Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a market town in Hampshire. It has been around since the Domesday Book, but was developed as a 'new town', one of several constructed in the 1950s to accommodate overspill population from London. Throughout the 1970s and 80s it was often considered a joke 'dull' town with nothing to offer and had very little to entertain any visitors unless they were into trainspotting or roundabouts. Itis alleged that Basingstoke has the highest number of roundabouts per head population of any UK town, but it's probably no longer true!

21st-century redevelopment of the town centre has seen the growth of a huge shopping area, lots of restaurants and new cinemas and theatre. Basingstoke, it seems, has grown up!

Local information

 * Basingstoke Council website

By train


Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.

By car
Alternatively the town is conveniently situated for the M3 motorway (US English: freeway) also from London to Southampton and is about one hours drive from both. The A33 links the town with Reading and the M4. The A303 (which terminates at Junction 8 of the M3) links Basingstoke with the West Country.

By foot
Basingstoke has a decently-sized town centre including a shopping centre, cinema and variety of pubs and restaurants all walking distance from the train or bus station. Furthermore, there is a leisure park on the western side of town including an ice rink and cinema that's also walking distance, albeit crossing a few busy main roads.

By bus
Basingstoke is well served by buses. The central bus station is situated in the town center and most buses stop at the station. The buses are regular and serve most outlying areas of the town. Indeed the buses are efficient and the bus stops clearly marked

By car
Basingstoke is easy to drive around and the town center does not suffer from much congestion (except for at peak times). There is ample parking in both 'Top of Town' and Festival Place and the town's ring road (called 'Ringway') makes it easy to access any part of Basingstoke without much trouble.

The Park and Ride facility is served by three Centre Shuttle buses, see National Park and Ride Directory

Eat
The Basingstoke area has many restaurants of different types and costs and it clearly isn't possible to list them all here.

Connect
Basingstoke's area code (for landline numbers) is 01256 when dialed from within the UK or +44 1256 from outside the UK.

Go next

 * Farnborough, birthplace of flying in the United Kingdom.
 * Winchester, a nearby ancient cathedral city with lots to see.