Bampton

Bampton is a small market town in west Oxfordshire, sitting in the flat Thames plain between Witney and Faringdon. Despite its modest size, Bampton has considerable historical depth — its wool church, St Mary the Virgin, is one of the largest parish churches in Oxfordshire and reflects the medieval prosperity of a town that sat at the crossroads of important trading routes. The market charter dates from 1258 and a market has been held here ever since.

Bampton is well known today as one of the principal filming locations for Downton Abbey, with the church, the former doctor's surgery and several other buildings serving as locations for the fictional village of Downton. The television connection has brought visitors who might otherwise never have found the town, and Bampton has embraced it without being entirely consumed by it.

The town has a pleasant, genuine community character with a good pub and independent shops. The surrounding countryside along the Thames valley and across towards Buckland offers good walking and cycling. The Cotswold Water Park lies to the west, and Witney, with its wider range of services, is a few miles to the north-east.