Messing about on the river – we have just spent a weekend at the Caravan Club site at Henley on Thames and had a very good time. The site is very well laid out and attractive with lots of hanging baskets although it is adjacent to a very busy road so you can experience some road noise. The site is only a 20 minute stroll from the centre of Henley where you can find a great number of restaurants, pubs and shops including Waitrose. There is a Tourist Information centre near the town hall in Kings Road and you can pick up a number of leaflets including one called ‘Chilterns Country’ which has some excellent general information and shows a lovely river walk that is very easily done and on firm ground. There’s always something going on in Henley, both on land or river, and there is a leaflet that lists all of these activities so you can plan ahead.
There are a number of things to see on the river walk including Temple Island which was built as a summer house/fishing lodge for Fawley Court in 1771 and designed by James Wyatt.
On the weekend we were there the Henley Woman’s Regatta was held so Henley was a very busy place and although we are not ‘boaters’ it was fascinating watching the racing and this ranged from 2 person to 8 person rowing boats. On the riverside is the Leander Club, the clubhouse of Britain’s oldest and world famous rowing club founded in 1818 and moved to Henley in 1896 – watch out for the clubs emblem – a Hippo. Some of Britain’s top rowers including Stephen Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent row and train at the club.
The Chiltern area is famous for Red Kites and Henley has them in abundance so wherever you walk you should see them circling up above. If you happen to be walking in the fields as we did then you may actually see them hunting for prey at ground level, they are spectacular and very large. We also came across a great number of Froglets the size of a thumbnail, making their way from a pond to marshland near the river. This was especially fascinating for us because we have a small garden pond that has many tadpoles and we are waiting with baited breath for this last stage of metamorphosis.
Some other nearby attractions include the river and rowing museum, Greys Court Tudor house, Stoner Park, Warburg nature reserve and of course boat trips down the river.
We also discovered a wonderful take away frozen food shop called Cook situated in Friday Street that sold an amazing number of meals cooked using the same ingredients and techniques that you would use at home. It was great to be able to pick up a gorgeous meal on the way back to the van after an exhausting walk that you could just slam in the oven while you had a pre dinner drink with your feet up.
We will certainly revisit the area and stay at the site again.
