Amersham

Amersham is in Buckinghamshire, England. Home to 17,000 inhabitants, it is the heart of "Metro-land", where London suburbs meet the Chiltern Hills, a place where some of the best walks in the British countryside are located. Metro-land takes its name from the Metropolitan line of the London Underground, which facilitated the area's development.

Understand


A dual centred locale, Amersham is split between the historic Old Amersham (at the bottom of the hill), and the current commercial centre (and residental suburbs) of Amersham-on-the-hill at the top.

Amersham is not an obvious tourist destination, as the town does not seem to have much to see or do in it at first glance. However there are some great parks, such as Hervines Park round the back of the Dr Challoners Grammar School which has a wood and also there is a park behind the gym/swimming pool building. Old Amersham is home to a fantastic church and traditional clothes stores as well as old-fashioned streets. It is also home to the great Amersham Museum, a must-see for visitors to the area.

History
Old Amersham is a former medieval market town, although settlement pre-dates the Norman conquest. It has held a market since the original 11th century charter, which was revised in the early 1600s to allow for a fair to be held in September. The 16th century also saw seven Lollard dissenters burned at the stake in the town. A memorial was built in 1931.

Amersham was a transit point for goods travelling between London and the north during the 1800s.

Amersham-on-the-hill was Amersham Common, until the arrival of the railway in the 1890s, with the commercial center of the town shifting to it by the mid 20th century. Dr Challoners Grammar School, originally a 16th foundation relocating from Old Amersham in 1905.

Since the 1960s Amersham has rapidly been growing into a charming little town on the outskirts of London.

By road
Amersham is well connected to the local road network, and can be reached by leaving the Motorway network at the nearby towns of Beaconsfield (M40), Chorleywood (M25) and Hemel Hempstead (M1).

By bus

 * Local buses connect with High Wycombe, Watford and Hemel Hempstead.

By bicycle

 * National Cycle Route 57 (Farmington, Gloucestershire near Northleach to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire) runs through Chesham 3 miles N of Amersham.
 * There is a good network of Regional Cycle Routes (e.g. 3 and 30) and Local Cycle Routes around the town connecting the town to National Cycle Route 6 (London to Lake District) 9 miles SW of Amersham.

Get around
The town is small enough to get around on foot.

See

 * Old Amersham's High Street with 16-19th century buildings and market square - see Buy.
 * The Countryside, nearby woods include the woods behind 51 Copperkins Lane, the end of Deep Acres and Penn Woods
 * Old Amersham's High Street with 16-19th century buildings and market square - see Buy.
 * The Countryside, nearby woods include the woods behind 51 Copperkins Lane, the end of Deep Acres and Penn Woods
 * Old Amersham's High Street with 16-19th century buildings and market square - see Buy.
 * The Countryside, nearby woods include the woods behind 51 Copperkins Lane, the end of Deep Acres and Penn Woods

Do

 * Go walking, cycling or riding in the countryside
 * A touring fairground visits the old Amersham High Street in mid to late September. This is a modern continuation of a charter fair.
 * A touring fairground visits the old Amersham High Street in mid to late September. This is a modern continuation of a charter fair.
 * A touring fairground visits the old Amersham High Street in mid to late September. This is a modern continuation of a charter fair.
 * A touring fairground visits the old Amersham High Street in mid to late September. This is a modern continuation of a charter fair.

Eat

 * Chalfont Oriental, which, despite its name, is in Amersham.
 * Chalfont Oriental, which, despite its name, is in Amersham.
 * Chalfont Oriental, which, despite its name, is in Amersham.

In nearby Little Chalfont there are two excellent Chinese takeaways/restaurants- Chalfont Dynasty, and Meng House.

Sleep

 * Many other hotels hidden away in Amersham
 * Many other hotels hidden away in Amersham

Go next
Nearby towns and large villages of interest include;
 * Beaconsfield (pronounced beck-ons-fee-eld)
 * Chesham
 * Little Chalfont
 * Chorleywood
 * Chalfont St. Giles and Chalfont St.Peter
 * Rickmansworth
 * High Wycombe
 * Great Missenden
 * Wendover
 * Watford