OXFORDSHIRE AREA GUIDES

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Henley, Oxford, Wantage, Witney, Banbury, Wychwood, Marston, Wallingford, Didcot, Faringdon, Kidlington, Woodcote and Bicester areas of Oxfordshire.

A prosperous county within easy reach from London, Oxfordshire boasts a good supply of cottages and farmhouses and a smaller number of manor houses.

Oxfordshire is one of the most popular counties in southern England. It is far enough from London to have its own identity; it has excellent communications and Oxford is one of the very few cities in England, outside the metropolis, which offers beauty, culture and quality of life.

Oxfordshire falls into four main parts from a residential point of view. The first is the Chilterns and M40 corridor, the second is Oxford itself, the third is the Thames Valley and fourth is the Cotswolds. Each attracts a different sort of buyer who is looking for different things.

The Chilterns and the M40 corridor, which runs up to Banbury, is very commutable, both by rail into Marylebone and Paddington, and by the M40, which gives it the best road link into the West End of London. The Chilterns are probably the first real countryside you come to outside London and the valleys and villages are both very pretty, with brick and flint houses and expensive properties. Though much of the countryside is flat from the edge of the Chilterns up to Oxford, it is much in demand as the road system means that it is possible to access more of southern England from here than almost anywhere else. It is good commuting country.

Oxford itself is probably the only city in England, other than London, where properties regularly sell for in excess of £1m. The university is an obvious draw bringing in wealthy foreign academics, older students remembering their university days, and families looking to be near some of the best schools in the country. Houses within a 15-minute radius of Oxford with an easy school-run command a premium. Residential Oxford is predominantly Victorian with few of the Georgian terraces similar to Cambridge and Bath. What a lot of people forget is that the outskirts are now home to a thriving business, science and medical community. The Cowley car-works and its housing cover much of south-eastern Oxford.

The Thames Valley and the Vale of the White Horse take up most of South Oxfordshire, much of which is flat until it rises into the Ridgeway and the Berkshire Downs. Didcot is the focus for commuting with fast trains running into Paddington in 45 minutes. Unfortunately, most of the surrounding area is visually dominated by the cooling towers of Didcot Power Station. However, this ease of commuting keeps prices higher than the natural beauty of the landscape would warrant, though many of the villages are pretty and unspoiled.

The prettiest part of the county is the Cotswolds, centred on Chipping Norton. This is outside comfortable commuting range but has all the cachet of the Cotswolds with their pretty stone villages, rolling landscapes and pretty market towns like Burford and Woodstock. This is classic English countryside with stone-walls and large manor houses but suffers like many beauty spots from an excess of tourists and antique shops.

Bounded by the Chilterns and the Cotswolds, two spectacular upland Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Oxfordshire is a prosperous county within easy reach of London. Communications have been improved further by the M40, which runs from London to Birmingham to the east of the county.

In the centre of Oxfordshire is the flat countryside of the Vale of the White Horse, over which there are far-reaching views from the surrounding hills. This is where the county and university town of Oxford lies, on the banks of the river Thames, known here as the Isis.

The vale has many tracts of ancient woodland, marshland and water meadows, but relatively few villages. Although cottages and farmhouses are in good supply, there are a smaller number of large manor houses with spacious reception rooms.

Building materials vary from stone in the west to brick and timber in the east and south: there are also a number of early timber-framedhouses, often thatched. The most sought-after areas in which to live include the Chilterns, regarded by many as the nearest good countryside to London, and the Hambledon Valley.

Major towns

Oxford, Banbury, Henley-on-Thames, Didcot, Bicester, Witney, Abingdon, Burford, Charlbury, Wallingford.

Transport links

Train: Paddington to Oxford 1hr, day return £30.00; Marylebone to Banbury, 1hr 10mins, day return £41.80; Paddington to Henley-on-Thames 56min, £10.90 day return.

Car: Oxford is 57 miles from central London and Banbury 81 miles, via the M40. Henley-on-Thames is 28 miles, via the M4 and A423.

Schools

Abingdon School +44 (0)1235 521563 . Boys only, age range 11-18, day and boarding. www.abingdon.org.uk

Bloxham School, Banbury +44 (0)1295 720206 . Co-educational, ages 11-18, day and boarding. www.bloxhamschool.com

Cherwell School, Oxford +44 (0)1865 558719 . Co-educational, age range 13-18, day. www.cherwell.oxon.sch.uk

Dragon School, Oxford +44 (0)1865 315400 . Co-educational, age range 3-13, day and boarding. www.dragonschool.org

Headington School, Oxford +44 (0)1865 741968 . Girls only, age range 3-18 (boys, 3-4), day and boarding. www.headington.org

Magdalen College School, Oxford +44 (0)1865 242191 . Boys only, age range 9-18, day. www.magdalen.oxon.sch.uk

Oxford High School (01865 559888). Girls only, age range 3-18 (boys, 3-7), day. www.gdst.net/oxfordhigh/

Radley College, Abingdon +44 (0)1235 543000 . Boys only, age range 13-18, boarding. www.radley.org.uk/

Summer Fields, Oxford (01865 554433). Boys only, age range 7-13, boarding. www.summerfields.oxon.sch.uk/

Tudor Hall School, Banbury +44 (0)1295 263434 . Girls only, age range 11-18, day and boarding. www.tudorhall.oxon.sch.uk/

Leisure

Golf courses: North Oxford (01865 554415); Southfield, Oxford (01865 242158); Chesterton, Bicester (01869 241204)

Hunts: the Heythrop; the Bicester and Whaddon Chase; the VWH.

Fishing: rivers Cherwell, Thame, Windrush and Thames.

THE BEST OXFORDSHIRE WATERSIDE HOUSES FOR SALE
(A breakdown of what was for sale & purchase prices)

Buckland Park, Faringdon (Grade II* Palladian mansion, 20 acres): £3.95m

Bolney Court, Lower Shiplake (Thameside Arts and Crafts house, 11.49 acres): £7.5m

Lock End, Shiplake (6 bed mansion, 6.25 acres): £4.5m

Cherbury House, Kingston Bagpuize (traditional 7 bed farmhouse, 105 acres, stabling): £3.75m

The Old Rectory, Longworth, Abingdon (Grade II* manor with lordship, 31 acres): £3.25m

Cote House, Bampton (7 bed, Elizabethan/Jacobean manor, 5.5 acres): £3m

Shilton Manor, Burford (edge of village manor, 5.5 acres): £2m

Sources: Land Registry data in the public domain, our own research via contacts (selling agents, buyers, solicitors etc.) and information published in Country Life magazine. Where a private sale/exchange of trust took place (i.e. no registration at The Land Registry) figures stated are asking prices. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this information. Sands does not guarantee or accept responsibility for its accuracy. E&OE.

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