Buckinghamshire is a perfect place to visit if you love amazing landscapes and quaint villages.
It’s surprisingly accessible, with London to the southeast, Berkshire to the south, Hertfordshire to the east, Oxfordshire to the west, and Bedfordshire to the Northeast.
Here’s a small sample of just some of the places that will make any visit worthwhile.
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Here’s a chance to combine a visit to a museum while taking in the surroundings of rural Buckinghamshire in the bracing fresh air.
The Chiltern Open Air Museum occupies a 45-acre site set in idyllic countryside and the site of a working farm complete with Oxford Down sheep, chickens, cows, and Old English goats.
But the stars of the attraction are reconstructions of the homes, workplaces, and other buildings occupied by the ordinary inhabitants of Buckinghamshire throughout the ages. So, you can wander around everything from an Iron Age roundhouse to an earth cottage, a medieval barn to a tin chapel, a blacksmith’s forge to a vicarage, and a Victorian toll house to a “Dig for Victory” garden allotment.
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park will occupy a special place in the heart of any history buff. It’s the once top-secret hideaway for the army of codebreakers numbering as many as 9,000 skilled operatives, who helped Britain to win the Second World War.
Situated near the town of Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park is fully open to the public and runs a series of exhibitions that map how codebreaking reached an industrial scale in the critical years between 1942 and 1945.
Why not make a day of it by stopping for a weekend coffee at Hut 4 Café or lunch at the Block C Coffee Shop?
Turville
Turville is just one of a whole list of attractive villages that give Buckinghamshire its characterful charm.
Set in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) defined by the Chiltern Hills, Turville makes an excellent starting point for any number of trails and footpaths through the county’s captivating countryside. When you’ve walked off any excess exercise, you can drop into one of Turville’s many pubs – the Frog Inn is a favourite – or more than 40 restaurants in and around the village.
If you’re then out for an evening stroll, you can admire the silhouette of Cobstone Windmill (that appeared in the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) or peer through the gates of Turville Heath, Lord Sainsbury’s estate and home.
Marlow
Marlow is probably one of the most iconic and best-known villages not only in the county of Buckinghamshire but along the whole course of the River Thames.
It’s a tranquil riverside spot with plenty to engage an inquiring spirit. For those with a taste for Victorian history, for instance, you might want to visit Hughenden Manor, once the home of England’s 19th century Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
Stroll along the riverbank for some exercise or marvel at the Marlow Suspension Bridge, Marlow Lock, or the Royal Military College (the original institution that opened in 1799 as a precursor to today’s Sandhurst).
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
The young and young at heart are likely to have a soft spot for one of the world’s best-known storytellers, Roald Dahl.
He lived and wrote in the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire for nigh on 36 years – and this small gem of a museum and story centre bears witness to his life and work. The museum and story centre is a charity established by Dahl’s widow.
There’s a faithful recreation of Dahl’s writing life – even including the interior of the hut in which he wrote, and which was originally built in his garden. It has been recreated by the museum exactly as it was left – including more than 300 artefacts personally associated with the author.
So, if you are looking for next break in your ‘van, why not visit Buckinghamshire? It’s a scenic destination with charming villages and plenty of attractions. With plenty of nature trails, historical sites, and dining options, Buckinghamshire offers a memorable experience for visitors.