A day well spent: Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames, a planned medieval town, was once a prosperous internal port, but reinvented itself in Victorian times as a fashionable riverside resort where high society gathered for ‘water picnics’ on elegant houseboats while elite rowers did battle in the annual Royal Regatta.

Throughout summer the small Oxfordshire market town comes alive with the social and sporting whirl of river revels. It is a destination close to my heart ever since, years ago, I rummaged its streets for history and old photographs to put into a book (Around Henley-on-Thames, Sutton Publishing, since you ask). Enjoy a handsome day out here, just one hour from London. 

RIVER AND TOWN

Begin your visit with a dip into Henley’s history and unique claims to fame at the River & Rowing Museum, five minutes’ easy walk from the town railway station through Mill Meadows. The oak-clad, glass-and-steel building, opened in 1998 by the Queen (who aptly arrived by boat), has spacious galleries whose themes will set you up for the day. 

Explore first the interlinked stories of the Thames and town through audio, film, artworks and artefacts ranging from a hoard of Iron Age gold coins to historic boats. While river trade shaped the early town, the launch of Henley Regatta in 1839 and the arrival of the railway in 1857 encouraged local denizens to capitalise on the commercial leisure potential of being located on one of the finest reaches of the Thames. You’ll find out how Leander Club, founded in 1818, became the ‘home of British rowing’ and has produced some of Britain’s most decorated Olympic athletes. There are also colourful displays of stained glass by prolific 20th-century artist John Piper, who lived nearby, while the Wind in the Willows gallery takes you into the recreated riverbank world of another Thames local, children’s classic storywriter Kenneth Grahame.  

After a cuppa on the museum’s café terrace overlooking the weeping willows of Mill Meadows, take a stroll around the heart of town following The Henley Trail. Leaflets are available from the visitor information centre in the Victorian Town Hall on the Market Place, which is also the start-point for the trail. 

Highlights include: medieval St Mary’s Church whose 100ft tower was commissioned by Bishop Longland, a Henley man and confessor to Henry VIII; New Street’s half-timbered houses and Anne Boleyn Cottage whose many blocked keyholes testify to the once-common practice of owners taking their valuable locks and keys with them when they moved home. You’ll pass the gatehouse to the Victorian mansion where Beatle George Harrison lived, while on Thameside the 16th/17th-century redbrick Old Granary is typical of erstwhile storehouses from when grain, malt, wool and local timber were transported to London by flat-bottomed barges that returned with salt and luxuries like wine. 

LUNCH AND STORIES

The town trail gives ample opportunity to pick a pub for lunch. Nibbles (sandwiches to Gelato Henley ice creams) on the riverside terrace of The Angel on the Bridge is great for watching passing boats; it’s first come, first served, so get there early. Inside, a brass plaque on the floor by the bar records that “Princess Grace stood here” – the then aspiring actress came to celebrate her brother Jack Kelly Jr’s regatta victory in the diamond skulls race in 1947. 

Former coaching inns abound from the days when Henley stood on the London to Oxford run, including the Red Lion where the Prince of Wales, later King George IV, ate 14 mutton chops in a single sitting; it’s now the luxury Relais Henley boutique hotel and you’ll more likely sit down to the likes of mixed wild mushroom and tagliatelle pasta in Champagne sauce, or maybe leave that for the evening and stay the night. 

The Old Bell on Bell Street, dating back to 1325, is an ale and herb-seasoned sausage rolls sort of place; the reputedly haunted Bull Inn ventures into chorizo and spinach baked eggs; and the Bistro at The Boathouse on Station Road overlooking the river will tempt you with such as roast garlic hummus and warm flat bread.   

ART, JEWELLERY AND A TUDOR MANSION

Spend the afternoon in town browsing some contemporary art galleries (The Lemongrove, Jack’s) and jewellery shops where you can buy from in-house collections or, if your pockets permit, commission handcrafted, bespoke pieces (Anthony Paul, Studio 35, David Rodger Sharp, Lawsons Goldsmiths). Or join a river sightseeing trip with Hobbs of Henley, perhaps even an afternoon-tea cruise (book online in advance).

Alternatively, take a ten-minute drive to the Tudor mansion of Grey’s Court at Rotherfield Greys. This rather lovely, mottled-stone and redbrick house is now in the care of the National Trust, but it retains a lived-in feeling with book-lined shelves, paraphernalia-packed kitchen and homely furnished bedrooms. In the walled gardens heady perfumes of roses fill the summer air.  

Just four main families have owned Grey’s Court since Domesday and their stories turn what is a modest mansion into a repository of intrigue. Hear about Catherine Carey, believed to have been Henry VIII’s illegitimate daughter by Mary Boleyn; and Lettice Knollys who infuriated Queen Elizabeth I (a Grey’s Court visitor) by secretly marrying royal favourite Robert Dudley. There’s even a 20th-century connection with James Bond author Ian Fleming. Afternoon tea and a slice of nut tart in the former cowshed nicely rounds off a visit. 

RIVER REVELS

Of course you could shape your visit entirely around one of the season’s regattas and festivals. World-famous Henley Royal Regatta – royal patronage began with Prince Albert and has been continued by every reigning monarch since – takes place over six days this year (28 June–3 July), with more than 300 match races, including the inaugural Prince Philip Challenge Trophy, contested by international and emerging stars over the one-mile, 550-yard course. Prime spectator tickets sell like hot cakes well in advance, including to Fawley Meadows with its sweeping views, and sumptuous wining and dining packages: a luxury experience to dress up for in flannels and frocks (denim, shorts etc, strictly verboten). The less-pricy Royal Regatta Enclosure is more relaxed but still smart.

Other regular calendar fixtures include in July: Henley Festival (6–10), Henley Masters Regatta (8–9), Thames Traditional Boat Rally (15–17), and Henley Town and Visitors Regatta (30). Music and literature are also celebrated at Rewind Festival (August 19–21) and Henley Literary Festival (October 1–9). 

It is certainly worth extending a visit to explore the Royal River Thames further: maybe a few days’ cruise or rowing in the wake of Jerome K Jerome’s comic classic Three Men in a Boat (but without the mishaps); walking the Thames National Trail; waterside pub-hopping; or simply cherry-picking riverside towns and villages from London to the Cotswolds on a road adventure. 

NEED TO KNOW

It’s circa 1hr / 40 miles’ drive from London to Henley-on-Thames via the A40, M40, A404 and A4130

Train journeys from London Paddington to Henley-on-Thames (with one change at Twyford) take circa 1hr, www.nationalrail.co.uk 

Plan a visit with www.visit-henley.com

Find out about Henley Royal Regatta, dates, tickets and dress codes at www.hrr.co.uk 

Plan a holiday, touring, boating and sightseeing, along the Royal River Thames with https://www.visitthames.co.uk/

Scenes for TV detective series Midsomer Murders have been filmed in Henley (‘Causton’) at Gabriel Machin’s (family butcher since 1881), Tudor House Antiques and the Argyll pub

Henley became the first town in the world to stage two Olympic regattas, in 1908 and 1948.