See former post https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/eight-chocolate-box-villages-near-london.
We are in Cookham right now. Arrived yesterday and leave tomorrow. And that is more than enough time here :-)
The village is everything you think from the description and far smaller than I thought. Walking (actually dawdling) from one end ("Bel and the dragon") to the other ("The Crown") takes about 10 minutes. There are two tea shops, three pubs, one small book shop, a number of restaurants and a number of other shops. Very cosy.
There are also large open areas with grass and lots of dogs enjoying running around on the grass. The area along the Thames is very nice for a tranquil walk to destress or just enjoy the water and the boats.
Bel and the dragon is a nice place to stay. it is very old and our room is small with an ajoining room for a child; small bed, small door and small furniture. Ther is a large garden, where you can enjoy food or a drink - weather permitting. The restaurant is fine; we had a fish share platter yesterday, but they have lots of other options. All the rooms are named after Stanley Spencer's wifes and mistresses, making sure that a wife and a mistress are not nabours anywhere :-)
My recommendation for anyone wanting to visit is to arrive at noon, have lunch, enjoy the village, check in to your accomodation, have dinner, sleep, take a walk from The Crown over the common area to the river, along the river back to the village, have lunch and leave. That will give you enough time to see everything in one whole day (plus transport).