Banbury

Banbury is a market town in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire. It is known for the nursery rhyme "Ride-a-cock-horse" (shown on the right) and Banbury cakes. The local football team is Banbury United and they play at the Spencer stadium.

By car
Due to the building of the M40 motorway, Banbury is now a town with good industry. It is now one of the major commuter towns for London, Oxford, Solihull and Birmingham. The M40 also provides local residents access to the Midlands and the southeast.

Hennef Way (A422) was upgraded to a dual carriageway easing traffic on the heavily congested road and providing better links to north Banbury and the town centre from the M40.

By bus
Banbury has an inter-urban bus service provided by Stagecoach Group which feeds the outlying villages and provides transport to places such as Oxford, Chipping Norton and Brackley.

By train

 * Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain.

has rail services run by Chiltern Railways to London Marylebone, Warwick, Kidderminster and Birmingham Moor Street / Snow Hill via the non-electrified Chiltern Main Line.

It also has direct services run by First Great Western to Oxford, Reading and London Paddington.

Services to other parts of the country are provided by CrossCountry via Birmingham New Street, to Cardiff, Bristol, Gloucester, Leicester, Stansted, as well as direct services to other cities across England and Scotland.

Get around
In addition to longer distance services, Stagecoach also operate local bus services within the town, whose route numbers begin with the letter "B". Most single journeys cost £2.20 with a day ticket available for £3.40 covering just Banbury (more expensive options cover rural areas as well).

There are also a number of taxi companies who operate in the town.



Supermarkets
Three of the big four supermarkets:



Eat
The town's own delicacy are the Banbury cakes – small, flat pastry cakes filled with currants, zest and spices.

Drink
Thursday nights in Banbury are the well-known "Student Night", but have declined in popularity. Banbury is still busy with a slightly older crowd on a Friday, and is always generally busy on a Saturday.

Pubs and bars
Many of the town's recommended pubs and bars are found on Parson's Street.


 * The Bar With No Name- No one is ever in this bar.
 * Wetherspoons Sound Exchange. Underneath 2 of Banbury's clubs, good location.
 * The Bar With No Name- No one is ever in this bar.
 * Wetherspoons Sound Exchange. Underneath 2 of Banbury's clubs, good location.
 * The Bar With No Name- No one is ever in this bar.
 * Wetherspoons Sound Exchange. Underneath 2 of Banbury's clubs, good location.
 * Wetherspoons Sound Exchange. Underneath 2 of Banbury's clubs, good location.

Go next
Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby


 * Oxford, the heart of the county and the home of the oldest English-speaking university
 * Bicester, market town, most well known for its Bicester Village outlet
 * Chipping Norton, an ancient market town
 * Woodstock, home of Blenheim Palace, 'the English Versailles' and the birthplace of Churchill
 * Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of Shakespeare.