Dorchester - Dorchester visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Dorchester' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Oxfordshire.

Known fully as Dorchester-on-Thames, Dorchester in Oxfordshire is a small village on the river Thame, one of the tributary streams to the River Thames. Historically, Dorchester-on-Thames is a very ancient settlement with Neolithic sites and both Bronze and Iron age fortifications.

Surrounded on three sides by river, and navigable via the River Thames, Dorchester held an important strategic position. During Roman times a 'viscus' (fort) was built here, linked to the larger military town of Alchester (close to modern day Bicester) 30 miles away by a Roman road.

Dorchester played an important role in the Christian heritage of Britain, as it was here that St Birinus first introduced Christianity to southern England in 635AD. Today, Dorchester has a very large church for such a small village. This used to be part of Dorchester Abbey of Augustinian canons, but the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII leaving the church behind. The Abbey has recently been used for the Dorchester Festival.

Dorchester-on-Thames - Tourist Attractions

Some of the top tourist attractions in and around Dorchester include:

• Dorchester Abbey - 12th century Abbey Church with one of the finest 14th century Jesse windows in England and one of the earliest coloured glass windows known.
• Day's Lock - lock on the River Thames and site of the annual World Poohsticks Championship.
• Dorchester High Street - picturesque high street lined with numerous period buildings.
• Dorchester Museum - contained within Dorchester Abbey with a history of the village and surroundings.
• Church Meadow, Little Wittenham Nature Reserve - nature reserve managed by the Northmoor Trust in Little Wittenham.
• Wittenham Clumps and Castle Hill - hill on which there is an ancient hill fort in the Sinodun Hills, where there is also a good panoramic viewpoint on the top of the hill.
Thames Path Walk - Dorchester is on the Thames Path Walk and is surrounded by lovely countryside, the path leads north west to Oxford and south to Wallingford.
• Little Writtenham Woods - public woods with various walks just south of Dorchester, next to the Sidonun Hills.
• Dorchester Roman Road Walk - walk the path of the Romans along the ancient Roman Road which heads north out of Dorchester and is now a public right of way through the surrounding fields.
• Festivals - Dorchester-on-Thames hosts the annual Dorchester Festival and the English Music Festival (EMF).

Dorchester in Oxfordshire is not to be confused with Dorchester, the county town of Dorset near the south coast of England.

Bus: Local buses stop at Dorchester Abbey and Malthouse Lane.
Car: Dorchester-on-Thames lies off the A4074 about 10 miles south of Oxford and 18 miles north of Reading.
Train: The nearest train stations are Didcot Station (7 miles), Appleford Station (7 milies) and Culham Station (5.6 miles).