Putt, potter and paddle
Potter Henley’s quirky independents and galleries, or take the Ale Trail. Take a self-guided tour of the Fairmile Vineyard. Paddleboard the river with Hobbs of Henley. Or shoot for the pin over the road at Henley Golf Club. Ride the Eye and climb The Shard in London. Or build memories with the shows and attractions at Legoland Resort.
Country kids
The birds may be tweeting in the trees, but London’s just an hour away. So head for the M4 to enjoy a flight on the Eye, a tour of The Tower, the view from The Shard and a magical whirl around the Warner Bros Studios. Just a few junctions further back, Windsor Castle is also worth a diversion.
Closer to home, experience weightlessness on the Fire and Ice Freefall or the UK’s first-ever flying theatre ride, the Flight of the Sky Lion, at Legoland Resort, plus shows such as Duplo Valley Theatre. Or meet ponies, goats, alpacas, meerkats and more at Beale Wildlife Park. Don’t forget your picnic.
Paddleboard at Aquapark in Reading or swim wild or windsurf at Bray Lake Watersports. Find more animals at Odds Farm in High Wycombe, feed the chickens and have a go at mini-golf. Or splash away an afternoon at Coral Reef Bracknell’s water slides, erupting volcano and wild-water rapids.
Learn all about the river and the town of Henley at the River and Rowing Museum. Become a super-spy by completing the Henley-on-Thames Mystery Trail. Tackle the high level walkways, climbing nets, look-out decks and bridges of Tumblestone Hollow. Or paint anything from ornaments to money boxes at HaaHoos Ceramics.
For for grown ups
Just down the road, Henley-on-Thames is one of England’s finest towns, packed with quirky independents and a farmers’ market, and offering river walks past Temple Island, Hambleden Lock, Shiplake lock and Sonning. Come in July and soak up the atmosphere at Henley’s Royal Regatta.
English wine has produced some corkers in recent times and you can enjoy the best of it at Fairmile Vineyard with a self-guided tour and tasting. Or try Oaken Grove, with its seven acres of Pinot Noir, Bacchus and Madeleine Angevine vines. Or hire a boat, kayak or paddleboard from Hobbs of Henley and enjoy life on the river.
Head back into history at Greys Court, a Tudor country house and gardens that featured in Downton Abbey, or Nuffield Place, home of the founder of the Morris Motor Company, with personal possessions exactly as they were left. Or discover the story of the Thames and the international sport of rowing at the River and Rowing Museum.
Shoot for the pin right over the road at Henley Golf Club. Catch drama, musicals, comedy and opera at Kenton Theatre. Grab an explorer pack and potter around Warburg Nature Reserve. Chill at Nirvana Spa or Kuba Spa. Or try anything from horse-riding to duck-herding at Humphreys of Henley.
