Typical example of someone thinking 'it sounds better in French': calling
their boat 'The Big Cheese'!
It is time for my third (and last) instalment of my England trip series! On our last day before going back home, my friend Julie and I set sail for Henley-on-Thames. Well, I wish we went there on boat, but we actually just took the train (boring!). Henley is a cute little village at the very South of Oxfordshire, and is known for his River & Rowing Museum, as the place is bordered by the Thames and home to a lot of boat-related events. Although I am not particularly fond of rowing, I adore small, peaceful villages so this is the main reason I knew Henley was right up my street! We went for a pleasant afternoon stroll and coffee break. The weather was not as good as we'd hoped, but the scenery was so perfect it didn't really matter.
If you were to visit Henley, I'd advise you to keep it simple. Walk along the tiny streets, take a look at all the beautiful houses and enjoy the view. There are a lot of little coffee houses there, like Hot Gossip, which is a tiny coffee house in the city centre that would make a nice spot for a break. Henley is also a great spot for a shopping afternoon, with quite a few vintage shops (although we failed to spot these when we were there, probably because we can't use a map properly it seems) and really cool independent shops where you'll find cards and stationery, candles, clothing or books.
Speaking of books, we stumbled upon the cutest second-hand and antiquarian bookshop ever: Richard Way Bookseller. Although the Visit Henley website says the bookshop specialises in books about rowing, they do have a great selection of fiction and non-fiction books. We rummaged through the shelves, looking at vintage books and maps, and I would have taken all the books home if I could!
After our (much needed) coffee break, we went for a walk along the river, taking photos of all the boats we saw and wondering how it felt to actually own a boat and maybe live in it. There were quite a few people having a walk there as well, I feel like Henley is a place most people in the area know about, and I surely know that if I lived in the surroundings, I would go there for weekend days out. I'm hoping to go back to Henley-on-Thames in the summer one day, so maybe I could enjoy a little boat trip, see what the rowing thing is all about! ;)
Do you know any villages similar to Henley? Do you also enjoy walking around peaceful villages, instead of facing the bustle of big cities?
Lots of love,
Julia x
Lots of love,
Julia x
