Sue's Sunday Walk - Henley on Thames

Henley-on-Thames is one of the most beautiful towns in England, previously voted by The Times and The Telegraph as one of the best places to live in the English countryside. Henley’s riverside location, surrounded by a Chiltern landscape of wooded hills and green fields, lends itself to relaxation, long lunches and quirky shopping. There’s a pub where Charles I drank, a Chantry house, a butcher that smokes his own meat and independent shops still offering the personal touch.

But it’s not just beautiful, it has an international reputation earned over 175 years by the world’s greatest rowing regatta. For those who have time at the end of the walk, there is plenty to explore in the town.

The walk is fairly flat and heads through peaceful woodland and farmland. The walk starts heading out of town along a track called ‘Pack and Prime Lane’. It is an ancient way that was used as a drive to cut off the river bend around Reading in the days when there were no locks. The name is said to come from the days when the London to Oxford coach would stop up by Gravel Hill and "pack and prime" the guns. Apparently in those days highway robbery was rife in the area! This route extends to Dog Lane and to the village of Rotherfield Peppard.

From there the walk heads through the grounds of Greys Court, a National Trust property. This picturesque 16th-century mansion and tranquil gardens were home to the Brunner family until recent years, although the influential de Grey family held Greys Court when it was first recorded in the Doomsday Book in 1086.

Heading back towards Henley-on-Thames, the walk goes through some beautiful woodland and through Badgemore golf course. here are plenty of cafes and pubs for those who wish to have a drink at the end of the walk.