Club Venue

Please note: The Club no longer meets at Mary Hare Grammar School. Our venue (from September 2016) is:

The Church Hall
Woolton Hill
NEWBURY
RG20 9XF

Note - if using Sat Nav the postcode is for the houses before the hall. Continue along up to Church Road where the hall is set back on your left. Scroll down for map and detailed directions.

Important Notes for Visitors
1. The main door is now on the right - the double doors used to lead into the main hall (facing you).
2. The Chess Club meets in meeting room 2 - almost straight ahead as you enter.
3. If the door is locked, there is a bell that can be heard from the meeting room.
4. There are no street lights. Therefore drivers should bring a torch.
5. There is limited parking inside the hall grounds. Since another group uses the main hall at 7.30pm, you may need to park outside - use Church Road (layby or park on left side of road).

Overview Map

Directions

The Church Hall is relatively easy to find coming from the M4 (exit 13). It's about 25 miles (35 minutes) from the centre of Reading and 40 miles (45 minutes) from Maidenhead.

From East or North (via A34 and/or A343)

1. Exit M4 at junction 13. Take A34 south.
2. Keep right and stay on A34 (ignore sign to Newbury A339)
3. In 6.5 miles come off at Wash Common / Highclere junction.
4. Turn right at roundabout onto A343 (Andover Road)
(If coming from Newbury Town Centre or Thatcham via A4, you will come to this roundabout and go straight over.
5. Continue 1 mile past The Chase (NT) to the 'Penwood cross-roads' (bollards in centre of road).
6. Turn right onto Woolton Hill Road (although the map suggests a left turn, you just carry on the road as it bears left then right).
7. Continue ¾ mile (past the telephone exchange and Mount Road to Highclere on left) - your sat nav may leave you 150m short.
8. The Church Hall is on the left hand corner with Church Road (some maps wrongly call it Church Street).

From Basingstoke and M3

This is slightly more complicated. You start on the A339 to Newbury. There are then two main routes:

Typical SatNavs will make you come the "back way" from Kingsclere. You'll want Foxes Lane out of Kingsclere towards Sydmonton. Some SatNavs will take you via back streets full of parked cars. Much easier is to continue past the Kingslcere slip road to the roundabout where you turn left onto Newbury Road and as it turns left into the village centre, you take the right turn into Foxes Lane.

You will then pass Symondton, Old Burghclere. As you come to the T-junction, turn right and pass Whitway (and the Carnarvon Arms). After a couple of bends and on the rise, turn left going over the A34 in the direction of Penwood. You will arrive at the 'Penwood crossroads' on the A343. Go straight across - with care! You can avoid crossing the A343 - which is an accident prone junction - by continuing past the Penwood turn to the next turn left which takes you to Tot Hill and the A34 (go to step 3 in the alternative route below).

This route is windy and sometimes narrow with some sections prone to flooding in wet weather - but wonderful views to Watership Down in the summer!

Alternatively (better roads, but slightly longer):

1. Continue on A339 past Headley, Greenham until the you can reach The Swan roundabout. The A339 turns right into Newbury.
2. Turn left on B4640. This is an almost straight road of about 2 miles that takes you to Tot Hill
3. 3rd exit at Roundabout then slip road onto A34 north for one exit only.
4. Come off at Wash Common / Highclere junction.
5. Turn right onto A343 (Andover), then follow steps 5-8 (above) as if coming from M4/A34.

Overall the journey from Basingstoke is around 18 miles (35 minutes) or from Camberley 37 miles (1 hour).

This page last updated 16th August 2016