English Cottage Rental - Regions In England

Villages and towns in Berkshire

Ascot This town is best known for the world’s most famous racecourse, It was formerly the village of East Cote and was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne. The first four-day Royal Meeting was held in June 1768 and has continued to the present day. Today Ascot Racecourse stages 25 days of quality flat and National Hunt racing each year. The Royal Meeting has developed into a full list of fixtures. Racing takes place at Ascot from May to October. The course has been undergoing a lot of work and the 2005 "Royal Ascot" meeting was in fact held in York.

Bracknell is a modern town in the heart of Berkshire that is also home to a lot of offices. It has a population of around 100,000. South of Bracknell there a forest and heathway, close to Sandhurst and Crowthorne. The countryside is seen as significant scientific interest, with over 30 separate countryside areas to explore.

Cippenham is located close to the M4 at Slough West between Slough and Maidenhead at the westerly end of the Slough Trading Eatate.The original village has greatly expanded in the 1980s with a large development of houses at "Windsor Meadows" so called because of the views towards Windsor Castle. There is a large supermarket in the centre of the development.The area now runs into Slough at The Chalvey end. The nearest railway station is Burnham

Cookham is located on the River Thames between Maidenhead and Marlow and is a very picturesque riverside village. It has a colourful and interesting historic background. There is evidence of Roman occupation, however development of the town as it is known today did not happen until Saxon occupation in the 8th century. There are a number if Victorian houses and cottages throughout the town and also Georgian cottages which provides evidence of development in the 18th century. It is actually made up of three villages, Cookham Village, Cookham Rise and Cookham Dean. Cookham Rise is in the middle and has a train station on the Marlow to Maidenhead line. There are one or two direct trains to London, Paddington on a daily basis, but normally one needs to change at Maidenhead.

Datchet Has changed a lot over the years, however despite much modern development, Datchet still manages to retain many features of the quiet riverside settlement it once was. The older buildings cluster around The Green with its central oak tree commemorating Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, whilst those of later periods line the roads which radiate towards the River where the Thameside gardens form the most attractive feature. It is well located for Slough, Windsor and London Heathrow and has a railway station - London Paddington - South Wales.

Eton is most famous for Eton College. It is located on the River Thames and can be accessed by the footbridge to Windsor (Closed to traffic in the 1960's) and until boundary changes was in Buckinghamshire. The college that was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI takes up a large proportion of the town. The College originally had 70 King’s Scholars or ‘Collegers’ who lived in the College and were educated free, and a small number of ‘Oppidans’ who lived in the town of Eton and paid for their education. Today it is a "public school" for approximately 1,290 boys between the ages of 13 and 18, all of whom are boarders wearing their very distinctive uniform - 2 / 3 piece tail suits.

Langley is located to the east of Slough and north of the M4. It is a town with Langley College, shopping centre and plenty of housing. To the north it borders countryside towards Iver. There is a railway station for London Paddington. Its history goes back to the 11th or early 12th century when St Mary's Church was built.

Maidenhead is located on the River Thames and is part of the Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Maidenhead is seen as a New Town compared with surrounding areas which are described as ancient. The first bridge to span the Thames was built in 1225, which in turn increased the amount of the population.Apart having the River Thames running through it has the A4 (with the M4 London to South Wales to the south) and main line rail connections to London and South Wales. It has a very good shopping centre and a lot of the original character of the town is retained. It is now very much a popular commuter town and property is expensive, there is a great choice of pubs and restaurants to suit all budgets.

Reading is set in the heart of the beautiful Thames Valley and has one of the fastest growing centres for business, shopping and leisure. Located just off the M4 and with the A4 running through it together with the London Paddington - South Wales railway. It is situated in England's Silicon Valley and home to major computer companies like. Microsoft, Digital and Oracle and also many large commercial companies i.e. Yellow Pages and British Gas. It is famous for its red brick buildings, medieval churches and old coaching inns, some of which date back over a thousand years. Reading is a very lively and colourful town within the summer months, with plenty of special events and festivals. The Reading Music Festival being one of its most famous. One of the attractions of this town is the Reading Museum.

Slough is located between Langley and Maidenhead. The town began to attract people when the Slough Station was opened in 1840. In the early 1900s, the Trading Estate began to form and now covers a large expanse north of Burnham Beeches stretching out to Cippenham and Burnham and operated by Slough Estates. It has undergone a rapid increase in growth, which has contributed to its image as a thriving commercial and industrial town. The high street used to be known as the "golden mile". The shopping centre today now has the Queensmere and the Observatory shopping malls. The population of the town has grown to over 108,000 people. There is a Museum located close to the Town Hall and still retains a mixture of old and new. The town. is also home to The Thames Valley University and is ideal for commuting with rail connections together with the M4 and its proximity to London Heathrow airport.

Windsor is famous for Windsor Castle, that is the largest inhabited stronghold in the world and England's largest castle. It was once a wooden stockade built by William the Conqueror. With over 900 years history, Windsor Castle has become a favoured Royal residence. In 1917 George V declared that his family and descendants would take the surname Windsor. The town retains plenty of character from Peascod Street, up Castle Hill. There is a popular Theatre opposite the castle "Theatre Royal Windsor" and as the town is situated on the River Thames (Opposite Eton) it is very popular with residents and visitors. Windsor has two stations. A rail link was built between Windsor and Slough so that Queen Victoria could connect to travel to London (Paddington) and the other line goes to London (Waterloo).

The above selection only represents a small selection of villages in towns in the area. Enjoy your visit to Berkshire, England

N.B. This information should not be relied on for accuracy and is presented here without the responsibility of jml Property Service and the website it is being displayed at. ©jml property Services 1-06