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Unassuming BUCKINGHAM is tucked into a sharp bend in the River Ouse
about twenty-five miles northeast of Oxford. It became the county town
of Buckinghamshire in the tenth century and flourished during medieval
times, but it was bypassed by the Industrial Revolution and remained a
forgotten backwater until a recent wave of incomers created the modern
suburbs that surround it today. The town centre is at its prettiest
along the wide, sloping Market Hill, standing in the middle of which is
the Old Gaol , a chunky, stone structure that is home to the tourist
office and a modest, local history museum (Mon-Sat 10am-4pm; £1.50).
Otherwise, Buckingham is short on sights, though you might take a peek
inside the sombre Churchof St Peter and St Paul , which perches on the
hill where the castle once stood - take Castle Street from the west end
of Market Hill and you can't miss it.
There's no train service to Buckingham, but there are bus links from
neighbouring towns, principally Milton Keynes. Buses stop on the High
Street a few yards from the tourist office in the Old Gaol (July & Aug
Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm; rest of year closed Sun; tel
01280/823020). They have a small supply of B&Bs , which they will book
on your behalf, or you can target Buckingham's best hotel , the Villiers
, which occupies an imaginatively modernized old inn bang in the centre
of town at 3 Castle St (tel 01280/822444; £110-150). Most of the rooms
flank the courtyard to the rear of the main building and each is
decorated in smart modern style. The best spot for food is the Dipalee
Indian Restaurant (tel 01280/813151), just along Castle Street from the
hotel and with a good range of dishes; main courses average about £7.
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