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

St Mary's Church, Old Amersham

Market Hall Amersham

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.

Get in

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 train

• 1 Amersham train station, Station Approach, HP6 5AZ. Amersham station is on the Metropolitan line of the London Underground, which runs services to Aldgate via several central London stations including Baker Street and King's Cross St. Pancras. The station is also on the National Rail London to Aylesbury line with services operated by Chiltern Railways. These services terminate at London Marylebone station, which is on the London Underground Bakerloo line. (updated May 2017)

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

Gilbert Scott Court, Amersham Old Town

• 1 St Mary's Church, Church St, Old Amersham HP7 0DB. (updated May 2017)
• 2 Amersham Museum, 49 High St, Old Amersham HP7 0DP, ☏ +44 1494 723700, info@amershammuseum.org. W-Su noon-4:30PM. (updated May 2017)
• 3 The Martyrs Memorial (Footpath from St. Mary's Church, or footpath (slightly over grown) from Station Rd.). (updated May 2017)
• 4 River Misbourne. A chalk steam which runs along the side of the Old Town (updated May 2017)
• 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
• 1 The Chiltern Pools & Gym, Bensheim Way, Chiltern Ave, Amersham HP6 5AH, ☏ +44 1494 788900. Centre (different activities have different hours) M-F 5:30AM-10PM; Sa 7AM-7:30PM; Su 7AM-7:30PM. Gym, studio, pools, climbing wall (updated May 2017)
• 2 Theatre on the Hill (Buckinghamshire College, Amersham Campus), toll-free: +44 1494 585 286, boxoffice@amersham.ac.uk. Professional-standard theatre at high school drama prices! (updated May 2017)
• Chiltern Heritage Trail Hampden Route. 25 mi (40 km) circular cycle route (updated Jun 2017)
• A touring fairground visits the old Amersham High Street in mid to late September. This is a modern continuation of a charter fair.

Buy

• 1 Old Amersham Market, Market Sq, Amersham HP7 0DG, ☏ +44 1494 434000, admin@amersham-tc.gov.uk. Oct-Mar: Sa 8AM-3:30PM; Apr-Sept: Sa 8AM-4PM. Saturday covered market. (updated May 2017)
• 2 Tesco, London Rd West, Amersham HP7 0HA, ☏ +44 345 677 9000. M 6AM-midnight; Tu-Sa 24hr; Su 10AM-4PM. Supermarket, petrol & pharmacy (different hours); ATMs. (updated May 2017)
• 3 Little Waitrose, 46 Sycamore Rd, Amersham HP6 5DR, ☏ +44 1494 433434. M-Sa 7:30AM-9PM; Su 10AM-4PM. Convenience store. (updated May 2017)
• 4 M&S Simply Food, 38-40 Sycamore Rd, Amersham, HP6 5DR, ☏ +44 1494 726214. M-Sa 8AM-9PM; Su 10AM-4PM. (updated May 2017)
• 5 The Entertainer, 2 Sycamore Rd, Amersham HP6 5DR, ☏ +44 844 800 5101 (premium). M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM. Small, but well established and respected toy retailer. (updated Jun 2017)
• 6 Fox's at Mountain Warehouse, 1 London Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP7 OHE. M-Sa 9AM-6PM; Su 10AM-4PM. Outdoor leisure clothing, and equipment store. (updated Jun 2017)

Eat

• 1 Amersham Fish Bar, 11 Woodside Rd, Amersham HP6 6AA, ☏ +44 1494 724022. M-Sa 11:30AM-11PM; Su 11AM-11PM. Take-away. (updated May 2017)
• 2 Tom Yum, 101 Sycamore Rd, Amersham HP6 5EJ, ☏ +44 1494 728806. M-Th noon-3:30PM & 6PM-10PM; F Sa noon-3:30PM & 6PM-10:30PM; Su noon-3:30PM & 6PM-9PM. Thai restaurant. (updated May 2017)
• 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.

Drink

The Kings Arms

• 1 The Pomeroy, 131 White Lion Rd, Little Chalfont HP7 9JY, ☏ +44 1494 766845, bun207071@mbplc.com. M-F noon-11PM; Sa 9AM-11PM; Su 9AM-10:30PM. Pub & restaurant. (updated May 2017)
• 2 The White Lion, White Lion Rd, Little Chalfont HP7 9LJ, ☏ +44 1494 762579, thewhitelion.amersham@stonegatepubs.com. Pub: M-Sa 11AM-11PM; Su noon-10:30PM. Food: M-Th noon-9PM; F Sa noon-9:30PM; Su noon-9PM. Pub & food. (updated May 2017)
• 3 The Beech House, 16 Hill Ave, HP6 5BW, ☏ +44 1494 412 261. (updated Jul 2022)

Old Amersham

• 4 The Eagle, 145 High St, HP7 0DY (Old Amersham), ☏ +44 1494 725262. M-W 12:00-11PM; Th-Sa noon-11:30PM; Su noon-10:30PM. Pub & food. (updated May 2017)
• 5 Elephant & Castle, 97 High St, HP7 0DT (Old Amersham), ☏ +44 1494 721049. Pub: M-Th 11AM-11PM; F 11AM-midnight; Sa 10AM-midnight; Su 10AM-10:30PM. Food: M-F noon-10PM; Sa 11AM-10PM; Su 11AM-9:30PM. Pub & food. (updated May 2017)
• 6 Kings Arms Hotel, 30 High St, HP7 0DJ, ☏ +44 1494 725 722. (updated Jul 2022)

Sleep

• 1 Crown Hotel, 16 High St, Old Amersham HP7 0DH, ☏ +44 1494 721541. Has a restaurant. (updated May 2017)
• Many other hotels hidden away in Amersham
• 2 The Ldge (B&B), Manor Barn, North Rd, Amersham HP6 5NA, ☏ +44 1494 261929, enquiries@lodgeatmanorbarn.co.uk. Free Wi-Fi. Single occupancy from £85; Double occupancy from £95. (updated May 2017)
• 3 The Saracen’s Head Inn, 38 Whielden St, Amersham HP7 0HU, ☏ +44 1494 721958, bookings@thesaracensheadinn.com. Hotel, Bar & Restaurant Single £79; Double/twin £99. (updated May 2017)

Connect

• 1 Post Office, 1 - 2 Sycamore Place, Hill Ave, Amersham HP6 5BG. M-Sa 8AM-6PM. (updated May 2017)

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

Routes through Amersham

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