Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, guest houses and attractions in Berkshire

Make the most of your time in Berkshire, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.

The Royal County of Berkshire – so called because of the residence of the royal family at Windsor Castle – is situated in the South of England, to the west of London; indeed, the eastern fringes of Berkshire blend into the southwestern suburbs of Greater London. Berkshire is bounded by five other counties: Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, and a key feature of the county is the M4 motorway, which bisects Berkshire en route from London to the West Country. The M4 corridor, as it is known, describes the conurbations that have developed along this carriageway, and many of the UK headquarters of high tech companies may be found here, particularly in Reading (the county town of Berkshire), Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead and Newbury.

Yet to think of Berkshire as a heavily built up county is misleading; in contrast with the arterial routes and the sprawling suburbs are areas of outstanding natural beauty and of significant scientific interest. The North Wessex Downs skirt around the northwestern edge of Berkshire, and part of the Ridgeway Path – considered by historians to be one of the oldest prehistoric roads in the world – takes in Berkshire en route from Wiltshire to Hertfordshire. Berkshire has many green open spaces, and the gentle rolling hills are interspersed with charming little villages. The county is also dominated by the flow of the two main rivers, the Kennet and the Thames, as well as their tributaries including the Loddon, the Blackwater and the Lambourn. While these rivers were once the lifeblood of Berkshire’s industries, they are now used mainly for leisure purposes. The famous Kennet and Avon Canal is a good example of this, and is popular for boating holidays.

Berkshire is one of England’s oldest counties, its borders having been established by King Alfred the Great, King of Wessex in the 9 th Century. The county’s borders have changed considerable since then; notably in 1972, when the traditional Berkshire towns of Abingdon, Henley-on-Thames and Wantage became part of Oxfordshire. At the same time Slough – traditionally in Buckinghamshire – became part of Berkshire. Further administrative changes in the 1990s led to Berkshire County Council being abolished, and the county being divided into West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor & Maidenhead and Slough unitary authorities.

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