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Banbury is a market town in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire. It is known for the nursery rhyme - "Ride-a-cock-horse" and Banbury cakes. The local football team is Banbury United, they play at the Spencer stadium.

Upton House

Get in

Due to the building of the M40 motorway, Banbury is now a town with good industry. It is now one of the major commuter towns for London, Oxford, Solihull and Birmingham. The M40 also provides local residents access to the Midlands and the southeast.

Banbury has rail services run by Chiltern Railways to London Marylebone, Warwick, Kidderminster and Birmingham Moor Street/Snow Hill via the non-electrified Chiltern Main Line. It also has direct services run by First Great Western to Oxford, Reading and London Paddington. Services to other parts of the country are provided by CrossCountry via Birmingham New Street, to Cardiff, Bristol, Gloucester, Leicester, Stansted, as well as direct services to other cities across England and Scotland.

Banbury has an intra-urban bus service provided by Stagecoach Group which feeds the outlying villages and provides transport to places such as Oxford, Chipping Norton and Brackley.

Hennef Way (A422) was upgraded to a dual carriageway easing traffic on the heavily congested road and providing better links to north Banbury and the town centre from the M40.

In 2005 Oxfordshire County Council proposed building a ring road around Banbury, connecting the M40 to the Oxford Road at Bodicote, to ease town centre traffic. However this is not expected to be built until 2016 at the earliest.

Get around

There are many local taxi companies and a public bus system.

See

  • Banbury Cross.
  • The Canal.
  • Banbury Museum.

Do

  • Lakeside Bowling
  • Odeon Cinema
  • Spiceball Leisure Center- offering activities such as RollerDisco etc.
  • Spiceball Park- facilities such as a large playground, skate/BMX ramp

Buy

Castle Quay Shopping Centre. A large shopping centre with most of your big name shops somewhere.

Three of the big four supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

Market every Thursday and Saturday.

Farmer's market first Friday of every month.

Banbury Cross Retail Park.

Eat

Chinese:

  • Chens Cottage
  • A1 Chinese Restaurant
  • Top Wok
  • Paw Paw
  • Welcome

Indian:

  • Voujon
  • Jaypur
  • Purple Mango

Pub Food:

  • The Wine Vaults
  • The Grand Union
  • Fleur De Lis
  • The Reindeer

Fast Food:

  • McDonalds
  • Dominos
  • Pizza Hut Take Away
  • Master Kebab
  • Primavera Pizza
  • Greggs

Other:

  • Pizza Express

Drink

Thursday nights in Banbury are the well known "Student Night", but have declined in popularity over the past few years. Banbury is still busy with a slightly older crowd on a Friday, and is always generally busy on a Saturday.

Clubs:

  • The Chapel- Marketed as "The Alternative to Banbury nightlife", quickly becoming Banbury's most successful club.
  • Malarki- Pure Pop, Cheese and Part.
  • Sound Exchange- Bliss- Renovations left the club half it's former size. Still relatively busy on weekends.
  • Sound Exchange- Toko- Often quiet, past it's glory days

Pubs/Bars:

  • The Wine Vaults- Friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere, great prices.
  • AKA- A "trendy" bar, live music on a Friday.
  • Fleur De Lis- Typical Wetherspoons, great drink offers.
  • The Grand Union- formerly The Priory, now very quiet.
  • The Reindeer, Live Music on Saturdays
  • The Auctioneer
  • The Bar With No Name- No one is ever in this bar.
  • Wetherspoons Sound Exchange. Underneath 2 of Banbury's clubs, good location.

Sleep

  • Holiday Inn Express Banbury, Stroud Park, Ermont Way, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 4AE, ☏ +44 1295 234567, fax: +44 1295 234568, . Check-in: 2PM (early check-in by arrangement), check-out: 11AM (late check-out by arrangement). Holiday Inn Express with 120 non-smoking rooms and 70 parking spaces. Each room includes power shower, work desk, 28” flat screen TV, complimentary broadband and continental breakfasts. Some rooms have been adapted to allow for easier access. £84.95 Mon-Thur, £49.95 Fri-Sun. 
  • Hanwell House Bed & Breakfast, 2 Lapsley Drive, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 1EJ, ☏ +44 1295 263001, . Check-in: 3PM (early check-in by arrangement), check-out: 10.30AM (late check-out by arrangement). This bed and breakfast is a modern three-storey home, boasting character and charm, quietly situated on the Hanwell Fields estate just off the Southam Road. Offering en-suite accommodation in a luxurious and comfortable environment. Hanwell House bed & breakfast is privately-owned and operated with a beautiful landscaped garden, a fishpond and private parking for guests. All rooms have private facilities with tea, coffee and hot chocolate facilities, bottled water, flat screen televisions with Freeview and DVD player, clock radios, hairdryers and quality toiletries. A small library of DVD's is also available for guests. from £49 single, £59 double inc breakfast. 

Go next

  • Oxford, the heart of the county and the home of the oldest English-speaking university
  • Chipping Norton, an ancient market town
  • Woodstock, home of Blenheim Palace [1], 'the English Versailles' and the birthplace of Churchill
  • Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of Shakespeare.
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