Discover Chesham: Theatre, Museum and the River Chess

Chesham offers visitors several specific points of interest: a theatre and digital cinema, changing museum exhibitions, architectural history, walks along the River Chess and a sports centre. If you’re looking for hotels in Chesham, first consider whether culture, scenery or exercise will shape your stay. The following places show the different highlights the town brings together.

Elgiva: Theatre and Digital Cinema

Elgiva is a theatre with 300 seats and a capacity for 400 standing guests; it also offers a digital cinema. The two capacities are listed separately for seated and standing events. If you take the character of a venue into account, this offers a clear distinction between seated and standing use. Elgiva is in the heart of Chesham, a few minutes from Chesham Underground Station on the Metropolitan line. Its location near the station offers an additional point of reference when planning a theatre or cinema visit.

Museum and Architectural History

Chesham Museum reopened on 20 January 2024 on the upper floor of Chesham Town Hall. It displays changing exhibitions drawn from thousands of stored exhibits. This means that each visit focuses on a particular selection; if you’re visiting for a specific subject, check the current exhibition information in advance. The Town Hall is set back from the High Street; Chesham Museum is at Baines Walk (HP5 1DS). If you’re planning a visit, also check the current opening hours.

Chesham Quaker Meeting House was built by 1798 at the latest. This provides an earlier architectural reference alongside the more recent history of the museum. The dates have different roles in the town’s history: 20 January 2024 marks the museum’s reopening, while 1798 is the latest possible date for the Meeting House’s construction. This allows you to distinguish the museum’s history from the building’s history chronologically.

Walks Along the River Chess

The Chess Valley Walk runs through the valley of the River Chess between Rickmansworth and Chesham. The River Chess is a chalk stream, which the route follows closely in some sections. This combination is important when choosing a walk: it links a route through the valley with proximity to the river only in certain sections, rather than following the riverbank throughout. Another walking route passes through the beech woods of Buckinghamshire and then follows the River Chess. Here, the woods and the adjoining riverside stretch are the main features. The Chess Valley Walk, by contrast, can be described by its two endpoints and the valley; the routes therefore offer different highlights.

Exercise at Chesham Moor

Chesham Moor has a sports centre with a gym and an outdoor swimming pool. The open space of Chesham Moor lies beside the River Chess and adds a scenic dimension to its sporting facilities. If the gym or outdoor pool is important to your plans, check the current status before your visit, as facilities can change.

Discover more destinations: Adstock, Waddesdon, Drayton Parslow, Stone, St Leonards, High Wycombe, Great Missenden, Pitstone

For the broader travel overview: Buckinghamshire.