Wednesday 16 June 2010
We started from Henley with the preparations for the Regatta well underway.
The generally quiet town was a hive of activity as marquees were being erected and the grounds prepared. The grass immediately outside the marquees was in excellent condition with no moss and hardly a weed. Very different to our respective lawns at home – it must be the constant watering.
The river at Henley is very straight and ideal for rowing. The course is just over a mile long with an impressive temporary pavilion at the end. There were a few teams practicing on the course and most seemed to comprise identikit females –American students, late teens and blonde ponytails. There was no sign of any local teams; they were probably practicing in the pub. Near the start of the course is Temple Island. This was built as a fishing lodge and the cupola contains the statue of a naked woman. Quite how this helps with the fishing is not known, but she certainly has a good view of the rowing.
A little further downstream is the large mansion built in the 1850s for W H Smith the bookseller.
Insert photos of Temple Island and White House
This stretch of the river is classic Thames valley – open meadows and interesting buildings. A particularly interesting building is Medmenham Abbey. Founded as a monastery in 1200, it fell into ruin following the Dissolution of the Monastries and in the late 18th century was bought by Sir Francis Dashwood. Sir Francis incorporated the ruins into a new building used by the infamous Hell Fire Club. Apparently, the activities at Medmenham gained some notoriety so the Hell Fire club eventually moved to a more secluded site at West Wycombe caves.
Putting thoughts of the Hell Fire Club behind us we headed for lunch at Ye Olde Bell in Hurley. Hurley is a very picturesque village with many old building. Probably very few are older that the Bell, which claims to date from 1135. Inside things had been updated somewhat, but there are still old oak settles and stone floors. Lunch was very good and the Rebellion IPA even better.
Suitably fortified we were back on the path and soon across the river from Bisham Abbey, now the international sports centre. Just down river from the sports centre is Bisham church which, unusually, sits right on the riverbank. The tower is Norman and dates from around 1175. The rest of the building is mainly Victorian. Sadly, there was no way to get across the river, so we were unable to explore further this lovely spot.
Not long after Bisham we came into Marlow. We knew we were getting near to civilisation with the increasing numbers of ‘strollers’ enjoying the sunshine. The view of the river coming into Marlow is another classic with the suspension bridge designed by Tierney Clark, the engineer who designed Hammersmith Bridge in London.
We approached Marlow through the riverside park and looked a little out of place with Nordic poles and a purposeful stride. Despite some strange looks we ventured into the town for tea and scones – it being over an hour since lunch.
From Marlow to the next lock there is no towpath and originally barges had to be hauled on a long towline while horses were led through the town. The Thames Path follows the same rather tortuous route known locally as Seven Corner Alley. We didn't count the corners, but there were certainly lots of them before we were back onto the towpath and the final couple of miles to Little Marlow and the end of our walk for the day.
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