Why This English Village Is So Special | Hamstead Norreys

Three villages. Two ancient churches. One abandoned railway. One lost WWII airfield. And more village pubs than any sensible bike ride should include. All on the same loop. THE RIDE This is one continuous ride through the quietest corner of West Berkshire — Hamstead Norreys, Hermitage, and Cold Ash — and everything hidden between them. HAMSTEAD NORREYS The old railway — Eling Way — hasn't seen a passenger train since the Beeching cuts, but the trackbed still slices through the fields as a cycling path. You can ride where the steam engines ran. St Mary the Virgin has stood here for nine centuries — the drone reveals the full Norman layout in a way you can't see from the ground. And then Compton VR: a WWII airfield abandoned so completely that most Berkshire residents have never heard of it. No signposts. No memorial. Just cracked tarmac and silence. HERMITAGE Trinity Church anchors the village — a Victorian parish church with a steeple you can see from the lanes long before you reach it. And the pubs are woven into the landscape, the way English village pubs always are — names that have been on those signs for longer than anyone remembers. COLD ASH The lanes narrow. The trees close in. And you end up in a village so quiet you can hear the rooks. Pure Berkshire, untouched. Three villages. One loop. More history than you'd expect — and more pubs. 0:00 — 🚂 Eling Way: Cycling the Abandoned Railway 01:02 — 🏡 Newbury Hill & Streamside Cottages (Water Street) 04:00 — ⛪ Church Street & St Mary the Virgin 04:48 — 👑 The White Hart Pub: Henry VIII’s Brutal Betrayal 05:42 — ⏰ The Historic Clock Tower at Wyld Court (Newbury RDA) 06:06 — ✈️ Compton VR: The Lost WWII Airfield & Heathrow Tower 07:16 — 🏹 Medieval Arrow-Sharpening Stones (Church Return) 07:43 — 🚁 Drone View: 900-Year-Old Norman Layout 09:38 — 👑 Trinity Church: Queen Adelaide's Hidden Royal Secret 10:34 — 🚴‍♂️ Burning Legs: The Cold Ash Hill Climb 10:46 — 🌲 Downe House Estate: Darwin & Royal Alumni 12:00 — ⛪ Cold Ash Ridge & St Mark’s Church 12:23 — 🍺 Historic Ridge Pubs: The Castle Inn & Spotted Dog 📍 Route: Hamstead Norreys → Hermitage → Cold Ash 🚴 Surface: country lanes, old railway trackbed 📍 County: West Berkshire, England 🚴 Subscribe for more cycling through England's forgotten places — medieval churches, abandoned railways, lost airfields, and the pub at the end of every good ride. #cycling #abandonedplaces #medievalvillage #berkshire #cyclinguk #virtualbikeride #villagepubs #englishchurch #bikeride #englishcountryside #ukcycling #WWIIhistory #lostairfield #abandonedrailway #hiddenhistory 🚁 BOOK DRONE & PROPERTY VIDEO: Need cinematic 4K footage or professional photography for your property? 🔗 Book your session here:   / olgapropertyphoto   🖼️ VISIT MY PRINT SHOP: Own a piece of British heritage. High-quality prints of this shot are available now: 🛒 Shop the collection: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Grey...