Thames Valley with Oxford

Like other great rivers, such as the Seine and the Danube, the Thames creates the illusion of flowing not only through the prosperous countryside of Berkshire and Oxfordshire, but through long centuries of history, too. The past seems to rise from its swiftly moving waters like an intangible mist.

Higher upstream it's a busy part of the living landscape, flooding meadows in spring and fall and rippling past places holding significance not just for England but also the world. Runnymede is one of these. Here, on a riverside greensward, the Magna Carta was signed, a crucial step in the Western world's progress toward democracy.

Along the River Thames, scattered throughout the unfolding landscape of trees, meadows, and hills, are numerous small villages and larger towns. The railroads and superhighways carrying heavy traffic between London, the West Country, and the Midlands have turned much of this area into commuter territory, but you can easily depart from these beaten tracks to discover timeless villages.

The stretches of the Thames near Marlow, Henley, and Sonning-on-Thames are havens for relaxation, with rowing clubs, piers, and well-built cottages and villas. Anyone who comes to London in summer and has some time to spare would be well advised to spend it touring the Thames Valley.

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