Newbury trip planner

Newbury is a historic market town and the principal town in the west of Berkshire, England and has its own civil parish (led by a town council) as well as the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire. It spans both sides of the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre spread around its large market square.The historic town centre retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall and an adjoining half timbered granary, an unusually large 15th century parish church, along with a wealth of attractive 17th and 18th century listed buildings. Newbury is famous for its racecourse, and as the headquarters of Vodafone UK and software company Micro Focus International.The town is located in the valley of the River Kennet, south of Oxford, north of Winchester, south east of Swindon and west of Reading. Newbury lies on the edge of the picturesque Berkshire Downs; part of the North Wessex Downs Area of outstanding natural beauty. It lies in south central West Berkshire, north of the Hampshire/ West Berkshire county boundary. In the suburban village of Donnington lies the part-ruined Donnington Castle and the surrounding hills are home to some of the country's most famous racehorse training grounds (centred on nearby Lambourn). To the south is a narrower range of hills including Walbury Hill and a few private landscape gardens and mansions such as Highclere Castle. The local economy is inter-related to that of the eastern M4 corridor, which has most of its industrial, logistical and research businesses close to Newbury, mostly around Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead and Slough.