River & Rowing Museum

Oxford & the Cotswolds


To understand why Henley’s so crazy for rowing, visit this excellent modern museum, 500yd south of the train station. The airy 1st-floor galleries tell the story of rowing as an Olympic sport, with striking displays that include the early-19th-century Royal Oak, Britain’s oldest racing boat. Downstairs, a sweet 3D exhibition pays homage to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows; the romanticised river that book so lovingly depicts was inspired by the Thames around Henley.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Oxford & the Cotswolds attractions

1. Eton College

12.69 MILES

Eton College is England’s most famous public – as in, private and fee-paying – boys' school, and arguably the most enduring symbol of the British class…

2. Windsor Castle

13 MILES

The world’s largest and oldest continuously occupied fortress, Windsor Castle is a majestic vision of battlements and towers. Used for state occasions, it…

3. Windsor Great Park

13.13 MILES

Windsor Great Park stretches south from Windsor Castle almost all the way to Ascot, 7 miles southwest. It covers just under 8 sq miles and holds a lake,…

4. Savill Garden

14.81 MILES

Created in the 1930s by Sir Eric Savill in the southern reaches of Windsor Great Park, this pretty 14-hectare garden includes ornamental beds, woodlands…

5. Runnymede

15.32 MILES

Over 800 years ago, in June 1215, King John met his barons in this unassuming field, 3 miles southeast of Windsor. Together they hammered out an agreement…

6. Botanic Garden

21.39 MILES

Stretching beside the River Cherwell, Oxford's small, peaceful botanic garden was founded in 1621 for the study of medicinal plants. The oldest of its…

7. Christ Church Meadow

21.41 MILES

Christ Church Meadow, a lush expanse bordered by the Cherwell and Thames (or Isis) rivers, stretches away south and east of Christ Church. It's ideal for…

8. Magdalen College

21.41 MILES

Guarding access to a breathtaking expanse of private lawns, woodlands, river walks and even its own deer park, Magdalen ('mawd-lin'), founded in 1458, is…