The settlement appears to have been centred some 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the south of the present-day focus of the town, near the current location of the parish church of St Mary.

[7] Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer of famous works such as Treasure Island and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, stayed a night at The Red Lion, in October 1874, which he wrote about in an essay called "An Autumn Effect".

Whilst the base is not in the parish of Wendover, its close proximity impacted on the town, and the surrounding landscape, due to the associated population increases and deforestation to provide wood for construction work.

[2][8][9] In the latter part of the twentieth century, a number of large scale residential developments appeared, particularly to the north of the town.

In 1998, the Wendover bypass was built, moving the A413 road west of the town centre, paralleling the railway line.

Property values rose significantly in the years after the completion of the bypass, which removed a lot of traffic from the town's narrow streets.

As part of a wider campaign against the route, a Wendover lobby group was formed, with a 300 strong protest filmed by the BBC in December 2010.

It occupies a prime position at the northern end of a natural crossing point through the Chiltern Hills, which wrap around the west, south and east of the town.

[2][4][16] Besides the town itself, the civil parish includes the hamlets of: Wendover was represented by its own parliamentary constituency, intermittently from 1300 and continuously from 1660, until the seat was abolished by the Reform Act of 1832.

[21] Facilities in the town centre include a post office, several hairdressers, a community library (run by volunteers), multiple delis and cafés, a pharmacy and a charity shop.

Wendover's pubs include The Red Lion, The George & Dragon, The White Swan, The King and Queen, The Pack Horse, and The Shoulder of Mutton.

[23] There is a distinctive red brick, spired clock tower at the junction of High Street and Tring Road in the centre of the town, built in 1842.

On the southern side of the pond lies Wendover's parish church, which is dedicated to St Mary, and which marks the site of the original settlement.

The ancient Ridgeway National Trail, an 85-mile walking route from Avebury to Ivinghoe, passes along Wendover High Street.

Apart from the Ridgeway Trail there are 33 miles of public rights of way and bridleways criss-crossing the parish and leading to the open chalk downland of Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire, home to Britain's longest surviving geocache[citation needed], and a monument to the Buckinghamshire men who died in the Boer War.

There are routes for mountain bikers, and walking trails for walkers of various abilities as well as barbecue sites and play areas for children.

[citation needed] Wendover Cricket Club played at Ellesborough Road Ground, however, this site lay in the path of High Speed 2.