The Country Life verdict
This is real shooting, game-cooking country. The village is largely owned by the Iliffe family, who brought bulk selling to the UK Christmas-tree industry in the 1970s. The estate has preserved the picture-book look of the square, which is surrounded by black-and-white 17th-century cottages and Cromwellian red-brick houses. The Royal Oak pub serves good grub and there’s a shop, post office and butcher
Best address
‘There is a striking Queen Anne house in the village called England’s Piece, owned by the estate and let to a tenant. You can’t buy it, but letting it is almost as good,’ believes Alex Barton of Strutt & Parker Pangbourne
Alternatives
Frilsham (home to The Mike Robinson Game & Wild Food Cookery School and the excellent Pot Kiln restaurant), Upper Basildon, Compton, Goring & Streatley (which has its own station).
Yattendon
Commute: Pangbourne (London Paddington, 49 minutes). Drive to station: about 14 minutes. Frequency of trains: 3 per hour (peak). First train in: 5.33am; last train home: 11.33pm. Annual season ticket: £4,228. Annual car-park ticket: £813.50.
Tip: You have to change at Maidenhead for some fast trains, although things will be easier when Crossrail opens at Maidenhead.
The Country Life verdict: This is real shooting, game-cooking country. The village is largely owned by the Iliffe family, who brought bulk selling to the UK Christmas-tree industry in the 1970s. The estate has preserved the picture-book look of the square, which is surrounded by black-and-white 17th-century cottages and Cromwellian red-brick houses. The Royal Oak pub serves good grub and there’s a shop, post office and butcher.
Best address: ‘There is a striking Queen Anne house in the village called Englands Piece, owned by the estate and let to a tenant. You can’t buy it, but letting it is almost as good,’ believes Alex Barton of Strutt & Parker Pangbourne.
Alternatives: Frilsham (home to The Mike Robinson Game & Wild Food Cookery School and the excellent Pot Kiln restaurant), Upper Basildon, Compton, Goring & Streatley (which has its own station).
Read full article here https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/the-best-places-to-live-for-commuters-berkshire-2231