Walk 7 : Henley via Hambleden Circular

Main walk: 14.9 km (9.3 miles), four hours 45 minutes walking time. For the whole outing including trains and meals allow eight hours 15 minutes.

Using shortcut to lunch 12.8 km (8.1 miles), or four hours walking time.

Short walk: 10.3km (6.4 miles) or 8.2km (5.1 miles) using shortcut to lunch.

OS Landranger Map No 175. OS Explorer Map 171

3 out of 10

Though it shares the picturesque flint stone village of Hambleden for lunch, this pleasant and undemanding walk follows a completely different route from the Henley Round walk in the first Time Out Book of Country Walks. In the morning it follows the left bank of the river (wilder and less manicured than the right bank) along the stretch where the famous Henley Regatta is held each summer), before passing through pastures and woodland to Hambleden. After lunch, it follows the valley down to cross the Thames over the weir at Hambleden Mill and Aston, and then crosses the lower part of Remenham Hill to return to Henley for tea. Note that Temple Island Meadows on the riverside stretch of this walk is very marshy in winter: wear wellington boots or choose a drier time of year to do this walk.

There are hourly buses from Mill End, the hamlet next to Hambleden Mill, back to Henley until 10pm daily (including Sundays), a journey of about ten minutes. This shortens the walk to 10.3km (6.4 miles) - or 8.2km (5.1 miles) if you have used the shortcut to lunch. For bus times, call 0870 608 2608

Special Note It is possible to combine the start or finish of this walk with the corresponding section of the Marlow Round walk to produce a Henley to Marlow or Marlow to Henley walk: see the Walk Options section of the Marlow Round walk chapter for details.

Henley is supposed to be the oldest settlement in Oxfordshire, dating at least from Roman times, but it really came into its own from the 12th century onward as a river crossing and a port for shipping grain and timber to London. These days the town has a much more refined air. It is supposed to have 300 listed buildings and is famous for its annual Regatta, held in the first week of July since 1839. Though the Regatta does include five days of rowing competitions, its more serious side is as a part of the summer "season", a social whirl for the well to do which also includes Ascot and Wimbledon. Non-rowing fans/socialites may prefer to avoid this walk during Regatta week, though only the first section as far as Temple Island is really affected by it.

The neo-classical folly on Temple Island, two kilometres downstream from Henley, was built in 1771 by James Wyatt as a fishing lodge for Fawley Court, the Christopher Wren designed mansion further down the river. It was the first example in England of the so-called Etruscan style. Today the island is owned by the Henley Regatta, and is rented out for corporate entertaining.

Hambleden is not to be confused with Hambledon in Hampshire where cricket was invented. WH Smith, founder of the newsagents (and also, incidentally, the supposed target of the satirical Gilbert and Sullivan song "Ruler of the Queens Navy" in HMS Pinafore), is buried in the churchyard (he became posthumously Lord Hambleden), and the company owned the village till 2003, when it put it up for sale. The parish church has several interesting memorials, including one to the family of Sir Cope D’Oyley, who died in 1633, on which the children are shown carrying skulls if they died before their parents. To the left of this tomb is an oak chest used by the Earl of Cardigan when he led the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854

Take the nearest train to 10.00 from London Paddington. To reach Henley, you have to change to the branch line at Twyford, though at times it is marginally quicker to take a fast train to Reading, where some Henley trains originate.

Park anywhere near Henley town centre. To start the walk, find the town’s bridge over the Thames (there is only the one) and follow the directions from the point marked [*] in the walk directions.

The recommended lunchstop is the Stag and Huntsman (tel 01491 571227) in Hambleden, 8km (5 miles) into the walk (or 5.9km/3.7 miles if you take the shortcut indicated in the text). This cosy and atmospheric village pub with a blazing fire in winter and a garden in summer serves food 12.00-2.00 daily, and from 7.00-9.30 pm Monday to Saturday.

2.6km (1.6 miles) further on, the Flower Pot Hotel (tel 01491 574721) in the tranquil hamlet of Aston is a homely unpretentious place, serving food to match from 12-2 pm daily (evenings 6 pm to 9pm Mon-Sat). The bar is decorated with stuffed fish, and there is a garden with hens and even guinea fowl pecking around it. If you are intending to use this as a lunchstop, start the walk at least an hour earlier, however - no later than 9am from London or 10am from Henley.

The early riverside part of the walk is a fine picnic spot, as is the churchyard in Hambleden and the far (south) side of Hambleden Weir.

There are several fine tea rooms in Henley, but the recommended one is The Henley Tea Rooms (01491 411412) in Thames Side, the waterfront just by the bridge. This friendly and informal place has plenty of tables, nice cakes and savoury items, and will stay open until around 7pm providing they have enough customers, though it can close before 6pm otherwise. If you expect to arrive after 6pm, you could give them a ring to be sure they are open.

A more upmarket alternative, on the corner of Hart Street and Thames Side and immediately opposite the bridge, is Crispins (tel 01491 574232). This cream teas until "around 6.30pm or 7pm" daily, though once again, it is prone to close earlier if custom is light.

At time of writing, there is also talk of a tea shop opening in Hambleden at the back of the village shop, which is on the left just before the church. Hambleden Church also serves teas in the churchyard on summer Sunday afternoons until about 5pm.

This text was taken from the 2004 edition of the book, and may be a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk.