourse
Racecourse Rd, Newbury RG14 7NZ (A mile east of town).
- 02Newbury & Crookham Golf Club
Bury's Bank Rd, Newbury RG19 8BZ (2½ miles SE of Newbury),.
- 03Corn Exchange
Market Place, Newbury RG14 5BD, premium).
- 04Watermill
From Wikivoyage: Thatcham, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
A reasonable range of choices including pubs, the usual chain restaurants (pizza/pasta or French), Indian and a Thai. Local restaurants of note include
- 01Crab & Boar
- 02Yew Tree
- 03The Pot Kiln
- 04The Vineyard
- 05Gurkha Chef
From Wikivoyage: Thatcham, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Thatcham
- Airports
- London Heathrow (LHR), 56 km · London Gatwick (LGW), 80 km · London Luton (LTN), 81 km
- Stations
- Newbury railway station, 4.2 km · Newbury Racecourse railway station, 3.2 km · Thatcham railway station, 1.9 km · Hermitage railway station, 5.1 km
- London → Thatcham79 km · quickest by road, 1h 56m · £8–11
- Luton, Luton → Thatcham79 km · quickest by road, 2h 1m · £10–14
- Bristol → Thatcham93 km · quickest by road, 1h 57m · £10–13
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Thatcham
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Thatcham. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- 0180 km
- 02238 km
- 03472 km
- 04530 km
- 05566 km
If you know how people move in Thatcham – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Thatcham
Thatcham is 21 km from Reading, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Newburytown and civil parish in Berkshire, England4.2 km
- Buckleburyvillage and civil parish in West Berkshire, United Kingdom5.1 km
- Midghamvillage in West Berkshire, England, UK4.3 km
- Hermitagevillage and civil parish in Berkshire, UK5.4 km
- Cold Ashvillage and civil parish in Berkshire, England, UK2.1 km
- Speenvillage and civil parish in Berkshire, UK5.8 km