A Week in Hendred

Leisure Time

After a hard day at work or school there are many ways to unwind in the village for the rest of the evening. You can walk, cycle or ride horses around the many rights of way surrounding the villages and the Ridgeway, areas of outstanding natural beauty. You can play sport at Hendred's Sports Club - tennis, football, cricket and other games with active tournaments throughout the year.

The official U.K. licensing laws govern opening times of the three pubs in the village. The pubs are popular at lunchtimes and evenings, especially because hot and cold food is offered at all three. Only the Eyston Arms chooses to stay open throughout the afternoon; the Wheatsheaf and the Plough close their doors for a couple of hours each afternoon before opening again in the evening. Traditional pub games such as Aunt Sally and darts are played.

Snells Hall, which was extended recently with Millennium Commission funding, offers a range of activities, meetings of local clubs and organisations and computer classes at the Village College (jointly run with Abingdon College).

Several people have allotments, which regularly need attention, and the reward is fresh vegetables for the evening meal. Many people spend much time and effort tending their gardens.

At the weekend you can attend a church service at St Augustine's or St Mary's, catch up with some gossip at the prize-winning village store and post office, visit Hendred's Heritage museum at Champs Chapel, attend a function at Snells Hall, or involve yourself in various village association meetings.

Most people do their main food shopping at supermarkets in Wantage or Abingdon. There is a twice-weekly market in Wantage, in addition to a range of smaller shops. For a bigger choice of clothes and specialist shops, people travel to Reading, Oxford, Swindon or Newbury.

It has been possible to buy some goods by mail order for many years, but now internet access is becoming widely available, the range of goods that can be ordered over the net and delivered to the door has increased greatly. This service is starting to be used for grocery shopping also, with Tesco leading the way in East Hendred in the year 2000.

Overview
The working day
The school day
Transport and Travel
Leisure Time
Regular weekly events in the village
Other regular events held at least once a month