2020, Sep 17

The Guide To Tadley

Bus

There are two primary ways to get to Tadley. You can drive and park in the town center (free parking) and walk or cycle around or you can use public transport. There is a direct bus from Basingstoke with stops at Aldershot, Fleet, Farnborough, Blackwater and Fleet & Aldershot. This bus stops directly outside the train station which only takes 7 minutes on the train from Reading which is on the London Paddington to Southampton line.

Bus The following bus services are based in Tadley and run into the surrounding areas of Basingstoke, Winchester and Newbury, This Is Hampshire (thisishampshire.co.uk). Services are provided by Stagecoach who operate regular buses to Newbury, Winchester, Chineham, Basingstoke and Reading. In the Basingstoke area Stagecoach operate 6 different services with the Reading area being served by an entirely separate company that is called Reading Buses Ltd (or Route 5). The A339 bypasses the town, but the original 'old'road is London Road, which runs from the town centre through Tadley to Basingstoke.

This route was formerly the A339, but is now the B3391. Within Tadley this is part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tadley is served by Stagecoach South with a regular service to Basingstoke and throughout the year a service to Oxford as well as Reading. There are various other routes provided by First, often with connections available at Basingstoke or Reading. Tadley is located 12 miles (19 km) south of Basingstoke and 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Reading.

Its parish boundaries extend into the neighbouring parishes; a small part is in Kingsclere and the remainder in Greenham. There is a half-hourly stop at Tadley for Reading, Basingstoke and Winchester via Silchester. There is also an hourly service from Tadley to Newbury. It has a long-standing rivalry with neighbouring Southampton, due to its close proximity. [nb 4]. P&S is in the city centre a couple of minutes from Guildhall Square. Fancy going a bit further afield? The WestQuay shopping centre in Southampton and Basingstoke's Oakwood Center have even more fantastic options.

Culture And Community

Hampshire County Council's creation of a joint library and learning centre formed the catalyst for the redevelopment of Tadley High Street. This project was based on a design by Nichola Scott in partnership with Hampshire Country Council. On its completion, River Meon Primary School moved into the centre in 1996. Hampshire County Council sold their civic headquarters, redecorated it, and it was opened as Tadley Library by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire in 2002. For several decades, Hampshire County Council has sought to provide a new and central library in Tadley.

Economy

The main road to Newbury, the A34, passes a little to the north of the centre of Tadley. In January 2008, at a meeting with Berkshire County Council, Tadley Parish Council proposed that Tadley become one of a number of "compact centres" in south Hampshire designated by the Local Transport Plan. The plan suggested locations where new housing would be built in a compact area, together with local shops and other facilities. The designated "centre" for Tadley would be west of the A34, between Littlecote Lane and Mill Road/The Green.

However, this has since been scrapped in favour of the M3 junction improvements. In the past, Andover has had three traditional and currently non-operational shops; a bakery, a dairies and a butcher's. These shops are in buildings now put to alternative use. The town has been undergoing a period of gradual growth in specialist shops and individuals'home businesses employment in new types of industries, whose presence was previously only available in the larger nearby towns, for example Bath and Bristol.

(Strictly speaking, in May 2008 the town acquired its second supermarket, a Tesco replacing most of the shops previously on that site. However, inside this supermarket is an 'extra'covering only about a tenth of the selling space; which I might add is not within easy walking distance of the main part of town. ). Oddsbodies has a variety of shopping facilities in the center of town, provided a newcomer to the town needs something.

There is a supermarket, OddspriceShops (a play on the name of Oddbodies), which offers a good selection of groceries, confectionery, toys, and other items. Earlswood has a large central village green, measuring approximately three-quarters of a mile (1. 2 km) long by half a mile (800 m) wide. This is surrounded by many fine Georgian and Victorian houses and townhouses. In the late 1980s, they proposed a new library be built and attached to the new Borough Council building when it was being built.

Education

Hurst College (formerly known as Godstow College) closed in September 2010. More recent educational establishments in the area include Hurst Wood Special School, which can be found on Hurst Road in Godalming; and the Hurst Lodge, which is located behind the Church of England school in Godalming. As well as these there is also Highlands Independent School and Highlands Junior School (both on Ficino Avenue). Baughurst has one state-funded secondary school, The Hurst Community College.

This provides education for students in the Baughurst district and nearby areas including the eastern part of Tadley. The Hurst School is for students aged 11–16. It gives priority to residents of Baughurst and nearby parishes as defined by the local government (Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council). All Saints'and St Mary's C of E Junior School is a primary department of the two Church of England schools in Hurst village. The school was recently awarded "Outstanding" by Ofsted.

This means that all aspects of the school's performance are rated as Excellent or Good, and that leadership and management are "outstanding". There are two state secondary schools serving Baughurst and Hurst: The Hurst Community College (formerly known as Northwood Secondary School), and The Vale of White Horse, which is located in the nearby town of Wantage. A few minutes walk outside the village down the lane that runs parallel to the A34 is The Hurst Community College, the secondary school which educates many GCSE and A-level students from East Woodhay.

Geography

T adley is an ancient village in the English county of Hampshire, situated to the north of Winchester on the A343 road to Basingstoke. For many years it had a busy railway station in the heart of the village, but this was closed under the Beeching Axe. There is still a Tadley railway station (though not in its original position), but it is now just a stop on the South Western Main Line linking London Waterloo station with Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth/Portsmouth on the Dorset coast.

Tadley is a small town in the north of Hampshire, England, within the Newbury District and is part of the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area. The town is about 11 miles northeast of Basingstoke, 11 miles northwest of Reading, 10 miles southeast of Newbury and 10 miles southwest of Maidenhead. Tadley straddles the Grand Union Canal (which can be accessed via the Tadley Locks), and the River Loddon, which forms part of the boundary between Hampshire and Berkshire.

The actual stream of the River Loddon itself is within Hampshire, in an area known as Nether Wallop. Geography. Tadley lies next to the northern border of Hampshire, where it meets Berkshire. Hampshire's county town of Winchester lies to the north-east, and Reading is approximately 18 miles (29 km) to the west. The Basingstoke Canal passes to the east of Tadley. There's a lovely, splendid view of the flowery meadows, and the hills, and forests in Tadley.

Governance

The Borough of Basingstoke and Deane does not include Tadley. Apart from Tadley Parish Council meeting the borough council, there are four town councils. These are Tadley Town Council (covering the village and part of Overton), Baughurst Town Council (covering the village of Baughurst), Clanfield and Long Wittenham with Cassington Town Council (a very small part of Clanfield and Cassington in West Berkshire) and Overton-on-the-Hill Town Council which covers a large area including many villages in both Hampshire and Berkshire.

The last three were created by local referendums in the 1990s as the area in question was not covered by any existing town council. To the north of the town is Tadley Common, a protected area of heathland, with areas of acid grassland and patches of semi-natural woodland. In addition to an abundance of heather, this area also contains important populations of mosses and lichens including nationally scarce species. Once you have visited this place, you will always want to go back there again.

Notable Residents

More recently, in December 2002, comedian Vic Reeves and his wife Nancy Sorrell moved to the village from London. They were joined in 2003 by Reeves'former Grid iron partner Bob Mortimer, who moved to Tadley from St Albans to live with his fiancée Lisa Gray, who was born in the area. As a result of moving to live near Vic Reeves and Nancy Sorrell, other celebrities have bought property in the Tadley area. Tadley is home to multiple notable residents, including All Star United drummer Jon Dunn, singer and songwriter James Taylor, who first achieved fame in the seventies, and more recently under his real name (James Wesley Voight) on the TV show Angel.

Tadley also boasts a resident of lesser note Ford Prefect the alien from Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The people are really friendly. Tadley is a parish and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Tadley is centred 5 miles (8 km) west of Newbury, Berkshire, and 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Andover. Hampshire Council also contributed towards the cost of Tadley's new community centre, which opened in April 1998.

Rail

Bus The following bus services are based in Tadley and run into the surrounding areas of Basingstoke, Winchester and Newbury. Services are provided by Stagecoach who operate regular buses to Newbury, Winchester, Chineham, Basingstoke and Reading. In the Basingstoke area Stagecoach operate 6 different services with the Reading area being served by an entirely separate company that is called Reading Buses Ltd (or Route 5). The A339 bypasses the town, but the original 'old'road is London Road, which runs from the town centre through Tadley to Basingstoke.

Road

Tadley is the main town in the parish. Historically Tadley was a village in its own right, but has almost been absorbed by the surrounding suburbs of Reading and spread from the station north through East Wood and Tadley Village to Crows Lane and to the south through Lower Tadley and Tadley Brook to Tumbling Bay on the edge of Withy Wood. North of there is Upper Tadley where most of the business parks are situated.

The A3095 begins at the junction of the A340 and B3083 in Tadley, and runs through St Mary Bourne to meet the A303 at Woolstone, 10 miles (16 km) west of Winchester. The B3083 runs through the town to Overton, where it joins the A303 towards Andover 15 miles (24km) to the west. The B3076 runs from Tadley northwards to reach Theale 3 miles (5 KM) away on the A4. The A340 runs north from the M3 motorway (junction 4) at Basingstoke before passing under the railway line at Upton and then just south of Hook through Tadley.

It crosses the B3406 at Upton and then passes under the M4 motorway (junction 16) before entering Pangbourne, where it meets the A314 at a crossroads controlled by traffic lights. The A340 connects Reading and Basingstoke to the M3 motorway, which passes just to the north of Tadley. The M3 leads south to London and is accessed via junction 11 of the motorway or by the A33 road which passes through Tadley. Road now redirects here.

For the novel by M. C. Beaton, see Road (novel). Long road through Tadley. This route was formerly the A339, but is now the B3391. Within Tadley this is part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tadley is located 12 miles (19 km) south of Basingstoke and 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Reading. Its parish boundaries extend into the neighbouring parishes; a small part is in Kingsclere and the remainder in Greenham.

Transport

Rail services are provided by Great Western Railway along the Basingstoke—Paddington line and by South Western Railway along the West of England Main Line from Reading to Bournemouth, Wimbledon and Portsmouth. As Tadley lies on the Wessex Main Line it serves as a junction of sorts where trains for Paddington, Reading and Basingstoke usually curving left or right at the north western end of the station depending on their final destination. The B3408 runs from the A340 to the west of Tadley to Winchendon (where it meets the A34 road to Oxford) and Andover in Hampshire.

The B3349 leads off from the B3408 to Crookham Village, Crookham Farm (the British headquarters of Nike), and Whitchurch, 14 miles (22km) away; the B3349 is known as 'The Lane'locally. Tadley is served by Reading's built-up functional 1960s Airfield Estate, just beyond Gt Heath. (never mind the local charming vernacular housing estate on green belt land). Two small new estates, both with small shops, have developed to the east and north of the town respectively.