ENGLAND Bridge Villa Camping and Caravan Park, Oxfordshire
This friendly, family-run site is situated in the village of Crowmarsh Gifford, just a short stroll from the River Thames.
Cross the 19 stone arches of the semi-medieval bridge and you're in Wallingford, one of the locations for British crime drama series, Midsomer Murders. It's a lovely little market town offering historical interest and peaceful riverside walks, not to mention a variety of independent shops, antique stores, pubs, restaurants and cafés.
Having lived locally for many years, the site owners have a wealth of knowledge for local walks and attractions. On their recommendation, we walked along the Thames Path to Benson Lock and Weir, which offers wonderful views along the river.
We also visited Wallingford Museum to see the scale model of Wallingford Castle, as it would have looked in 1330. The castle was demolished in 1652, but remnants still exist as ruins and earthworks in Castle Gardens. The ninth century earth ramparts around the Kinecroft (a green historically used for grazing cattle) also give a hint of the town in earlier centuries.
The Bridge Villa site provides easy access to Henley-on-Thames, Windsor, the university city of Oxford and the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It's also just five miles down the road from Nuffield Place, the former home of Lord and Lady Nuffield. Lord Nuffield was a bicycle mechanic made good; he became
