Your travel specialist on: The Thames Villages

There are some lovely, quaint, unusual villages along the 123 miles of the River Thames and you could stay at Cliveden House, just 30 mins from Heathrow Airport, and then go out each day to explore. Cliveden will pick you up at the airport and you could have a few days there without a car and they can arrange for one for you.

This is a very historic house in gorgeous grounds, 150 acres on the banks of the Thames, two fantastic restaurants, and every room and suite is different. The house is over 350 years old, and full of treasures. Lots of stories of sex, scandals, political intrigue , mistresses and aristocrats, and one story I was told when I stayed there recently made me laugh. Lady Astor was giving a dinner party. She said to Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, you are very rude and if you were my husband I would put poison in your coffee. His reply was : Madam, if I was your husband I would drink it.

The villages of Abingdon, Goring, Sonning, Henley, Windsor and Runnymede are all worth visiting. Thatched cottages, unusual little shops, churches, and no traffic with a two lane road to wander down at 25 miles per hour. Village life is quiet, with a bread shop, a butcher, a fish shop, a post office, a chemist, and of course, an antique shop. Most English women knit, or embroider, so there is sometimes a wool shop which sells hand knitted jumpers. I like wandering around the little churches, reading the gravestones, and you realize that this area has been settled for some 6,000 years. Do go to a Sunday church service, the organ and choir are usually outstanding, as well as the flower arrangements. People in the parish take it in turns to do this with flowers from their garden.

At Runnymede you will find the John F. Kennedy Memorial, and the Commonwealth Air Force Memorial on which is inscribed the names of 20,456 men and women of the Allied Air Forces who lost their lives during the Second World War and who have no marked grave. Nearby is Great Fosters Hotel, an elegant 16th century former hunting lodge once hosted King Henry V111.

Windsor Castle is visited by the Queen most weekends, and St. George’s Chapel is worth visiting, the final resting place of ten former monarchs. This is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world.

Many Americans find it difficult to drive the narrow roads, with high hedges on each side, and being on the wrong side of the road. We can arrange for you to have a car and driver if you would prefer that.

I am a lover of eating in the local pub. Here are some of my favorites.

The Swan, in Pangbourne 17th century building, smashing in the winter to sit by one of the three open fires or in the summer drink a shandy on the lovely terrace.

The Barley Mow, Abingdon The thatched pub once counted Charles Dickens as a client.

The Angel on the Bridge, Henley .You can hire a boat here and take a trip down stream. Henley is famous for the boat race held every year since 1839. It’s fun to watch the rival universities of Oxford and Cambridge row down the river and no one cares who wins, it’s the picnic and day out which matters.

The French Horn, Sonning Lush surroundings, lovely cozy bar.

The Hand & Flowers, Marlow . A beautiful Georgian town, and this pub is the only one to be awarded two Michelin stars.

Just writing this article has made me home sick. I am longing for a ploughman’s lunch at one of these pubs, with of course, a shandy.

Maureen Jones

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel at 160 Main Street. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure.