Villages in South Oxfordshire

 

i love Quidco Blue

 

 

 

 

In the east of South Oxfordshire are the wooded chalk hills of the Chilterns and in the south, by contrast, are the open unwooded chalk hills of the Berkshire Downs. In the north South Oxfordshire borders on the City of Oxford and the flat Vale of Aylesbury and includes part of the ancient Ot Moor. Elsewhere in South Oxfordshire is the low valley of the twisting River Thames with its attractive riverside villages and towns.

Alphabetical listing of villages:

A B C D E F G H K L M N P
R S T W

This all makes South Oxfordshire's landscape attractively varied and this mixture of wooded hills, chalk downs and open countryside means South Oxfordshire's villages have an attractive mixture of stone, timber framed and thatched cottages, often side by side in the same village.

The Chiltern Hills in the east fall gently westwards towards the Thames, and part of South Oxfordshire is within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The infamous Stokenchurch cutting, which brings the M40 motorway into the region from the east, provides panoramic views from the Chilterns to the Oxfordshire Plain and the distant hills. In the Chilterns local flint was often used as a building material, and this characteristic is typical of Chilterns villages where many cottages and other buildings have walls of flint.

In the south the Berkshire Downs are the main influence on the appearance of villages, and here the building material of choice was often the local chalk itself. The Berkshire Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which also includes the area to the west of Dicot and the Sinodun Hills. The Sinodun Hills, more commonly referred to as the Wittenham Clumps, provide fine views of the River Thames to the north and of the Oxfordshire landscape all around. In the north of South Oxfordshire is another area of higher ground known as the Midvale Ridge which coincides with part of the northern boundary of the district west of Thame.

The River Thames is the main river of South Oxfordshire. This partly forms South Oxfordshire's boundary with The Vale of White Horse and then twists its way eastwards, and then south where it then becomes the district's boundary with neighbouring Berkshire. Some of the most beautiful stretches of the River Thames and its attractive riverside towns and villages are in South Oxfordshire. The largest of these are Henley-on-Thames, Wallingford and Goring. South Oxfordshire's second river is the River Thame which, from its source in the Vale of Aylesbury, cuts through the Midvale Ridge on its way to its confluence with the Thames at Dorchester.

The market town of Thame and also the town of Didcot, famous for its power station which is a prominent landmark for miles around, are in South Oxfordshire, as are the large villages of Chinnor, Wheatley and Watlington.

Alphabetical Listing of villages:
A
Adwell, Aston Rowant, Aston Upthorpe and Aston Tirrold


K

L
Lewknor, Little Milton, Little Wittenham, Long Wittenham

M
Maidensgrove, Mapledurham, Marsh Baldon, Moulsford

N
Nettlebed, Newington, North Moreton, North Stoke, Nuffield, Nuneham Courtenay

P
Postcombe, Pyrton

R
Roke, Rotherfield Peppard, Russells Water
S
Sandford-on-Thames, Shillingford, Shiplake, Shirburn, Sonning Common, South Moreton, South Stoke, South Weston, Stadhampton, Stanton St. John, Stoke Row, Stoke Talmage, Stonor, Swyncombe, Sydenham

T
Tetsworth, Toot Baldon, Tiddington & Albury, Towersey

W
Warborough, Waterperry, Waterstock, Watlington, West Hagbourne, Wheatley, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Woodcote, Woodeaton,