Steve's World Blog Information and articles on cities, towns and villages around the world.

March 30, 2012

Bracknell Forest Berkshire

Filed under: England,Facts,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , — needahand @ 4:26 pm

Bracknell Forest Berkshire – Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority and borough in the county of Berkshire in England. It includes in addition to the garden city of Bracknell with its administrative centre and the surrounding villages of Binfield, Crowthorne, Sandhurst, Warfield and Winkfield. The authority was established on 1 April 1974 as the District of Bracknell. In May 1988 it received the status of a Borough, and the name was changed to Bracknell Forest. Bracknell was formerly twinned with Opladen in Germany it is now twinned with Leverkusen. Surrounding Berkshire towns include Crowthorne, Wokingham, Binfield and Ascot.

See a map of Berkshire, England here: http://www.my-towns.co.uk/berkshire-map.html

March 16, 2012

Abingdon Oxfordshire

Filed under: England,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , — needahand @ 2:39 pm

Abingdon Oxfordshire – Located just to the south of Oxford on the River Thames , is a town in Oxfordshire called Abingdon with a population of about 36,000. Abingdon only joined the county of Oxfordshire in 1974: it was formerly part of Berkshire . Abington grew around an abbey founded in the seventh century, and it has long been an important town, but was somewhat marginalized during the nineteenth century, especially in favour of Reading better served by the railway system. The town now enjoys the vitality of the Oxfordshire area and is home to several new technology companies. Abingdon is about 9 miles from the city of Oxford.

View an Abingdon map here: http://www.my-towns.co.uk/abingdon-map.html

April 29, 2011

Wokingham Berkshire

Filed under: England,History,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , — needahand @ 8:54 am

A busy rural market town located in the near to Reading in the county of Berkshire, United Kingdom, Wokingham has around 30,403 inhabitants. The history of the town harps back to Anglo-Saxon times, when it was a small settlement surrounded by oak trees. Wokingham still has some old Georgian houses and some pretty half-timbered cottages, if you search down some of the back streets, and the town itself is still quite attractive, and well worth a visit, if you are in the Berkshire area. At one time having a significant brick-making industry, and even longer ago, a bell foundry and silk manufacture, it now relies on more modern businesses such as computer software design. The St Paul’s parish church is not that old by English standards and was only built in the 1860’s. A nice place for a stroll when the weather is fine is the pretty Agates Meadow. Other nearby places include Crowthorne, Binfield and Bracknell.

November 23, 2010

Bucklebury Berkshire

Filed under: England,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , , — needahand @ 2:34 pm

A civil parish and small village situated between Reading and Newbury in Berkshire, Bucklebury is the home village of Kate Middleton’s family. Bucklebury has a population of 2,066 and a parish church which dates from the 11th century (St Mary the Virgin). Mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086), Bucklebury was one of King Edward the Confessor’s royal manors, before the Norman invasion of Britain. The Berkshire village was originally located right beside the River Pang, an area of woodland and heather close to the village is called Bucklebury Common.

July 15, 2010

Ascot Berkshire

Filed under: England,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , — needahand @ 4:08 pm

A small town in the Windsor and Maidenhead region of Berkshire, Ascot is perhaps best known for its fantastic racecourse which holds the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting every June, a huge fashion and social event. Comprising Ascot, North Ascot and South Ascot the town is close to Bracknell and the life of the town centres around the racecourse which brings many thousands of visitors to the area. Ascot Map.

Slough Berkshire

Filed under: England,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , , — needahand @ 2:28 pm

Lying to the west of Greater London on the A4 trunk road, the town and borough of Slough was formerly part of Buckinghamshire but now comes under the county of Berkshire. With a population of around 117,000 and an area of some thirteen square miles Slough lies north of the River Thames and the town of Windsor, with the tiny village of Eton and its famous college sandwiched between the two. Though its modern day appearance does not suggest any significant history, Slough was actually a settlement (albeit a small one) way back in the 13th century when it was variously known as Slo, Slowe, Sloo, Slow and Le Slowe. Growing later as a town mostly due to the stagecoach trade, Slough is now a large industrial town. Becoming a local government area only in 1863, Slough was incorportated into Berkshire in the 1974 reshuffle. Experiencing a typical south England climate, Slough averages 45mm of rain monthly and has its best weather in the period May to September.

March 11, 2010

Maidenhead Berkshire

Filed under: England,History,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , — needahand @ 4:51 pm

Probably originating from a Saxon wharf on the River Thames, called Maiden Hythe, Maidenhead developed in its early days as the hamlet of Elentone (located about a mile away from present day Maidenhead), it had just 50 inhabitants when the Domesday Book was compiled, it was built some distance from the river as in rainy weather flooding is common in this area, and it did not begin to grow until the first bridge was built over the River Thames in 1255 by order of Henry III. The present day bridge was constructed in 1777 and cost nineteen thousand pounds at the time. The current spelling of the name was first used in 1724 and by this time Maidenhead was an important watering town for visitors passing through from London to Bath and many coaching inns sprang up in and around the town, other trades such as blacksmiths also flourished and at one time it had 4 breweries. The railway arrived in 1838 and this caused further growth for the town and established it as a commuter town for those working in London, though Maidenhead is a good area for jobs, it is still a popular commuter town to this day. Modern day Maidenhead has a population of just under 60,000 and is a busy town well known for its football club Maidenhead United, other sporting facilities include the Maidenhead Golf Club. Interestin places to visit near to Maidenhead include the village of Cookham which is a pretty village also on the River Thames and famous as the birthplace of artist Sir Stanley Spencer. Maidenhead is situated on the A4 and can also be easily accessed from the M4 motorway.

Maidenhead Street Map.

Guide to Maidenhead Berkshire: http://www.maidenhead.my-towns.co.uk/

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