About rural Berkshire

Berkshire, often associated with royal estates and Thames-side towns, also contains a surprisingly broad sweep of rural countryside. Still officially known as the Royal County of Berkshire, its rural areas stretch from the rolling chalk of the Berkshire Downs to the wooded riverbanks and green lanes of West Berkshire — a landscape both worked and admired for generations.

The Berkshire Downs, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are home to sheep farms and arable fields, with wide, open views and ancient trackways crisscrossing the ridges. Villages like Aldworth and East Ilsley lie at the heart of sheep-farming country, their roots tied to medieval droving and seasonal fairs.

Further north and west, the farmland around Lambourn and Hungerford supports mixed agriculture, including thoroughbred horse training — the area is known as England’s “Valley of the Racehorse.” Paddocks, gallops, and country estates sit alongside fields of barley and maize, and many local businesses support a rural economy rooted in both tradition and sport.

Wooded valleys and meadows frame rivers like the Pang and the Kennet, while farm shops, conservation trusts, and rural schools continue to anchor communities in places like Yattendon and Inkpen.

Berkshire’s countryside may be close to London, but its fields, farms, and quiet lanes remain grounded in an older, enduring rural life.