Paddington

It is the wrong side of the capital for anyone working in the City but the right side for anyone in love with Berkshire, Wiltshire and the West Country. This is where the magic carpet leaves to take you to some of the most charming villages on the River Thames close to London. It stops for breath close to the chalk downs and white horses of the Ridgeway at Didcot and Swindon before heading into the picturesque stone villages close to Bristol. Oxford is a great pull for many. From there you can take the route to Evesham through buttery stone Cotswold villages, or head for Leamington Spa via Banbury. The choice is huge. There is also the line out through Newbury and Hungerford as far as Frome in Somerset.