Area Guide

Basingstoke is a fantastic town to live in with a blend of modern amenities combined with a rich heritage. Its market was even mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Surrounded by countryside and tranquil villages, this large and thriving town is located in North Hampshire.

Its prime location in the centre of the South allows you to arrive in London Waterloo via a fast train service or drive to the coast within an hour. In addition, within a short drive you have access to Reading, Newbury and the historic city of Winchester.

Although there is evidence proving people have been living in the Basingstoke area since around 3000 BC, Basingstoke had remained a small market town until the 1960’s when expansion began. This expansion started after Hampshire County Council agreed to provide housing to help meet the shortage in London created by bombing during the Second World War. Many towns in the Southeast were expanded or created during this process and those areas were dubbed the London ‘overspill’.

Basingstoke has continued to grow since and as such has a diverse mix of residential housing from Victorian terraces to modern detached family homes. There is substantial expansion planned which should continue to allow Basingstoke to be a popular destination for anyone looking to purchase a brand new property for years to come.

Basingstoke has a strong local economy with high levels of employment. The town’s commercial sector is very diverse with a range of successful local, regional, national and international companies calling Basingstoke home. In fact, some global household names have bases here including The AA, Fyffes, Taylor Made Golf, Sony, BNP Paribas, Mars, Motorola, Sun Life of Canada and Fujitsu. Basingstoke is also one of the top digital economies outside of London and has been rated in the top 10 most affluent towns in the UK.

Basingstoke has a number of public Infant, Junior and Senior Schools as well as two colleges. There are also a number of renowned private schools in the area.

Please see a link to a website below where you can find out more information about the schools in the area.

School Catchment Area Checker To Compare Schools | Best School Guide

Basingstoke has many amenities for its residents and plenty to do. The Town Centre offers pavement cafés, bistros and bars as well as one of the South’s best shopping centres, Festival Place. It also offers plenty of entertainment with a cinema, the popular Willis Museum and two theatres, The Anvil and The Haymarket.

Alongside the Town Centre there is a Leisure Park, which offers ice skating, bowling, swimming, indoor skydiving and another cinema. At the Leisure park you will also find the fascinating Milestones Museum, where you can walk through Victorian and 1930s streets and discover what everyday life was like back then.

If you enjoy cooking and are looking for local produce, there are a number of farm shops in the area including Cobbs Farm Shop, Laverstoke Park Farm Shop and Wellington Farm Shop as well as a Market in the Town Centre twice a week.

During the summer, Basingstoke has an annual arts and entertainment festival, which ends with the B LOVE music festival. Throughout the year Basingstoke also plays host to an annual Kite Festival, Oktoberfest (Beer festival) and a Transport Festival.

If you love watching local sport, you can watch:

Football with Basingstoke Town FC – btfc.co.uk
Rugby with Basingstoke RFC Basingstoke RFC Ltd
Ice Hockey with Basingstoke Bison iceaccount.co.uk

There are many other clubs involved in numerous other sports to watch or get involved in.

Basingstoke and the popular villages that surround it, are home to numerous significantly important historic sites and these are some you may want to visit:

The ruins of Basing House, which once rivalled Hampton Court in size and opulence until being destroyed by Oliver Cromwell, located in Old Basing. Basing House | Hampshire Cultural Trust (hampshireculture.org.uk)

The National Trusts, Grade I listed, 16th-century estate and country house The Vyne, located near Sherborne St John. The Vyne | Hampshire | National Trust

The Roman town called Calleva Atrebatu, located in Silchester, Tadley. Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre | English Heritage (englishheritage.org.uk)

The Grade I listed, 17h-century estate and country house, Highclere Castle was the backdrop for the popular Downton Abbey and has an exhibition of ancient Egyptian treasures collected by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamun, located near Newbury Highclere Castle.