Best Thames River towns?

I don't know if it is the "best" but we certainly enjoyed a two-night stay in Henley-on-Thames two years ago.

http://visit-henley.com/about-henley

Easy access from London (Paddington Station) with one change on the way. it seems to be a popular point to access the Thames Path, as there were lots of walkers. My husband is a rower and arranged a coaching session with one of the clubs there. It was a real treat for him to row "the course" at Henley.

I don't know about shopping as we did not have time, but according to the website there are antique shops, a chocolate shop, and other independent (not chain) shops there. Also a nice selection of pubs along the river, along with nice restaurants on the main street.

Thank you, Lola. Henley-on-Thames was one of our considerations, but I wondered if it was too large to be enjoyed in a day. Seems do-able, though, from your comments. Did you enjoy staying there overnight?

We did! We stayed at the Hotel du Vin and liked it so much we added a night. Quirky room with in-room bathtub and huge rain shower and toilet in separate compartments (with doors) on either side of the claw foot tub. We had dinner one night at the Square (Portuguese---best swordfish ever) and one at a French place. The town itself felt very small to me---like a couple of blocks long for the retail area on the main street, which ran perpendicular to the river. Not sure how far it extends along the river but it can't be far as we walked out of town on both ends. There were some locks upriver which were fun to see.

This sounds perfect. Thank you, Lola, for the colorful details! I'll check out the hotel and might take a night away from London (which is always hard to do...)

If you want somewhere smaller, Marlow is very pretty.

Richmond is nice, and super easy by tube. I've walked from Richmond, through Putney, Battersea and up to Westminster along the Thames, very nice. Only a few miles.

Marlow and Richmond look like good contenders, although Lola might have convinced me with Henley-on-Thames. I'm wondering a few things ... Jane, are there nice walking paths in Marlow? I looked it up, and it does seem pretty from what I've seen online. Mike, does Richmond feel like a village? Or a bedroom community of London? I like the walking suggestions in Richmond. We might go there, regardless, on another day. Thanks to all of you for your assistance!

It's been some time since i was actually in Richmond for the day, rather than just walking through it... But from memory... It feels larger than a villiage.

It's a long time since I've been to Marlow but there's the path along the Thames of course - I've done it to Cookham:

http://www.weekendnotes.co.uk/river-walk-marlow-to-cookham/

And here's a circular route from Marlow in another direction: https://www.ifootpath.com/display-ifootpath-walk?walkID=440

Cookham is famed as the home of the eccentric and quintessentially English artist Stanley Spencer.

Windsor. It has great shopping, cafes, a great town to walk around in, a great castle, and you can walk the Thames Path out from either side of town. Easy access by rail.

My first thought was Henley on Thames but Lola beat me to it.....

Kingston might also be worth considering. The main modern part of the town isn't anything special But the area around the old market is nice.

http://www.kingstononline.co.uk/kingston-town-centre-ancient-market-place/

You could then walk across the bridge and walk along the river to Hampton Court. Or, a quicker option, walk through Hampton Court Park to Hampton Court itself. ( Because the river bends the river route is quite a bit longer, although very pleasant.)

In the other direction it's possible to walk along the river to Richmond.

Alan

Thank you, everyone, for the assistance! We've looked more thoroughly into the suggestions provided and may need to toss a coin. All of the towns fit the type of day we're looking for, with good walks and things to see. Aside from that, Henley, Marlow and Windsor look so picturesque, and Richmond and Kingston are an easy trek from London. I wonder, would it be too much to see two towns in a day? Of course, it might defeat our purpose of having a relaxing day outside of London. And there might not be time to walk along the Thames for any great distance. So, I'm not sure. But, for argument's sake, would it be possible to combine Henley with Marlow, or Marlow with Windsor? Then, if time permits, we could fit in Kingston or Richmond on another day ...

absolutely

Kingston to Richmond is 20 minutes on the train and a ticket is £3.70 so they are easy to combine.

Or, if you want to get in a bit of a river walk you could start at Richmond Station and walk to somewhere like Ham House. That's about a 40 minute walk and, if you turn inland you can pick up a 65 bus to Kingston.

If you want to walk further another 25 minutes or so will take you to Teddington Lock and you can cross the river here and pick up a Kingston bus on the main road.

There's a pub with a nice riverside garden by the lock. Haven't been there for a while so I don't know how good the food currently is but it's an option for lunch or a drink depending on time of day.

http://www.anglers-teddington.co.uk/

Alan