Top 15 Attractions and Activities in Amersham, Buckinghamshire

The market town of Amersham is located in Buckinghamshire, nestled within the rolling landscape of the Chiltern Hills.

The contemporary part of Amersham, known as Amersham on the Hill, rests on an elevated plateau, while the charming Old Amersham is situated below, in the valley of the River Misbourne.

The High Street in Old Amersham captivates visitors with its half-timbered Medieval houses, storied coaching inns, and elegant Georgian facades, alongside the 17th-century Market Hall, which continues to host a small market on Saturdays.

Families can explore numerous summer activities around Amersham, such as the world’s oldest model village, a museum dedicated to Roald Dahl, and an outdoor museum featuring over 30 buildings that have been relocated from various locations around the Chilterns.

1. The Chilterns

Amersham is situated within a chalk hill range, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Chilterns are characterized by gentle, grassy hills interspersed with patches of woodland, clear chalk streams, farms, and quaint villages ideal for pub lunches.

Old Amersham is positioned along one such chalk stream, the River Misbourne. A 10-mile walk can be taken from the High Street through the Misbourne Valley via the “Paradise Regained” trail.

This route, named after John Milton’s poem, guides you past the cottage where Milton found refuge during the plague.

At the former Chalfont Mill, visitors can pause to appreciate the clear river, its abundant brown trout, and various bird species such as teals and snipes along its marshy banks.

By car, you can quickly access numerous natural lookouts, walking trails, and historic estates from Amersham, a selection of which is detailed below.

2. Old Amersham High Street

Old Amersham High Street is one of the most picturesque sights throughout the Chilterns.

Both sides of the street feature historic facades in an array of styles, including 18th-century stucco and brick, Medieval timber frames, and a row of gables at the eastern end.

Here, you will find the Baroque Market Hall, constructed in 1692 and funded by the Drake family.

Old Amersham was incorporated into the stagecoach network until the advent of rail travel. An example of a coaching inn, the King’s Arms Hotel (No.30), dates back to the 1400s.

The façade of this establishment appears in Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994), which features a romantic scene between Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, filmed nearby at the Crown Hotel.

3. Amersham Museum

Visitors can enter one of the fine historical properties located on Old Amersham High Street, as the local museum is housed within a 15th-century half-timbered structure.

The Amersham Museum was recently renovated and re-opened in the summer of 2017, featuring an updated layout and new spaces for activities and temporary exhibitions.

The medieval beams of the museum are now more prominent than ever, and a serene herb garden that has been enhanced for wheelchair accessibility is located in the rear.

Exhibits include numerous artifacts, and multimedia tablets provide access to the full archive.

Additionally, historic tools from farming and trades such as brewing, furniture-making, shoe-repair, and lace-making are displayed, alongside fossils from the chalk and medieval and Roman discoveries.

4. St Mary’s Church

The Grade I-listed Medieval church in Old Amersham dates back to the 1200s, with subsequent modifications made a century later.

The exterior was modified during a restoration in 1890 when it was refaced with ashlar limestone and knapped flint.

A chapel dedicated to the Drake family is located on the north side.

Both this chapel and the chancel contain an impressive collection of funerary monuments, including brass effigies from the 1400s and exquisite sculptures, many commissioned for members of the Drake family.

In the churchyard extension rests Ruth Ellis (1926-1955), the last woman executed in the UK; unfortunately, her headstone was destroyed by her son in 1982.

5. Amersham Memorial Gardens/Church Mead

Located behind the High Street, there exists a charming garden dedicated to Amersham’s servicemen and women who perished in the two World Wars.

The paths within the garden converge at a central fountain, bordered by vibrant flowerbeds that burst into color during spring and summer, adorned with special designs.

For instance, in 2018, a 3D display of First World War machinery was created to commemorate the centennial of the conflict’s conclusion.

The garden features a clear view of St Mary’s Church tower from the seating areas.

Concerts featuring brass and jazz bands are held every other Sunday from May to September within these gardens.

Visitors can also take a leisurely stroll next to the River Misbourne via Church Mead, which offers lawns and ample tree shade.

6. Chenies Manor House

Primarily utilized as a wedding venue, this 16th-century brick mansion is open for visits from April to October on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Chenies Manor House was constructed between 1530 and 1550, built upon the foundations of an older Medieval structure, with vaulted ceilings in the undercroft predating the current building.

For centuries, this estate was owned by the Bedford family, who welcomed both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I during the 16th century.

The house features a stepped gable and 23 tall chimney stacks.

Inside, visitors can view a suspected priest hole (a hiding place for Catholic clergy) along with the historic undercroft.

Exterior grounds include a sunken garden, Victorian kitchen garden, white garden, and a physic garden complete with a yew maze.

The manor also houses a shop, café, and art gallery, all of which merit a visit.

7. Old Amersham Market Hall

As a contribution to the town, Sir William Drake financed the construction of the Market Hall in Old Amersham, which was completed in 1682. From the street, visitors can discern Drake’s coat of arms along with his initials, W. D. The upper level was intended for meetings, such as those held by traders’ guilds, while the round-headed arcade on the ground floor remains in use for markets today.

The hall features quoins at the corners and a cupola atop a conical roof, capped with a gilded ball.

Notably, the old town lock-up can be found on the east side, where individuals causing disturbances (usually intoxicated) would be confined overnight.

Above this entrance is a stone with the inscription “Commit no nuisance,” and a historic water pump from 1785 is located on the east wall.

8. Chiltern Open Air Museum

Established in 1976, this nearby museum has successfully rescued 30 historic or culturally significant buildings and relocated them to a pastoral Chiltern setting amidst woods, an Arts and Crafts garden, wartime allotments, and orchards of apple and cherry trees.

Buildings relocated to the museum include Nissen huts from both World Wars, a farmhouse with animals, an earthen cottage, a blacksmith’s forge, a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse, and a Victorian toll house.

The museum operates from late March to late October, during which it hosts a variety of events and activities that bring the old buildings to life.

Demonstrations of medieval weaponry, lambing during spring, re-enactments of Roman gladiators and Tudor courts, a Pagan May Day celebration, and an autumn harvest festival are some activities that take place throughout the season.

Due to its assortment of historic structures and scenic backdrop, the museum has served as a filming location for productions such as Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey.

9. Milton’s Cottage

An important part of English literary history is located near the Open Air Museum in the village of Chalfont St Giles.

This 16th-century timber-framed cottage served as the residence for the 17th-century poet John Milton during the plague pandemic in London in 1665.

In that period, despite being blind, Milton worked on his most acclaimed poems, completing Paradise Lost and beginning Paradise Regained.

The cottage’s ground floor has been preserved as a writer’s house museum, featuring a remarkable collection of 17th-century first editions of Milton’s works.

The museum is open for visitation in the afternoons from Wednesday to Saturday and boasts a garden that is reminiscent of its appearance in the 1660s.

10. Bekonscot Model Village

The world’s oldest original model village is located within striking distance of Amersham.

Established in 1929, Bekonscot features a majority of its model buildings from the 1930s.

The village was never intended as a tourist destination; rather, it developed as a passion project for accountant Roland Callingham.

Bekonscot attracted national interest in the 1930s through newsreels, resulting in an influx of visitors curious to explore Callingham’s miniature world.

The village serves as a perfect time capsule for rural England during the interwar years, spanning 1.5 acres and featuring six individual settlements, including castles, farms, mines, docks, cable-cars, and aerodromes.

Over nearly nine decades, multiple model-makers and landscape gardeners have contributed their own enhancements to the village.

In addition to the meticulous village scenes, a Gauge 1 model railway traverses 10 scale miles of track, passing through tunnels and ravines, across stations, and over bridges.

11. Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

Traveling by train to Great Missenden, just ten minutes away, allows visitors to explore the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, which celebrated the renowned children’s author who resided there from 1954 until his passing in 1990. The museum opened its doors in 2005 in a former coaching inn.

Targeting children aged 6 to 12, similar to Dahl’s stories, the museum simultaneously provides insights into significant moments from his life for adults.

Guests can learn how Dahl’s adventurous real-life experiences influenced his writings and view manuscripts, notebooks, and letters exchanged with friends and professional contacts.

Children are encouraged to engage creatively, using their imagination to craft stories, and can participate in workshops focused on painting and various crafts.

12. Village of Jordans

This quaint village, home to 700 residents and located south of Amersham, was established by Quakers in the 1600s.

One of the oldest Friends Meeting Houses (the place of worship for the Quaker faith) is still operational in Jordans, dating back to 1688. Much of its brickwork, windows, wooden panelling, and benches have been preserved from that era.

The Meeting House cemetery also serves as the burial site for William Penn (1644-1718), the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.

A statue of Penn is famously featured atop Philadelphia City Hall.

13. Penn Wood

Located four miles west of Amersham, Penn Wood offers visitors a glimpse of unaltered Chiltern Hills terrain, preserved for centuries.

This ancient woodland represents one of the largest untouched areas within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it was once a vast expanse of common land.

Adhering to traditional forest management techniques, a herd of cows grazes in Penn Wood to sustain the habitat.

The best time to explore the area is during April and May when the forest floor becomes blanketed with thousands of bluebells.

Amidst the treetops in the glades, you may spot a buzzard or red kite soaring overhead.

14. Amersham Fair Organ Museum

Situated in an unmarked warehouse on Amersham’s industrial estate, this unique museum may appear unassuming at first glance.

Visits are limited to open days, which are scheduled for the first Sunday of each month.

Entry is complimentary, and upon entering, you will find ample seating in the hall, with an array of ornate organs performing at the sides.

Many of these organs feature intricate painted automatons that move synchronously with the music.

These instruments, operated by punched cards, would have journeyed across the nation with fairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, designed by manufacturers such as Wilhelm Bruder Söhne, the Weber Brothers, Marenghi, and Gavioli.

Although admission is free, donations are welcomed, and refreshments, including hot beverages and cake, are available for purchase.

15. Amersham Market

A street market is held on Sycamore Road in Amersham on Tuesdays, which is worth a visit if in town.

However, the market to experience is the Saturday market, located beneath the Old Amersham Market Hall.

Although small, it is delightful to witness this historical space continue to facilitate trade, 330 years after its establishment.

Up to ten stalls are present, offering homemade cakes and biscuits, crafts, antiques, plants, and second-hand books and magazines.