Thame has a wide range of shops including two supermarkets, newsagents and a selection of independent retailers. There is a very popular and traditional street market held every Tuesday, as well as a twice-weekly cattle market, a monthly farmers’ market and an annual French market. The biggest one-day agricultural show, the Oxfordshire and Thame Show, is held every July. Within the town are several pubs and restaurants including Italian, Chinese, Indian and fine dining options.  The housing in the town has the full range of age, style and price bracket, within walking distance of the town centre.

The mainline Chiltern Line station of ‘Haddenham & Thame’ is actually in Haddenham village, which has a small historic centre, and is rapidly expanding for those who wish to walk to their London rail route. 

There are many popular villages within a short distance of Thame, with their own character, which are worth exploring in your househunt, and many with thriving communities, and, of course, excellent country pubs.

North of Thame & Haddenham, the villages of Chearsley, Cuddington & Long Crendon are highly sought after, with matching pricetags.  They have older houses as well as top-drawer new builds.  You might also find 70s/80s detached houses worth ‘doing up’ in good school catchments here.  Smaller hamlets such as Nether Winchendon & Upper Winchendon are in the direction of Waddesdon & Whitchurch.

In the North direction the landscape changes dramatically as you go higher up to villages north of Easington,  such as Brill, Chilton, Dorton, Pollicott & Ashendon with some impressive views.  Beyond here there are beautiful hamlets such as Wotton Underwood, going ‘down hill’ towards Bicester.

West towards Oxford & the M40 junction, the river valley has some characterful villages such as Ickford, Shabbington & Worminghall.  Good research is important here, as this area is crucial floodplain for the region.  Waterperry & Waterstock are the Oxford end of this area, as their names suggest.  Oakley, Little London, Honeyburge & Boarstall are nearer the M40 northwards, and Tiddington, Milton Common & Tetsworth southwards.

Eastwards out of Haddenham, up towards Aylesbury are the hamlets of Dinton, Westlington, Ford, Upton & Meadle. South East of Thame & Haddenham, Aston Sandford, Kingsey, Towersey & Sydenham are in the direction of Prince Risborough, the next ‘fast train’ station on the Chiltern Line towards Marylebone.  Slightly further south is Chinnor, a larger village with plenty of amenities, and easy access to the M40, in view of the Chiltern escarpment.  The hamlets of Aston Rowant, Kingston Bount & Crowell have some beautiful properties.

There are three primary schools, a secondary school Lord Williams, several nurseries and pre-schools in Thame itself.  Many of the villages have their own highly regarded primary schools.

Buckinghamshire operates a grammar school system, and catchment areas for this are strict (Thame itself is in Oxfordshire, Haddenham is in Buckinghamshire). 

Independent schools have pupils from a wider geographic area.  A selection of schools that Thame and the surrounding villages’ pupils can access are:

• Winchester House 
• Beachborough  
• Ashfold  
• Summer Fields  
• New College School  
• Swanbourne House  
• Akeley Wood 
• Stowe  
• Thornton College 
• Griffin House 
• Gateway School 
• Pipers Corner 

Oxford Schools are also accessible, with many offering dedicated bus services through villages:

• St Edwards 
• Oxford High
• St Clare’s  
• d’Overbroecks 
• Dragon School 
• Rye St Antony 
• Headington 
• Wychwood 
• Magdalen College 
• Radley

Of historic interest is the spectacular 13^th century St Mary’s church, which dominates the skyline, and the Greyhound Inn, with its original interior wall, where the English Civil War hero, John Hampden, died of wounds received at the nearby battle of Chalgrove Field. Thame also has a museum with regularly changing exhibitions of local interest. The 15^th century Rycote Chapel, owned by English Heritage, is just outside Thame.

There is a rich diversity of wildlife to be discovered at the award-winning Cuttlebrook nature reserve, which offers a unique piece of ‘semi-wild’ countryside free from roads but just a few minutes’ walk from the town centre.  Thame has its own leisure centre and swimming pool.

The proposed HS2 route is nearer Aylesbury and north of Waddesdon, and so should not affect this area. The revival of EastWest rail between Oxford & Cambridge is via Bicester, Winslow & Milton Keynes, and will involve development and a road route, although plans have not been finalised for this at the time of writing. Keep up to date with these plans when considering a house purchase, particularly a rural one.