Locality
Palaces and Castles
- Buckingham Palace (August-September)
- Windsor Castle
- Hampton Court Palace, Surrey
- Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
- Broughton Castle, Banbury
- Warwick Castle
- Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
Houses and Gardens
- Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames
- Greys Court, Rotherfields Greys, Henley-on-Thames
- Basildon Park, Lower Basildon, Reading
- Clivedon, Taplow, Maidenhead
- Waddesdon Manor, High Wycombe
- Rousham House, Bicester
- University of Oxford Botanic Gardens
- Waterperry Gardens
- Hidcote Manor Garden, Chipping Campden
- RHS Garden, Wiseley
Places to Eat
- The Shepherds Hut, Ewelme
- The Lord Nelson, Brightwell Baldwin
- The Red Lion, Britwell Salome
- The King William, Hailey
- The Home Sweet Home, Roke
- The Chequers, Berrick Salome
- The Coach & Horses, Chiselhampton
- The Mole, Toot Baldon
- Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons,
Great Milton - for a very special occasion!
Ewelme – “Ewelme is a small village near the Thames and not far from Wallingford. Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer), died here in 1475 and is memorialized by a double effigy in robes as in life and in ‘grave clothes’ as in death. Jerome K Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, lies buried in the churchyard. Godshouse, a medieval almshouse and chantry founded by Alice is still in use today.”
Wallingford – “Wallingford is 5 miles and 13 minutes by car. Wallingford is a town steeped in history. It was first settled in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Romans in turn left traces of occupation - burials, roads, coins and pottery, but it was the Anglo-Saxons who built the first town. In the 9th century there was another invasion threat – this time from the Vikings. King Alfred, the Saxon king of Wessex, defeated the enemy but to defend his kingdom against further Viking attacks he built many fortified towns or burhs and here the story of the town really begins. Wallingford was one of Alfred´s ’new towns‘, and the biggest. By 1066, when the next invader arrived, Wallingford was the leading town in Berkshire. The Normans began in 1067 to build a massive castle here which was to dominate the town's history for the next 600 years until its demise in 1652.”
Henley – “Henley on Thames (just 10 miles away) is a beautiful and historic market town intimately connected, as its name
suggests, with the River Thames, being sited on one of the most majestic stretches of the river with the beech clad hills of The Chilterns, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, acting as a worthy backdrop. The area is criss-crossed by countless footpaths and bridleways offering superb walking and cycling in the Henley area.”
Dorchester-on-Thames – “There is evidence of human settlement in Dorchester from Neolithic times. To the south, Iron Age people occupied a hill fort on Castle Hill; later the Celtic people enclosed their settlement by building the Dyke Hills, a rare example of a pre-Roman town, about half a mile from the present village.”
Ridgeway – “The Ridgeway National Trail, 85 miles (136km) through ancient landscapes. Over rolling, open downland to the west of the River Thames, and through secluded valleys and woods in The Chilterns to the east, following the same route used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers.”
Oxford – “Oxford is a vibrant, multi-cultural city full of history and heritage. It is home to the oldest English speaking university in the world, renowned museums, charming shops and cafes, beautiful gardens and meadows, and much more.”