A guide to transport in and around Shiplake, Oxfordshire

Travelling on foot from Shiplake, Oxfordshire

Living in Shiplake, you’re perfectly placed to enjoy the countryside and to travel on foot or by bike.  There’s a network of paths taking in some of Oxfordshire’s finest scenery and, of course, the River Thames which flows through the valley. 

Shiplake has a whole range of local facilities, with the distances listed, all of which were measured from Beechcroft’s Manor Gardens development and using the AA route map planner.

• Shiplake Station  -  0.77 miles

• Shiplake Corner Shop and Post Office  -  1.0 mile

• Tesco Superstore  -  1.0 mile

• Shiplake Butchers  -  1.1 miles

• Royal House Dental Centre  -  1.2 miles

• The Bell Surgery, Henley on Thames  -  1.6 miles

• The Hart Surgery  -  1.6 miles

• Townlands Memorial Hospital  -  1.4 miles

• Franco Belge Heritage Bakery  -  1.7 miles

• The Henley Larder Deli  -  1.9 miles

If you’re planning to walk to Henley-on-Thames, there’s a pleasant 2.5 mile walk along the banks of the River Thames.  The walk takes in views of the water meadows, Marsh Lock and Henley’s Mill Meadows.  There’s seating along the way – as well as the River and Rowing Museum – and if you can’t face the walk back, there are plenty of other transport options.

Road links from Shiplake

If you’re heading out for a day’s retail therapy, to view a gallery or visit an attraction, Reading is also a popular destination.

Located on the Thames and the Kennet & Avon Canal, Reading has a lively arts and culture community, three shopping centres and a pedestrianised High Street populated by well-known brands as well as independent shops and there’s a whole host of places to eat and drink from cafes to fine dining venues. From Manor Gardens to the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading is approximately 7 miles, and takes less than 20 minutes in a car in good traffic.

Maidenhead, approximately 12 miles from Shiplake has its own shopping centre, a multiplex cinema, heritage centre and museum and an arts centre and theatre.  There’s also a recently built leisure centre offering a whole range of facilities.  Travelling from Shiplake to Maidenhead should take less than half an hour taking the A4130 or the A4.

Oxford is also an excellent option, located just over 26 miles from Shiplake.  Using the A4130 and the A4074, the journey takes approximately 50 minutes and it’s a slightly longer journey using the M40 motorway.

Bus services in and around Shiplake

The bus services around Shiplake provide links with Reading, High Wycombe, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow and Binfield Heath as well as numerous other villages.  The bus you’ll need is the 800 Arriva service which travels between High Wycombe bus station and Friar Street in Reading Town Centre. 

The entire journey from the former to the latter takes approximately 77 minutes, calling at Marlow, Medmentham, Henley-on-Thames, Wargrave, Twyford, North Earley,  Station Road in Lower Shiplake, Binfield Heath and Church Street in Caversham.  The bus journey from Lower Shiplake to Henley takes approximately nine minutes, traffic permitting whilst the journey to Reading takes 21 minutes.   

The Oxford Bus Company runs the new bus service, aqua 28, between central Reading and Henley-on-Thames calling at Station Road in Lower Shiplake, with some services calling at Binfield Heath.  For the timetable, please visit The Reading Buses website.

Travelling by train from Shiplake Station

Whether you’re commuting for work or pleasure, taking the train can be less stressful than struggling with the traffic, and you won’t have the stress of parking. 

Shiplake railway station is located on the Henley-on-Thames line and is managed by Great Western Railway.  It’s a single-platform station that is not staffed and doesn’t have a ticket machine so you’ll need to buy your tickets online or from another station.  You can travel direct to Henley on Thames with a journey time of just five minutes and, at the time of writing, there are two trains an hour.  Its also possible to catch a train direct to Twyford, with a journey time of eight minutes.

The Elizabeth Line runs from Twyford into central London and beyond, with trains calling at Maidenhead and Slough before reaching London Paddington, which takes 32 minutes.  From London Paddington, the Elizabeth Line continues on to London Liverpool Street, via Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road and then onto Whitechapel and Canary Wharf.  The direct service from Twyford to Canary Wharf takes just 69 minutes.  If you’re travelling more locally, you can take the Elizabeth Line to Maidenhead and the Elizabeth Line also stops at Taplow, Burnham, Slough, Langley, West Drayton, Hayes & Harlington, Southall and Ealing Broadway.   Rail services also run to Abbey Wood, with the entire journey from Twyford to Abbey Wood taking approximately 75 minutes.   

There’s also a service from Twyford to Didcot Parkway which calls at Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey with a total journey time to Didcot of 42 minutes.

If you’re travelling abroad, there’s a rail link to London’s Heathrow airport from Reading, Twyford, Maidenhead or Taplow.

For further information on local train services, take a look at The Trainline website.

Taking a river boat on the Thames

In the summer months, Salters Steamers run a riverboat service between Caversham Bridge in Reading to Mill Meadows in Henley calling at Sonning Lock and Shiplake Lock.  The journey between Reading and Shiplake Lock takes 75 mins and between Shiplake Lock and Mill Meadows in Henley, the journey time is an hour. 

For a shorter journey, the trip to Sonning Lock only takes 30 minutes.  Prices for an adult are approximately £16.50 at the time of writing. Find out more on the Salters Steamers website.