Bicester - On the northern edge of Milton Keynes (of which it forms a part) this largely unspoilt village is famous for its pancake race. It was important once as a centre for lace-making. The poet William Cowper lived here.

Burford - Just off the Oxford-Cheltenham road. One of the most enchanting of English villages, built on a hill-side above the Windrush, with many stone houses of great beauty, notably the Elizabethan house called The Priory, the very handsome church with memorials to Lord Falkland, the 16th century Grammar School and many inns. Just to south is the Cotswold Wildlife Park.

Chipping Norton - A quiet old wool town on the Cotswolds' eastern edge, a famous market in Saxon days. The church has interesting carvings. Chastleton House is a most picturesque, quadrangular three-storied Elizabethan house with square towers. The Rollright Stones, north of the town are a prehistoric circle grouped about a pine clump.

Didcot - Town between Wantage and Wallingford with large coal burning power station a major landmark of South Oxfordshire. Has an important railway heritage centre, formerly on the Great Western Railway.

Faringdon - Nine miles north west of Swindon. A quiet agricultural town associated with King Alfred. There are a number of Elizabethan inns and a 17th century market hall. Faringdon Hall was rebuilt by a Poet Laureate in the 18th century. Nearby is Great Coxwell and Great Barn and Kelmscott Manor where William Morris lived and is buried in the local churchyard.

Henley-On-Thames - Six miles north of Reading. A beautiful reach of the Thames, famous for its annual regatta where the world's best crews compete. The wooded hills in the neighbourhood are of great beauty. There is a monument to Francis Bacon's sister in the church. The 18th century Town Hall is a fine building. The stone circle of a 'Druids' Temple' was imported here from Jersey.

Thame - Ten miles east of Oxford. An attractive ancient town at the foot of the Chilterns, pillaged by the Danes and the scene of skirmishes in the Civil War. John Hampden, who was one of the leading members of Parliament standing against Charles I, and Milton both educated at the Grammar School. The church is rich in 16th century monuments. Very broad market street. Town given its charter by King of Mercia, Wulfhere. Thame had a very wealthy Abbey turned in the reformation into a private house. Nearby is the National Trust treasure house of the Rothchild family, Waddesdon Manor.

Wallingford - A historic market town and strategic crossing point on the Thames between Oxford and Reading with a history earlier than the Roman occupation. Its 14 arch bridge is one of the oldest in the country. Traces only survive of a Norman castle. Here the possession of the throne by Henry II was confirmed by treaty. There are two Norman Churches, a 17th century Grammar School, and as well as a 17th century town hall. There are many Georgian buildings. On the Thames Path. Nearby is ancient Dorcester-on-Thames.

Wantage - A quiet town under the Berkshire Downs. The birthplace, in 849, of Alfred the Great, celebrated by a statue in the town centre. The church is very handsome. Vale and Downland Museum. Location of first steam tramway in England (1873). A good centre for exploring the Ridgeway and visiting the White Horse Hill.

Woodstock - A Saxon town which had a Royal Palace on a par with Winchester and Windsor. Here Henry II brought the Fair Rosamond, and Henry III was nearly murdered. The Black Prince was born, and Princess Elizabeth held prisoner, here. The palace was destroyed in the Civil War, to be replaced after John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, won the battle of Blenheim in 1704. He was rewarded with a new palace designed by Vanbrugh. The park of 2,700 acres has a lake, a statue of the Duke and a Triumphal gate. Here in 1874 was born Winston Churchill and he is buried in the nearby village of Bladon. Woodstock has the Oxfordshire County Museum. Another interesting place nearby is the historic house Rousham, famous for the work of the designed William Kent, especially the landscaped garden by the River Cherwell.