Chesham brings together a variety of cultural and landscape attractions: The Elgiva is a theater and digital cinema, while the Chess Valley Walk runs through the River Chess valley between Rickmansworth and Chesham. When planning your visit, you can first decide whether to focus more on culture, a route through the valley, or both.
Theater, cinema and Chesham’s history
The Elgiva offers 300 seats and standing capacity for 400 people. These figures distinguish between seated and standing capacity; the venue also includes a digital cinema. Theater and film are therefore two different cultural formats that Chesham brings together at a named venue. The Elgiva is in the heart of Chesham, a few minutes from Chesham Underground Station on the Metropolitan line. This location provides a specific point of reference for your journey, without specifying a particular route or mode of transport between the station and the theater.
The Chesham Museum reopened on 20 January 2024 on the upper floor of Chesham Town Hall. Exhibitions drawn from thousands of stored objects are shown there on a rotating basis. The collection is therefore not the same as a single permanent exhibition: the exhibitions on display change. The museum is just off the High Street and can be reached via Baines Walk; the postcode is HP5 1DS. Both the connection to the Town Hall and the specific access point on Baines Walk can help you find your way.
Another historical landmark is Chesham Quaker Meeting House, built no later than 1798. Its known date of construction provides a different historical perspective from the museum’s reopening in 2024. Taken together, these two details show different aspects of local history: a historic building and a more recent development at the museum site.
Walks and riverside scenery
The Chess Valley Walk runs through the River Chess valley and is a named route connecting Rickmansworth and Chesham. The river is a chalk stream, and the Chess Valley Walk comes close to it in some sections. The river connection therefore applies to parts of the route; it does not mean that the path runs directly beside the water throughout. If you are interested in the scenery, you can distinguish between two specific features: the route through the valley and the places where the path comes close to the river.
Another walking route passes through the beech woods of Buckinghamshire and then follows the River Chess. The river runs alongside the open space of Chesham Moor. These details bring together woodland, a river and an open space, without equating the walking route with the specifically named Chess Valley Walk.
Chesham Moor and choosing what to focus on
Chesham Moor has a sports center with a gym and an outdoor swimming pool. This offers a sporting option in addition to cultural attractions and walking routes. As facilities can change, check the latest information about the sports center before making specific plans.
When choosing accommodation, your preferred focus is a useful starting point: theater and digital cinema, changing museum exhibitions, or history dating back to the Meeting House, built no later than 1798, each offer a different emphasis. The Chess Valley Walk and the described route through beech woods and along the river, on the other hand, will appeal to those interested in walks and scenery.
Discover more destinations: Wendover, Beaconsfield, Burnham, Cheddington, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont Saint Peter, Wing, Grendon Underwood
Go to the broader travel overview: Buckinghamshire.
