Quainton

A pleasant village with the remains of an ancient cross on the green, a number of fine Georgian houses, and a row of almshouses built in 1687. Here, too, is another of the county’s windmills, Quainton Tower Mill, built in the 1830s and 100 feet high. Quite early in its life it was fitted with a steam engine, but despite this innovation the mill’s working life extended barely 50 years. Just south of the village, at Quainton Railway Station, is the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (see panel on page 64), a working steam museum where visitors can relive the golden age of steam. The centre boasts one of the largest collections of preserved steam and diesel locomotives in the country, including engines from South Africa, the USA and Egypt, as well as from Britain (a Hall, a Castle and a pannier tank from the GWR and an ancient well tank from the LSWR). Rolling stock on show includes a coach from the Royal Train of 1901 and another used by Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower for wartime planning meetings in 1944. Visitors can ride behind full-sized steam locos and on the extensive miniature railway. The beautifully restored Rowley Road Station (1851), moved here from Oxford, also serves as the main visitor centre. Call: 01296 655720.