THE EXQUISITE WORLD OF ELIZABETH BENNET: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 2005

Back in 2013, I did a piece about Lyme Park in Cheshire, which was where the famous ‘lake scene’ was filmed for the 1995 TV production of Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy emerging from the lake with diaphanous wet-through clothing.  This Christmas TV viewers have had the opportunity to see the 2005 film of this classic tale by Jane Austen, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy.

The action kicks off with Elizabeth strolling towards the Bennet family home, Longbourn.  This scene was filmed at Groombridge Place, a moated manor house near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.  Inside the home, the family are discussing the new occupant of nearby Netherfield Park, Mr Bingley.  Later on the Bennets pay a visit to Netherfield, and as they depart we catch sight of its imposing exterior.  The real-life property standing in for Netherfield is Basildon Park, Berkshire. 

Basildon Park (4739480359). Photo by Jim Bowen, via Wikimedia Commons.

There are a number of scenes involving the local village of Meryton, including the one in which soldiers arriving in the area go marching down the street, to the delight of the  young women of the village.  These scenes were filmed in the picturesque market town of Stamford, Lincolnshire.  During the filming horses used as part of the marching scene were seen outside the Arts Centre, while the churchyard in the square was filled with sheep. .Near Stamford is another imposing property, Burghley House, which is used in the film for Rosings Park, home of the de Bourgh family.  Anne de Bourgh is expected to marry Darcy.

The clergyman Mr. Collins, a distant cousin of Mr. Bennett who has designs on Elizabeth, lives in a vicarage which in real life is in the village of Weekley in Northamptonshire.  Haddon Hall near Bakewell in Derbyshire also puts in an appearance, with the banqueting hall acting as the interior of the Inn at Lambton. 

Naturally, the most imposing property of all in the story is Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy.  The Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire is used for Pemberley in the 2005 film.  This is not the first time Chatsworth has played the role of Pemberley.  The TV drama Death Comes To Pemberley  also made use of Chatsworth.  Meanwhile, Pemberley’s drawing room was filmed at Wilton House near Salisbury.

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire - geograph.org.uk - 2481560. Photo by Christine Matthews, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, there are a couple of outside scenes of note.  The scene which has Elizabeth standing on a precipice was filmed at Stanage Edge in Derbyshire.  Meanwhile, way down to the south, the stunning gardens of Stourhead in Wiltshire feature in the scene in which, in pouring rain, Mr Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth and is sharply rebuffed.  This scene takes place at a folly in the grounds known as the Temple of Apollo.

Stourhead Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 32663. Photo by Nigel Freeman, via Wikimedia Commons.

Groombridge Place is currently closed for renovation so cannot be visited by the public.  Basildon Park, an 18th century estate near the River Thames between Reading and Goring, is run by the National Trust and is open to visitors year round.  Burghley House is currently closed for the winter, but is due to reopen in March 2024.  Haddon Hall is open daily during the main season, and on selected dates in November and December.  Chatsworth House and its park are open year round, and is especially appealilng in the run up to Christmas.  

Stanage Edge lies in the Peak District, a couple of miles north of Hathersage, and is a gritstone escarpment popular with climbers.  The Temple of Apollo in Stourhead Gardens is a fine example of classical buildings known as 'follies' which were erected in the estates of the landed gentry of times gone by.  The gardens are run by the National Trust and are open year round.

 

A FICTIONAL TOUR OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND: JUDE THE OBSCURE, THOMAS HARDY

 One notable feature of the novels of Thomas Hardy is his use of real locations masked by fictional names.  Probably the most famous of these is Casterbridge, aka Dorchester in real life.  In Jude The Obscure, the action takes place in a number of different locations, each with its real-life equivalent.

 

The story kicks off in the village of Marygreen, where Jude Fawley, who has been sent to live with his great-aunt Drusilla following the death of his father, is upset that the local schoolmaster, Phillotson, is taking off for pastures new, namely the university city of Christminster (see below).  As it happens, the real-life version of Marygreen is also called Fawley, a village in Berkshire.  The church of St Mary the Virgin, completed in 1866, is the real-life version of Marygreen Church in the novel.

 

Jude Fawley’s dearest wish is to go and study at Christminster, which becomes something of an obsession to the point where he considers it the “New Jerusalem”.  However, it is not to be, and he ends up as a stonemason instead.  It is not at all hard to guess which is the real-life equivalent of Christminster, especially when we discover that it is to the north-east of Marygreen.  A glance at the map reveals that this venerable seat of learning has to be Oxford, one of the most famous university cities in the world along with its cousin to the east, Cambridge.

 

Oxford from Westgate Mall. Photo by Dicklyon, via Wikimedia Commons.

In another chapter of Jude’s life he finds himself in Melchester, where his on-off love affair with his cousin Sue develops.  He goes there to study for the clergy, having been lured by Sue, who is at a Training College in the city.  Jude finds work in the cathedral there while reading theological works in preparation for his career.  The real-life cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire was the inspiration for Hardy’s Melchester.  Salisbury lies to the north of the New Forest and south of Salisbury Plain, with its elegant cathedral spire visible from miles around.  The city made the news in 2018 for the worst of reasons, being the location where the poison novichok was used to target former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, with an unfortunate local woman ending up dead as a result.

 

Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral ^ Scenery - geograph.org.uk - 3106160. Photo by Lewis Clarke, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

By the time the action has moved to Shaston, Sue is married to Phillotson, who has moved there to run a school.  Jude catches up with Sue there and they flee together.  In real life, Shaston is the town of Shaftesbury, Dorset, famous for its picturesque cobbled street, Gold Hill, which featured in a 1970s TV advert for Hovis bread. 

 

Gold Hill Shaftesbury - geograph.org.uk - 2206454. Photo by peter robinson, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jude and Sue go to live together at Aldbrickham, which is where Jude’s flighty ex-wife Arabella used to work as a barmaid before she met him.  Arabella makes a reappearance in Jude’s life during this time at Aldbrickham, resulting in an unexpected addition to Jude’s family.  Aldbrickham’s real-life equivalent is the large Berkshire market town of Reading on the River Thames.  The town has long been an important commercial centre, above all most recently for the IT industry.

LADIES ON THE WARPATH IN LONDON: SUFFRAGETTE

 

In 1912 the women of Britain were in the throes of an awakening.  Thanks to the fearless and feisty efforts of Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, and of Millicent Fawcett, the ladies of London and beyond were starting to realise the extent of the discrimination against them, in particular with regard to the vote.

The 2015 film Suffragette tells the story of a young married woman, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) who finds herself drawn into the struggle, with Meryl Streep putting in an appearance as Emmeline Pankhurst.  Much of the action takes place in London, however, not all the scenes were filmed in London.

Maud works at a laundry in Bethnal Green, a grim working environment with a misogynistic boss who is not above seeking sexual favours from female employees, some of them very young.  The exterior of the laundry building was filmed at Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent, while the interior scenes were built at an educational establishment called the Highfield Oval in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.  In those days it was common for factory workers to live in purpose-built housing, and the red-brick tenements where Maud’s family live are on the Boundary Estate, Shoreditch.

In one scene, Maud is seen venturing to London’s West End, where she witnesses an attack on the shop fronts.  The West End is generally regarded as the area in Central London where the main shopping and entertainment areas are, but in the film it is the area known as Cornhill, a few hundred metres to the east of St Paul’s Cathedral, which is used to represent the West End.  The district falls within the City of London, the oldest part of the city.  It developed into the city’s financial centre, and the Bank of England can still be found nearby, on Threadneedle Street, while the Royal Exchange, a trading centre first established in Elizabethan times, is now a shopping centre. The shop coming under attack in the West End scene is at Smythson, 7 Royal Exchange Buildings.

                            London Royal Exchange. Photo by ÁWá, via Wikimedia Commons.

The most recognisable part of London seen in the film is Westminster, with Big Ben appearing in the scene in which Maud heads to the Palace of Westminster to give testimony before a Parliamentary committee tasked with looking into the question of women’s suffrage.  The Central Lobby with its distinctive octagonal shape features in the interior scenes depicting the committee’s enquiries, with Committee Room 16 acting as the scene of the hearing. 

               London - The Parliament - 2773. Photo by Jorge Royan, via Wikimedia Commons.

As Maud finds herself being drawn into the world of the suffragettes, we see her arrest and imprisonment in Holloway Prison, and ultimately the break-up of her marriage and the loss of her son, who is placed with another more ‘suitable’ family.  The interior of the prison is filmed far away in Wales in Ruthin Gaol (now a museum), Denbighshire, while the cells are taken from the former Clerkenwell House of Detention back in London (now converted to apartments, though the cells remain in the basement, in a part of the building known as the Clerkenwell Catacombs).  The prison gates, seen in the scene where Maud gets a medal for her first arrest, were filmed at Lincoln’s Inn Gate, Newman’s Row, Lincoln’s Inn Fields.  Maud is arrested again after listening to Emmeline Pankhurst giving a speech to the suffragettes – this took place at 18 Myddelton Square in Islington.

                     Ruthin Gaol - courtyard. Photo by Arwel Parry, via Wikimedia Commons.

These are just some of the chapters of the story of Maud and her fellow suffragettes, but before we go there is one final location which was used in the explosive and tragic scene where Maud’s friend Emily Davison (Natalie Press) throws herself under a galloping racehorse, resulting in her death and martyrdom for the suffragette cause.  The real-life event took place at Epsom Racecourse, but  Royal Windsor Racecourse stood in for Epsom in the film.

Chatham Historic Dockyard is open to the public, and the attractions there include visits to historic ships and a Victorian Ropery.  The Boundary Estate is just to the east of the A10, adjacent to Hackney.  The Royal Exchange shopping centre has a range of upscale dining options as well as some big name high end boutiques.  The Palace of Westminster is open to visitors, who can take a tour or watch debates and committees. 

Ruthin Gaol is beside the River Clwyd in this historic Welsh town, and has received the Visit Wales Hidden Gem award three times.  Lincoln’s Inn Fields is in the Holborn area of Central London, near the Holborn Underground Station.  Myddelton Square lies just south of the A501, to the west of Sadler’s Wells Theatre.  Royal Windsor Racecourse lies by the side of the A308 at the western edge of Windsor, Berkshire.

Map of London.

THE REAL HOME OF MIDSOMER MURDERS: THAMES AND CHILTERNS

The area to the east of Oxford, especially the River Thames and the Chilterns, is characterised by quaint towns and villages with genteel red brick buildings, village greens, pretty pubs, cricket and horseriding. In short, not the sort of place one would expect to be a hotbed of murder and mayhem. However, in the TV world this is the county of Midsomer, home of the Midsomer Murders series, and there have been enough murders over the years for the series to clock up a staggering 20 seasons since its launch in 1997. The poor soul charged with solving all these murders is Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, formerly played by John Nettles, who has more recently been replaced by Neil Dudgeon.

The fictional village at the heart of all this bloodshed is Causton. As is often the case, more than one real life location has been used for the filming of the Causton scenes. The three main locations are Wallingford, Thame and Henley-on-Thames, all of them market towns in South Oxfordshire.

In the Thameside town of Wallingford, the market square features in the series and the Corn Exchange plays the role of Causton Theatre. Inspector Barnaby is often seen driving across the bridge which spans the River Thames. The Midsomer Worthy Choir of the series has singers from the local choir in Wallingford. Visitors to the town who are fans of the series should head to the museum, which has displays about the filming in the town, along with scripts and some of the props.

Wallingford Town Hall. Photo by Tom Bastin, via Wikimedia Commons

The town of Thame (named after the River Thame rather than the more famous Thames) has provided a number of locations for the series, for example the former tourist office, which is depicted as Causton’s library, the Town Hall as Causton Town Hall in Shot At Dawn (season 11) and others, the Market House, Rumsey’s Chocolaterie as Madrigal's Camera Shop in Picture of Innocence (season 10) and three of its inns, The Swan, The Black Horse and The Spread Eagle. Thame Museum was used in Secrets and Spies (season 12).  Last year the town started offering walking tours of the locations used in the series.

Upper High Street, Thame, with the Swan Hotel - geograph-4126457-by-Stefan-Czapski, via Wikimedia Commons

In Henley-on-Thames, the Town Hall serves as Causton’s court house in Last Year’s Model (season 9) and The Argyll pub features in the same episode. The butcher’s shop Gabriel Machin is seen in The Magician’s Nephew (season 11), playing Anton Thorneycrofts butcher’s. Henley is best known for its annual Royal Regatta, and this fact is put to good use in Dead in the Water (season 8), which features the Midsomer Regatta. One of the town’s restaurants, CAU (formerly La Bodega at the time of filming), is seen in Down Among the Dead Men (season 9), with Inspector Barnaby buying drinks in the garden of the establishment, renamed Cafe Vinters. No Oxfordshire market town would be complete without a ramshackle antiques shop, and in Henley it is Tudor House Antiques which was chosen as a location in A Sacred Trust (season 14).

Hart Street, Henley-on-Thames - geograph.org.uk - 526487. Photo by Colin Smith, via Wikimedia Commons

This part of the country is full of pretty villages which were used in the series, too many to mention in full. Moulsford, near Wallingford, features in Dead in the Water. Warborough, set back a bit from the river, is the home of the The Six Bells, where Barnaby and his sidekick Sergeant Troy are sometimes seen having a pint while discussing the latest case. The exterior of the pub has been renamed several times for different episodes, as The Quill Inn, The Black Swan and The Luck in the World. Further afield, just outside Maindenhead, the village of Holyport is the focal point of Harvest of Souls (season 18), its picturesque pub The George on the Green on the village green being renamed The Black Dog for the filming.

The Six Bells, Warborough - geograph.org.uk - 1392017. Photo by Jonathan Billinger, via Wikimedia Commons

For a comprehensive compendium of information on the series and the locations used, head over to the Visit Midsomer website.

BAKE!!! WELFORD PARK, BERKSHIRE

After much tutting and fretting about the change of presenters and the intrusion of commercial breaks to the show, the Great British Bake Off successfully made its transition from BBC1 to Channel 4 for this year’s series, which reaches its climax next Tuesday.  At first I was adamant that I wouldn’t watch it anymore, but I soon found myself sucked into the new format.  Yes, the commercials are annoying, but the bakes are as magnificent as ever, the dramas and tears just as poignant, and the surroundings just as lovely.  One aspect of the show which was not changed for the move to Channel 4 was the filming location, Welford Park, a privately owned mansion in Berkshire which had already been used twice for the BBC version.  As is so often the case, the collaboration between Welford Park and Bake Off came about as a result of a conversation at a party involving the Park’s agent, and filming began there just three weeks later.

Welford Park House - geograph.org.uk - 1643603. Photo by Des Blenkinsopp, via Wikimedia Commons.

Anyone wanting to visit the scene of all this baking will have to wait until the New Year, as the estate only opens to visitors between January and March, when the main draw is the magnificent display of snowdrops in the grounds of the estate.  The snowdrop season ends just in time for the marquee to be erected in April for the filming of the upcoming series.  The same cafeteria used to cater for snowdrop watchers is used to feed the show’s production team.  The interviews with the contestants take place in the estate’s gardens, which are much loved by the team for the changes which take place from spring through to summer.

Spring snow at Welford Park - geograph.org.uk - 1185198. Photo by D Gore, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welford Park was built in 1652 for the son of the then Lord Mayor of London.  In keeping with the baking theme, additions made in subsequent centuries included the addition of a kitchen block and a very large dining room.  Before the creation of the estate, the site was occupied by a monastery and village.  Baking was a serious business in those days:  the Berkshire Record Office unearthed a document dating from 1337 from the Welford Estate archives described as an ‘assize of bread’.  The document gives strict instructions for baking a white bread known as a wastell loaf as well as a simnel cake.  This was used as the basis for making sure that bakers were not diddling their customers by falling short of the set standards.  If found guilty they were fined or, if persistent offenders, sent off to the stocks for a day.  Makes one of those ‘looks’ from Paul Hollywood seem like child’s play in comparison!

Welford Park is just off the M4, to the north west of Newbury.

Map of the area.

HOLLYWOOD MEETS THE HOME COUNTIES: MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

In 2014 Eddie Redmayne had his finest hour so far in The Theory of Everything, starring as Stephen Hawking.  However a few years before Redmayne appeared in another excellent film called My Week With Marilyn. The film centres around the visit to the UK in 1956 by Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and her new husband Arthur Miller for the making of The Prince And The Showgirl with Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh), whose patronising attitude towards Marilyn leads to a prickly relationship. Redmayne plays the part of an aspiring film-maker called Colin Clark who is working on the film,  and who finds himself looking after Marilyn when Arthur departs for Paris.  The real-life Colin Clark chronicled his blissful week with the great star in his diaries ‘My Week With Marilyn’, which followed an earlier account of the wider visit by the star called ‘The Prince, the Showgirl and Me’ – the film is based on both of these accounts.  

Apart from the brilliant cast of the film, which also includes Judi Dench, the film features a wide variety of locations in south-east England, including several in the Home Counties. Marilyn and Arthur flew in to London Airport in 1956 (the precursor to Heathrow), which in the film is represented by White Waltham Airfield, one of the oldest airfields in the country, located 2 miles south-west of Maidenhead.  While in Britain, the couple stayed at Parkside House on the edge of the village of Englefield Green in Surrey, and the makers of My Week With Marilyn managed to do some of the filming there, including the shot of the newly-weds standing in the doorway of the house.  It was Clark who was dispatched to look for a suitable property within easy reach of Pinewood Studios, where The Prince and the Showgirl was being made, and what he found was a large Regency house set in a secluded location adjoining Windsor Great Park and set in 10 acres of grounds, including the rose garden where the newly-weds held a photo call.  Other famous people who have stayed at the house include Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.

St  Simon and St Jude, Englefield Green - geograph.org.uk - 1521391. Photo by Michael FORD, via Wikimedia Commons

During Marilyn’s week with Clark, he takes her to Windsor Castle.  Some of the interior shots of this episode plus the castle grounds were shot at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.  This Jacobean property has been home to the Cecil family ever since it was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, the 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I.  The present-day building is located at the site of an earlier building, the Royal Palace of Hatfield, which was the childhood  home of Queen Elizabeth I.  The building was given to Cecil by Elizabeth's successor James I because he did not like it much, and it was Cecil's fondness for instigating building work that led to its transformation into what is seen today.  The 42 acres of gardens were created in the 17th century by John Tradescant the elder, who introduced plants new to England and added a number of features including a maze, fountains, water parterres and terraces.  One feature of the grounds known as Broad Water is where the skinny dipping scene was filmed.  Fans of Johnny Depp should be familiar with Hatfield House, since several of his films were made there, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow and Mortdecai.  Hatfield House is open to visitors, but is currently closed, although the shops and restaurant are still open along with Hatfield Park Farm and Bloody Hollow.  The house and estate reopen in March.

Hatfield House - geograph.org.uk - 760240. Photo by Pam Fray, via Wikimedia Commons

Clark also takes Marilyn to his old school, Eton College, which was also where one of the interior shots depicting Windsor Castle was filmed, in which Marilyn puts on a show for the Windsor staff.   Coincidentally Eddie Redmayne also attended Eton.   The college was founded by Henry VI as a place of free learning for poor boys who would then go on to King’s College, Cambridge.  Somewhat different to today, as Eton is now a preferred choice of schooling for the likes of royalty and future politicians.  Eton has been used for many films over the years, including Chariots of Fire, The Madness of King George and Shakespeare In Love, to name but a few.

Eton College quadrangle. Photo by jtriefen, via Wikimedia Commons

HORROR IN ROYAL WINDSOR

Think of Windsor and what words come to mind?  Royalty? River? Castle?  These are the things that Windsor is best known for, but what may be less well known is the role the town has played in the making of some of the best-known horror films, particularly those made by Hammer Films.  The focal point for the filming was the gothic-looking turretted building called Oakley Court on the outskirts of Windsor next to the River Thames.  Oakley Court is currently a hotel, although it was reportedly put up for sale earlier this year.  Because of its dramatic, spooky appearance and its location adjacent to the Bray Studios Oakley Court came to be used for a large number of film productions, some 200 in all. 

In 1957 Peter Cushing was filmed at Oakley Court dabbling in science with monstrous consequences in The Curse Of Frankenstein.  The following year Cushing was joined by the other great horror supremo Christopher Lee in Dracula, in which Oakley Court portrayed Arthur Holmwood's house.  In 1960 the building's entrance became the entrance to Castle Meinster in The Brides Of Dracula.  Then it was a girls' school in Nightmare (1962).  In 1964 Frankenstein made another appearance in The Evil Of Frankenstein, with Oakley Court as the Frankenstein family castle near Karlstad.  The building appeared as Nahum Witley's house in Monstor Of Terror (1965) and Hamilton Manor in The Plague Of The Zombies (1966).  The building's castle-like appearance served it well again in And Now The Screaming Starts (1973) when the exterior of the building depicted Fengriffen Castle.  The musical comedy The Rocky Horror Show made use of Oakley Court in 1975.  At the time of filming the hotel was to all intents and purposes a decrepit shell of a building, with buckets dotted around for catching the rainwater coming through the holes in the roof.  The building was used for the exterior castle scenes, while parts of the interior were used for the criminologist's study, the dining room, Brad's room, Janet's room and Columbia's room. 

However, the making of films in the horror genre in Windsor was not exclusively confined to Oakely Court.  In 1955 The Quatermass Experiment made use of a number of locations around the town.  This horror classic featured a half-man half-monster called Carroon.  While mutating, Carroon steals drugs from a chemist's shop: the building used is the Woods Of Windsor shop on Queen Charlotte Street, incidentally the shortest street in Britain.  The scene featuring the discovery of a trail of slime was filmed in Goswell Hill, beside the railway station.   In 1966 the comedy Carry On Screaming featured a scene involving a police station which was filmed in St Leonard's Road.  The building used for the police station was a former fire station, but is now an arts centre.  Sergeant Bung's house in the film was on Queens Road.

So, on the occasion of Halloween lets turn down the lights, put on one of these classic horror films and give thanks to Oakley Court and to Windsor for their contribution to the horror film industry.

For tourist information on Windsor, follow this link.

Map of the town. 

Windsor sceptre.  Photo by Mark Furney, via Wikimedia Commons

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER: THREE MEN IN A BOAT

I have a great affection for the River Thames.  I came to know every inch of the stretches of the river from the source up to Windsor some years ago when I set about walking sections of the Thames Path.  From the intermittent trickle of the source near the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, via the wild meanderings beyond Lechlade, the bucolic stretches from Oxford to Reading, Henley to Maidenhead, and finally that amazing moment when Windsor Castle came into view in all its glory.  So it was with great enthusiasm that I embarked on reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, which tells the story of a boat trip from Kingston Upon Thames to Oxford made by three friends - the author, Harris and George - and an errant dog called Montmorency (the men were based on real people, the dog was fictional).  Published in 1889, at around the time that leisure boating on the Thames became fashionable, it provides a fascinating insight into the life and mores of the late 19th century, as well as a sense of humour which has stood the test of time.

Kingston Upon Thames, or Cyninges tun as it was known during its early days in the 9th century, got its name from the fact that the Saxon kings were crowned here. It is here that, on a "glorious morning" the three friends arrive by train from London Waterloo, having bribed a train driver to go off his designated route to take them there, and take possession of the boat that is to be their home for the duration of the trip.  Just around the first bend from Kingston is Hampton Court with its maze, which features in one of the most comic scenes in the book, in which Harris leads a group of tourists into the maze and gets them lost in it for hours.  Then on to Moulsey Lock, which the author describes beautifully, capturing the typical boating scene of the day with its "brilliant tangle of bright blazers, and gay caps, and saucy hats".  The trio spend their first night camping at Picnic Point, Runnymede, which is near Magna Carta Island (or Magna Charta Island as named in the book).  This is a location with huge historical significance, being where King John sealed the Magna Carta, hence the name of the island, which is one of the principal contenders for the exact location where this happened.

Magna Carta Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 943627. Photo by Andy Stephenson, via Wikimedia Commons

Windsor, surprisingly, gets short shrift in the book, while Maidenhead is dismissed as "too snobby to be pleasant".  However, the author is much more impressed with Marlow, where Montmorency has an undignified spat with a cat, and where the three friends replenish their supplies in the local stores, resulting in a procession of delivery boys taking baskets of food down to the boat.  Up to this point, the author has been effusive in his praise of the river's beauty, but at Reading the tone changes, describing the river as "dismal and dirty", and with the comment that "one does not linger in the neighbourhood of Reading".  Some may say not a lot has changed, although the day I passed through Reading on my walk the riverside area seemed pleasant enough.  Beyond Reading, the neighbouring villages of Streatley and Goring are described as "a great fishing centre", which still seems to be true to this day. 

River Thames at Marlow - geograph.org.uk - 488905. Photo by Nigel Cox, via Wikimedia Commons

Wending their way towards Oxford, the friends arrive at Dorchester (Dorchester-on-Thames that is, not the one in Dorset!) where the countryside "grows more hilly, varied, and picturesque".  Dorchester is another historical highlight along the river: as its name suggests, it has Roman origins, and it was once the capital of Wessex, somewhat hard to believe now, looking at this sleepy little village. Then Abingdon, "a typical country town of the smaller order", and finally the stretch from Iffley to Oxford - "the most difficult bit of the river I know" declares the author, due to the nature of the currents.  Sadly, the trip comes to an abrupt end further back downstream at Pangbourne, where due to the fact that it is pouring with rain the trio decide to cut short their journey and head back by train to London, leaving the boat and its contents with a local boatman who they fool into thinking they will be coming back for it.

Iffley Lock - geograph.org.uk - 439741. Photo by Stephen McKay, via Wikimedia Commons

See here for a guide to the Thames, and if you feel like walking it, check out the Thames Path website.