Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Thatcham (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Nature Discovery Centre, The Nature Discovery Centre, and St Mary's Church. Also, be sure to include Widmead Lock in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Thatcham (England).
Table of Contents
Nature Discovery Centre
The Nature Discovery Centre is a 35-hectare nature reserve in Thatcham in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
This site has a variety of habitats including a lake, woodland, reedbeds and hedges. The lake has many wintering wildfowl such as shovelers and pochrds. Invertebrates include the bloody-nosed and rhinoceros beetles.
The centre has toilets, a cafe, a shop, bird hides and a visitor centre.[1]
The Nature Discovery Centre
Museum in Thatcham, England. The Nature Discovery Centre is a nature centre in the town of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated at Thatcham Lake, a flooded gravel quarry near to the Thatcham Reed Beds.[2]
Address: Muddy Lane, Lower Way, Thatcham
St Mary's Church
Place of worship in Thatcham, England. The St Mary's Church is a Church of England parish church at Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is a Grade II* listed building.
It has been claimed that the church was founded in the 7th century by St Birinus, and parts of the church date from the 12th century.[3]
Address: Church Gate, RG19 3PN Thatcham
Widmead Lock
Widmead Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Newbury and Thatcham, Berkshire, England.
Widmead Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administered by the Canal & River Trust. The lock has a rise/fall of 3 ft 7 in (1.09 m).[4]
Old Bluecoat School
Old Bluecoat School, or the St Thomas’ Chapel is a Grade I listed building in the town of Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. It is located on the main A4 road.[5]
Monkey Marsh Lock
Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England.
Monkey Marsh Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administered by Canal & River Trust. The lock has a rise/fall of 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m).
One of only two remaining working examples of turf sided locks on the canal (the other being Garston Lock) of more than a dozen originally, Monkey Marsh Lock is listed as an ancient monument by English Heritage[6]
Picture iT
Museum
Address: Picture It, 17 High Street, Thatcham
Thatcham Reed Beds
Thatcham Reed Beds is a 67.4-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newbury in Berkshire. It is part of the Kennet & Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation and an area of 14 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve. An area of 35 hectares is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Thatcham Reed Beds is important nationally for its extensive reed bed, species-rich alder woodland and fen habitats. The latter supports Desmoulin's whorl snail (Vertigo moulinsiana), which is of national and European importance. A large assemblage of breeding birds including nationally rare species such as Cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti) is also associated with the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds.
Thatcham's network of gravel pits, reedbed, woodland, hedges, and grassland is rich in wildlife and has been made into The Nature Discovery Centre by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.[7]