The very first edition of ‘This week in West Berks’ comes from the beautiful village of Yattendon, a small village 6 miles north-east of Newbury in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Yattendon Estate in its present form is the amalgamation of several smaller estates acquired by the first Lord Iliffe between 1925 and 1940.
Yattendon has a long history of agriculture and the Estate was a pioneer in the UK Christmas Tree industry from the 1970s until present day.
For a small village, there’s certainly a lot going on, as well as some of the most picturesque countryside views.
The village hosts a Church of England primary school with approximately 100 pupils.
The village church, St Peter & St Paul, which dates back to around 1450, sits proudly in the centre of the village.
The village shop is one of the most important parts of the village, and has been especially invaluable to local people during the COVID:19 lockdown. There has been a shop in Yattendon village since the 1600s and it now also includes a Post Office counter. The shop sells a range of locally made produce, including some made in Yattendon itself.
The village square also hosts The Pantry, a café & kitchen which serves delicious homemade cakes, as well as breakfast & lunches. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, The Pantry has had to close. But it has recently reopened on Thursday, Friday & Saturdays, offering a take-away menu through the safety of the bay window!
And no village square would be complete without a pub! And Yattendon proudly hosts The Royal Oak, which features a wonderful pub garden out the back. Obviously the pub is currently closed due to COVID:19 but I’m looking forward to hopefully being able to have a drink in the garden there soon!
Lots of people may well have heard about Yattendon (without ever visiting) for one of two reasons. 1) The West Berkshire Brewery. And 2) Christmas trees!
The brewery is an award winning business which has been operating in the village since 1995. It has operated from a number of different village locations over the years as it has expanded, with it’s most recent move to the old village dairy farm at the end of 2017. From the same site, the brewery also operates a tap room, serving drinks & food all week. The taproom is obviously currently closed but you are still able to order & collect beers from the brewery’s own shop.
As I mentioned earlier, the Yattendon Estate were pioneers in the UK Christmas tree market. This side of the estate is still very much thriving today & people travel far & wide to the village in December to pick their trees! There are numerous walks around the area amongst the Christmas tree fields & it’s really rather wonderful to see fields full of them, especially when the sun is shining!
The village hosts a number of events every year (using both it’s village hall & tithe barn – also available for private hire), in particular it’s village fete in May. Sadly, this year will not being going ahead but I’m sure it’ll be back in all it’s glory in 2021!
Yattendon village is well worth a visit & really offers something to everyone, whether you’re after fantastic food & drink, or a beautiful walk in the countryside.
All pictures in this blog belong to the creator - Helen Noakes @westberksevents
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