Lapwing Green

Speen is one of Newbury's older western villages, absorbed into the town but still distinct, with a church, a village green and the Bath Road running through it — the same route that carried coaches west for centuries and gave the area its coaching-inn history. Newbury itself is a market town of real substance: a Georgian and Victorian centre, a long-running market, independent shops alongside the usual high street names, and the Kennet and Avon Canal threading through the middle with towpath walks that run for miles in either direction. Newbury Racecourse draws crowds through the Flat and jumps seasons, and the Corn Exchange keeps a steady arts programme going. North of the town the North Wessex Downs begin almost immediately, with Donnington Castle's ruined gatehouse on a ridge above the valley and Snelsmore Common's heath and woodland a short drive out. The A34 and M4 meet just to the north, making Oxford, Reading and Basingstoke straightforward runs. Greenham Common, now open grassland and a nature reserve, carries a remarkable recent history.