At The Damson Restaurant they take great pride in using the freshest, high quality ingredients to bring out the amazing flavours in their dishes.
Winterbourne is an idyllic rural village.
The village has a vibrant local community and a stunning church dating back to the 12th century.
It is situated on the north side of North Heath and to the east is BBOWT managed Snelsmore Common and to the North is Honeybottom.
Snelsmore Common is open to the public and is known for it’s Exmoor and New Forest ponies.
Nearby is The Watermill Theatre and the former Winterbourne Arms Pub has undergone a complete transformation into Damson Restaurant by Henry Kremer-Ireson, formerly of Henry & Joe’s.
There is also The Crab and Boar in nearby North Heath, a beautiful British pub with rooms in the heart of West Berkshire.
The Winterbourne is also the name of the stream, a tributary of the river Lambourn, which runs in winter, not summer, through the parish.
There is a wide range of shops, restaurants and leisure activities in nearby Newbury.
There is also horse racing at Newbury Racecourse, two nearby golf courses at Donnington and Speen, as well as the Watermill Theatre.
For commuters, local transportation is excellent, with direct trains running from Newbury to London Paddington.
The A34 and M4 provide easy access to London Heathrow Airport and the West Country.
A wide variety of prestigious schools are located in the area, including Elstree, Cheam, Horris Hill, Brockhurst and Marlston House, St. Gabriel’s, Bradfield College, Downe House, Abingdon School, and Radley College.
Honeybottom lies just north of Newbury, surrounded by the stunning rolling countryside of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has direct access onto Snelsmore Common for wonderful walks and exploration.
Snelsmore is situated a short distance to the north of Newbury. Snelsmore offers country living at its finest.
Set on the edge of the magnificent Berkshire Downs, it’s an idyllic spot with inexhaustible options for lovers of the outdoors.
Newbury, with its large open market square and famous castle ruins, is a bustling market town is suffused in history.
Snelsmore Common contains a range of habitats including heathland, wet mires and woodland making it home to nationally rare bird species including nightjar, woodlark and tree pipit.
The broad-leaved woodlands contain mainly oak and birch but sweet chestnut, beech, hazel and willow are common.
Winter parties of long-tailed tits feed on the newly forming buds of the trees, they are often accompanied by goldcrests, great tits and blue tits.
In the spring, the woodland floor is covered with bluebells.
The woodland trees are home to great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, tawny owl and grey squirrel.
Whilst the shrubs and scrub provide an ideal habitat for smaller birds such as robins, wrens and warblers.
It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Walking trails
A number of Public Rights of Way including bridle paths and restricted byways criss-cross the common and provide beautiful longer distance routes for walkers, cyclists and horse riders alike.
There are several waymarked routes – an Easy Access Trail of 0.75 miles on a paved path, a heathland trail (1 ¼ mile), the lizard route, orange waymarks and a mire trail (1 mile) , the dragonfly route, purple waymarks.
Please keep dogs on leads on the main common during the bird nesting season (1 March – 31 July)
Toilets
Cafe/refreshments
Picnic area
Accessible toilet
Accessible trails
Access
The common is dissected by a number of valley mires so some paths are steep and uneven.
A paved circular path 0.75 miles, the Easy Access Trail) is fully accessible by pushchairs and wheelchairs (RADAR key required to fully open gate).
Serving Homemade Fresh Cakes, Sandwiches,Cream Teas,Hot & Cold Drinks
Nearby in Bagnor, is the Watermill Theatre.
Since 1967, from their unique home in a converted Watermill in rural West Berkshire, they have produced award-winning work that has been recognised throughout the UK and abroad.
They are a regional powerhouse, consistently making an innovative contribution to the vibrant and diverse landscape of UK Theatre reaching far beyond the 220 seats of the theatre itself.
The former Winterbourne Arms Pub has undergone a complete transformation into Damson Restaurant by Henry Kremer-Ireson, formerly of Henry & Joe’s.
Damson is humble, relaxed and refined ingredient led dining, with a focus on flavour & down to earth approach to service.
Their 9 cover experimental Sloe chefs table opening 2024, utilising their kitchen garden and nearby plots.
At Damson they set out to create the very best ingredient led dining experience.
Nothing too complicated or extravagant, nothing careless or rushed, humble & refined with a focus on flavour, balanced with relaxed, warm service.
They constantly evolve their dishes to ensure it meets these criteria & enhance your experience each time you step through their doors, offering seasonally changing menus.
Whether you’re catching up with friends in their cosy bar, enjoying a delicious Sunday roast, or relaxing in their beer garden – The Crab & Boar is a stunning rural retreat for all occasions.
They pride themselves on using the finest locally sourced and seasonal ingredients on their menus, championing the suppliers and producers they work with, and celebrating the seasons.
Behind the bar it’s all about cracking cask ale, craft beer and cider, a great wine list, and classic cocktails.
Village Hall
There is no village hall.
Food & Drink
There is the Snug Cafe on Snelsmore Common and the Damson- nearby is The Crab and Boar and The Watermill Theatre.
Health
The nearest local doctors surgery is The Downland Surgery, there is also The Strawberry Hill medical centre.
Transport
The 5A circular to Newbury, a bus each week day.
The village is well placed for speedy access to the M4 and A34, with the distance to junction 13 on the M4 at three miles.
These roads provide quick routes to the north (Oxford, Birmingham), the south (Southampton, Portsmouth), the west (Bristol, Cardiff) and to the east (London).
The nearest railway station is in Newbury, where the mainline station (five miles), provides access to Reading, London and the West Country.
School
There is primary school at Chieveley.
Church
The church is the Church of St James the Less.
A 12th, 13th and mid 19th century. Chancel restored 1895.
Parish Council
There is a parish council.
Winterbourne is an extremely pretty rural parish situated on gently rolling chalk hills four miles north-west of Newbury and two and a half miles south-west of Chieveley, one of the largest parishes in Berkshire, with which it has been closely connected over the years.
Winterbourne’s church (dedicated to St. James the Less) is a chapel of Chieveley dating back to shortly after the Norman Conquest with land for the churchyard given in 1156.
Its records of baptisms, marriages and burials from 1564 onwards are preserved in the Berkshire Records Office.
The parish is 2112 acres in all, much of which is arable farmland (sliced through by the new M4 motorway in 1971), but with substantial deciduous woodlands.
The river Winterbourne runs along the north side of North Heath and over towards Chieveley before turning south-west to the village of Winterbourne and onward along the valley to Bagnor.
To the east of the parish, the well managed Snelsmore Common Country Park lies on a heath-land plateau.
The transformation from Second World War camp to a well used and much loved nature conservation habitat is a wonderful example of turning swords into ploughshares.
