Buscot Village

Buscot is a small National Trust village on one of the quietest stretches of the upper Thames, part of the 7,000-acre Buscot and Coleshill Estates. In 1850 the Australian gold prospector Robert Tertius Campbell bought neighbouring Buscot Park, aiming to create the most progressive farm of its time; he built a short-lived spirits factory on Brandy Island, one of several late 19th-century innovations here alongside an estate-wide telegraph and a narrow gauge railway. From the car park a lane runs down to Buscot weir pool and lock, a peaceful place for a picnic where kingfishers, herons and otters may be spotted. The tea-room sits in the heart of the village, with toilets beside it. The Thames Walk, a five-mile circuit from the car park, follows the river to Kelmscott, where William Morris had his country home. Dogs are welcome, on a lead around livestock. Mobile signal can be patchy, so download the parking app before arriving.