Luxury Gastronomic Thames: Itinerary
8 nights / 9 days self - guided gastronomic boating and walking tour or boating tour only
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Click on each day's photo to view your hotel's website
Day One - Arrive Oxford
Optional guided walk of Oxford.
Arrive in Oxford on Saturday and check into your hotel located in the heart of the city. Enjoy a guided walk in the afternoon through the treasures of this historic gem taking in some of the lovely colleges of the University with their magnificent architecture. Discover too museums, galleries, famous libraries, unique shops and river backwaters dotted with punts and rowing eights. Click on the image to view your hotel. Dinner can be arranged at a restaurant in the nearby Cotswolds.
Day Two - Oxford to Abingdon
Optional 5 miles (8 km)
Boat ride 2 hours
Your boat ride to Abingdon leaves after lunch so have a final stroll around Oxford or take our walk and discover how rural Oxford slides right into the heart of the city. The Thames Path and the canal offer wide meadows, big skies with views of those famour spires and abundant wildlife. No surprises that this particular landscape inspired the writing of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Back on earth, you board your boat from the city centre and float downstream in time for tea in Abingdon. Stay overnight here on an island adjacent to where you landed with your luggage awaiting you. We will transfer you to the beautiful setting of Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons for dinner.
Day Three - Abingdon to Wallingford
Optional 7 miles (11km)
Boat ride 3 hours
Unravel the history of ancient Abingdon this morning and watch the world go by. Those who like 'doing' can take our circular walk along the Thames Path to pretty Sutton Courtenay with backwaters, islands and gentle hills enroute back. Enjoy a riverside lunch in Abingdon and hop aboard afterwards for the picturesque cruise. The Thames on this stretch is unassuming with a serene charm, beautiful bridges and a few remote locks. Arrive in Wallingford late afternoon with time to enjoy this characterful town. Dinner can be arranged at an idyllic riverside restaurant.
Day Four - Wallingford to Sonning
Optional 3 or 9 miles (5 or 14 km)
Boat ride 3 hours
Don't miss the boat - it leaves after breakfast! Today's ride is all drama as the river cuts through the stunning woods of the Chiltern Hills. Disembark in time for lunch when you can ponder your next step. For those who want nothing to do with walking we will transfer you to the Tudor village of Sonning - perhaps the prettiest of all Thames villages. You can also arrive here by taking a short walk along the Thames Path and if you're still feeling energetic you can carry on with a walk into the hills. Whatever the choice, your hotel sits on the river bank in Sonning. A four course dinner is included at a restaurant with a Johansen award for excellence
Day Five - Sonning to Henley
Optional 5 miles (8 km)
Boat ride 1 hour
Take time to explore Sonning before today's short but beautiful boat ride drops you in Henley for lunch. Famed for its annual rowing regatta, this elegant town offers much for you to discover. The river too boasts some wonderful sites with pretty weirs, an old mill and magical islands. Explore these on foot if you wish today or tomorrow. Your overnight stay is in the heart of Henley. An award winning game menu can be enjoyed at a nearby inn.
Day Six - Henley to Marlow
Boat ride 2 hours
A very relaxing day! Soak up the atmosphere of Henley and enjoy; perhaps too pay a visit to The River and Rowing Museum. Your boat departs at tea time and takes you through some of the river's most magical settings enroute to aflluent Marlow - a wow of a town.. Dock beside the weir and suspension bridge and find your hotel close by. Dinner is included tonight at stunning Cliveden House.
Day Seven - Marlow to Windsor
Optional 3 miles (5 km)
Boat ride 4 hours
On this morning's boat trip you float through an idyllic stretch of the Thames also famed for political scandal, royalty, literary and artistic connections. As Windsor Castle comes into view it's lunch time with an array of riverside locations to choose from. There's lots to explore here including Eton over the bridge and a relaxed walk taking in all these sites if you wish. Stay for two nights in the heart of this historic royal town. Dinner can be arranged at a nearby world class restaurant.
Day Eight - Enjoy Windsor
Optional 5 miles (8 km)
Enjoy Windsor today and take time to visit the castle where the Queen still lives.You should catch the changing of the guard or you might want to take a tour of Eton College but you should if you possibly can head into wonderful Windsor Great Park. Our route gives fabulous views of London and a stroll up the soaring Long Walk back to the castle. Enjoy a finale dinner with the Tasting Menu at Hestor Blumenthal's The Fat Duck.
Day Nine - Depart Windsor
Depart today at your leisure. Windsor is a 20 minute drive from Heathrow airport.
