Martyn R Cox & Co., privately owned Estate Agents and Valuers based in Witney, Oxfordshire. Established in 1987 by Martyn Cox , the office is now one of the most successful in Witney with highly experienced staff selling a cross-section of property in the town and surrounding villages.

Our superb office in the centre of Witney has been specially designed to attract potential purchasers to view the extensive displays, both from inside and out. The relaxing atmosphere and subtle colours create a pleasant environment in which to view and discuss specific properties with our staff who are always on hand. We have also installed the latest technology to support our well tried and traditional methods.



Local Information

We believe this part of the country is a lovely place to live. It is not isolated nor is it over populated and the West Oxfordshire area around Witney offers some excellent facilities.

Schooling

There are a large number of primary schools many of which are within walking distance of residential areas. Secondary education is on the comprehensive system and almost without exception special buses take the children to and from school each day. The principal comprehensive schools are:-

• Henry Box, Central Witney
• Wood Green, Witney
• Bartholomew School, Eynsham
• Marlborough School, Woodstock
• Burford School, Burford
• Cotswold School, Chipping Norton
• Carterton Comprehensive School
• Faringdon School

Useful telephone number:- Oxfordshire Education Authority, Oxford (01865) 815449

Private education is available for children of all ages. St Hugh's Preparatory School, Buckland. Joscas Preparatory School, Marcham, Nr. Abingdon. Windrush Valley School, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Cokethorpe near Ducklington and others including several schools in Oxford such as Magdalen, Christchurch and St Edwards.

Useful telephone number: - Independent Schools Information Service (ISIS) 01993 813006

Culture

There are wonderful cultural opportunities in Oxford (approximately 15 miles west of Witney) which hosts a wide variety of concerts, plays and opera. Some of these are staged in beautiful old buildings such as Christchurch Cathedral, the 17^th Century Sheldonian Theatre, various college chapels and The Oxford Playhouse. The New Theatre in Oxford stages West End transfers, visiting international ballet, opera companies and pop concerts.

Due to good road communications, Stratford-upon-Avon is comfortably accessible, as are the smaller theatres at Cheltenham and Chipping Norton.

Oxford shows films on immediate release, whilst Witney boasts its own small cinema. There are various art galleries in Oxford and frequent exhibitions.

Religion

Witney has a variety of places of worship for all the main denominations, Oxford provides further centres of worship.

Eating Out

Oxford, Witney and other nearby towns have many international restaurants, but more particularly, the many pretty villages in this area have charming old pubs, often called "gastro pubs" which serve a variety of good food and excellent local beer.

Witney and Surrounding Countryside

The River Windrush historically was partly responsible for the success of the woollen trade in the area from the mid 17^th Century to date. There are a number of fine old houses and cottages in the town, some with beautiful and very private rear gardens. The traditional building material is excellent quality and handsome local stone. Many of the roofs are clad in heavy durable stone slates that perfectly complement the soft colour of the stone work.

Witney itself has a population of about 23,000 and is a happy mixture of old and new. In the 1980's the centre of the town was re-developed to provide a sympathetic modern shopping area with generous free parking. Since then other traffic free shopping areas have been created.

The Oxfordshire countryside which is on the very edge of the Cotswolds is largely unspoilt and generally very attractive. There are some delightful old stone villages and beautiful, lightly undulating countryside with both animal and arable farmland.

Transport

Witney has been bypassed by the A40, which is the main road between Oxford and Cheltenham. The town is about 11 miles from the Oxford Ring Road, which leads westward to the M40 Oxford/Birmingham motorway and southwards to the M4 between London and Bristol. Oxford is on the main line to London (Paddington) and fast trains take about an hour. About 8 miles north of Witney is a main line station at Charlbury (on the Paddington line) and many London commuters choose to take the train from Didcot station which is about 13 miles from Oxford from where the fast trains regularly take approximately 50 minutes.

Shops

Oxford has a large shopping centre but many prefer to go to the less crowded Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham for a serious shopping spree. Witney is an old market town with a small yet busy market on both Saturdays and Thursdays. There is a wide variety of the normal high street shops but also a number of established businesses which are still family run. Both J Sainsbury and Waitrose have large supermarkets in the town.

Leisure

The river Windrush meanders through Witney and to the south the river Thames runs from Lechlade into Oxford. From the north of the county the river Cherwell merges with the Thames in Oxford and there is good fishing on all these rivers and boating at various points, including punting in Oxford. Fly fishing is available in several places including the Farmoor reservoir between Oxford and Witney and the large number of lakes in this area provide a wide variety of water sports including jet skiing, camping, caravanning and fishing.

There are also gun clubs offering regular clay pigeon shooting. In recent years a number of golf courses have been built so there is now a good choice. The most popular of the established clubs are probably Witney, Burford (7 miles west of Witney), Frilford Heath which has three courses and Wychwood located south of Chipping Norton.

Witney has a number of health clubs and a fitness centre. These facilities are expanding. In the centre of Witney is the leisure complex which is council owned with two heated swimming pools, squash courts and badminton courts etc. The Witney Lakes Resort with health club, restaurants and golf is extremely fashionable and there is a private snooker club and a variety of other sporting activities in the town.