An Afternoon In Henley-On-Thames

At Christmas I was given a gift voucher for a massage at the Red Lion hotel in Henley (top right picture). It took me awhile to get it booked but finally today I went! It was MUCH better than I expected - more like the sports massages that I love, and not so much a massage that normally comes under ‘beauty treatments’. The fact that the therapist was American had something to do with it - she explained the different kind of training they receive in the US and how there’s nothing really like it here in the UK.

Once the massage was done I wandered around the town for a couple of hours. First stop was by the river. I saw this amazing snoozing swan family and sat on a nearby bench to watch them. The mum seemed happy with me there - not too close. What a funny place to have a nap! She became comfortable enough with me there that she snoozed too. And after awhile she suddenly stood up and flapped her wings at her babies - “Nap time is over! Back into the water you get!” And off they went!

The yellow building through the church yard is St Mary’s church Chantry House where I actually had my massage - part used by the hotel and part by the church. As a medieval building, it’s a grade-1 listed building and is the oldest building in the county.

The bottom right picture shows the Henley Town Hall. The bottom middle picture is the cross outside St Mary’s church, with a botanical 3-D piece of wall art. Fascinating! (See Extra photo for the associated plaque). Top middle picture is an old pub and shop front off the town square. There are lots of beautiful old buildings in Henley - enough to fill another collage another day!

It was a wet and chilly day - I was even wearing my winter boots and a warm jacket today. But thankfully the morning’s pouring rain didn’t continue in the afternoon and there was even occasional blue sky during my outing. Henley is only 5 miles or so from me. I’m not sure why I don’t make more time to visit from time to time. Afternoon tea or lunch/dinner, anyone?