1 Kew houseboat
This snazzy houseboat moored at Kew is beautifully furnished and maintained: polished wood floors, crisp white interiors, traditional sofas, large windows in the lounge, and soft, plump beds in its three bedrooms (two double and one single). Best of all is the deck where you can enjoy breakfast and sundowners as the swans glide by. It’s got all the mod cons, and is available for self-catering hire during the school holidays.
Details
Seven nights for two cost £600; £700 for three. A car parking space is included (bushhouseboat.co.uk)
2 Cruising hotel
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The African Queen is a cruising hotel and restaurant moored just outside Reading. In the winter months, you can stay here overnight in B&B accommodation. In the summer, she takes to the Thames in a busy diary of cruises. Join her for a dinner cruise, a weekend break, or a tailor-made cruise for eight or more. The hotel sleeps 12 in comfortable small rooms. The decor and food isn’t chi-chi; this is a hearty, homely experience that is good value and a great way to enjoy the beautiful Thames.
Details
Weekend breaks from £190pp (07774 917389, african-queen.co.uk)
3 Yacht at Tower Bridge
If you prefer your river experience to be from the safety of a well-upholstered lounge, with a glass of Champagne in hand and no chance of a swell, then the Absolute Pleasure Motor Yacht might be for you. This large luxury yacht is on a fixed mooring in St Katharine Docks, by Tower Bridge. She has six bedrooms (sleeping 12 in total), six bathrooms, sun balconies, a Jacuzzi and a lounge that can hold a cocktail party for 15. A crew will attend to your needs. At £2,500 for two nights. The price might seem steep, but book for 12 and it works out at £208pp — a budget rate for this part of London. Jump on a river bus at St Katharine Pier as an alternative, stress-free and picturesque way of getting around London.
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Details
Book the Absolute Pleasure through The Big Domain (thebigdomain.com). Transport for London has river bus timetables and fares (tfl.gov.uk). Oyster card-holders receive a discount on river buses
4 Country house near Henley-on-Thames
Danesfield House is a luxury country house hotel in an impressive estate by the Thames, between the well-heeled towns of Henley-on-Thames and Marlow. It has large rooms and suites decorated in a well-upholstered, traditional style, a spa and indoor pool. Dine in Adam Simmonds’ serene, oak-panelled restaurant, designed by Anouska Hempel. Simmonds has a Michelin star, and was voted Hotel Chef of the Year in last year’s prestigious Catey awards.
Details
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Prices for a two-night stay start from £199.50pp (danesfieldhouse.co.uk).
5 Richmond hotel with river view
The Petersham, built in 1865, has an unbeatable location in one of the loveliest spots on the Thames. The hotel sits on Richmond Hill, overlooking Petersham meadows, with its protected herd of cows. Turner painted here and Wordsworth was inspired by the nightingales to write a sonnet by the nightingales that sang here. It’s a comfortable, traditional place, with pretty rooms and an excellent restaurant that has panoramic views of the river.
Details
Weekend breaks at The Petersham start at £165 per room, per night based on two sharing. A river-view room, with wrought-iron balcony and French windows, costs from £250 (020-8940 7471, petershamhotel.co.uk)
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6 Flash pad in Battersea
This swish riverside apartment at Battersea Reach has three bedrooms (sleeping six), and spectacular views of the river from its balcony on the fourth floor. It’s part of a modern residential development (so no noisy parties allowed), but for your own pad in a funky area of town and a view to die for, it’s hard to beat for quality and value. Underground parking is included.
Details
From £338 a night on housetrip.com. See the property at tinyurl.com/7gzmrxq
7 Cotswold pub with rooms
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At the mouth of the Thames in the Cotswolds, between the villages of Bampton and Buckland, is the Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge. This is a picture-postcard Cotswold stone inn with a pub serving cask ales, a fine restaurant (with two AA rosettes) and six pretty, individually decorated rooms. There is berthing for six boats (£20 a night), good fishing in the area, gardens in which to kick back with a drink, and peaceful walks along the river.
Details
B&B doubles from £120 (01367 870382, trout-inn.co.uk)
8 Canal boating without the work
Combine the pleasure of a floating hotel and mini-cruise without having to do any of the work. The Geanna is a beautifully refurbished widebeam “hotel boat”, with three bedrooms, gleaming wood interiors, all mod cons and a large saloon that opens on to the deck. Check in and sail off along the river (you can do Caversham to Henley, or Sonning to Pangbourne), where staff will moor the boat for the night and leave you alone to enjoy the peace and privacy. The next day, you will be taken back to your starting point. Other cruise packages are available.
Details
The Geanna costs from £150 a night in low season (07780 887172, myrivercruising.com)
9 Profumo’s Clivenden
The Thames flows by sedately at the foot of a wooded hill, with landscaped gardens leading upwards to one of Britain’s finest country house hotels. Cliveden House dates from the mid-19th century and has 39 traditional rooms, many with commanding views across the river below. The hotel, which was the scene of the Christine Keeler and John Profumo affair in 1961, arranges champagne boat trips on vintage launches in the early evenings (£47pp). There’s also a superb spa next to a courtyard with the heated pool by which Keeler and Prufumo first met.
Details
Cliveden costs from £252 a night for a late availability B&B double, with use of the spa (01628 668561, clivedenhouse.co.uk).
10 Hotel with river boat in Marlow
The Compleat Angler is right by the bridge at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, on the banks of the Thames. It’s a big sprawling hotel with two restaurants, a buzzy atmosphere and the opportunity to hire your very own Thames launch. This costs £90 for an hour in a boat seating six, with a skipper included; or its £200 an hour for a boat taking up to 12. Rooms are plush, with a purple colour scheme. There’s a cocktail bar with a river view and lively jazz evenings.
Details
The Compleat Angler costs from £205 a night in a B&B double (08448 799128, macdonaldhotels.co.uk).
Splash around or stay dry with these river activities
Follow the Alice in Wonderland route
Follow the route that Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, his inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, took in their small rowing boat 150 years ago. Oxford River Cruises has a two-and-a-half-hour cruise, leaving Oxford and taking in Osney Island, Port Meadow and Godstow — where Carroll and Liddell picnicked, and the former first created the story. The company also offers Mad Hatter’s Tea Party cruises, with sandwiches, scones and clotted dream, cakes and tea.
Details
£25 adults; £15 under-16s (08452 269396, oxfordrivercruises.com).
Steamboat charter
The Alaska is a magnificent survivor from the days when the Thames was a working river. Built in 1883, she used to take passengers from Oxford to Kingston (the return journey took five days). Today, she is the oldest working passenger steamboat on the Thames and she is due to take part in the Jubilee pageant. You can charter the Alaska — for up to 30 people — from April to November between Maidenhead and Henley for a party or fully-catered meal.
Details
Three hours’ hire starts at £1,000, excluding catering. Limited day trips are available for £10 (07774 925323, thames-steamers.co.uk).
Get paddling
Explore the river by canoe and see wildlife up close. Thames Canoes offers open-canoe journeys that last from one day to a week.
Details
A one-day trip from Henley to Marlow costs £75 with Thames Canoes (0845 5190157, thamescanoes.co.uk)
Speeding downriver
London RIB Voyages offers thrilling speedboat cruises that roar up and down the Thames at 35 knots. Its Ultimate London Adventure takes you on a round-trip from the London Eye, past all the major sights, to Canary Wharf. Or try the Thames Barrier trip which takes you past Greenwich, right up to Barrier.
Details
50-minute cruises cost £42 per adult; £21 for under-14s (020-7928 8933, londonribvoyages.com)
Hiking holidays
Load off Your Back, an offshoot of Ramblers Worldwide, offers self-guided walks with your luggage transferred for you, so you can walk light. Try its eight-day route from Pangbourne to the Thames Barrier. You will cover, at most, 16 miles a day, so it’s not too taxing. You are given maps, history guides and stay in good-quality B&Bs along the way. Guided walks are also available.
Details
The eight-day Pangbourne to the Thames Barrier walk costs from £660pp (loadoffyourback.co.uk).
Dragon boat racing
Satisfy your competitive streak by taking part in a fast-and-furious Chinese dragon boat race along the Thames. The Kingston Royals offers open days where beginners can receive basic training and have a go. It’s a tough, physically challenging sport, but great if you want to get really fit and love an adrenalin rush. A training session costs £3 and takes place at the Royal Canoe Club in Teddington.
Details
Check kingstonroyals.com for regular updates.
Floating theatre
Children will love the Puppet Barge, one of London’s most charming floating attractions, which is moored at Little Venice in the winter, and at Richmond over the summer. It seats 55 under its red and yellow awnings, and has an imaginative programme of marionette and rod puppet shows that are so inventive and artfully staged that they will appeal to adults too.
Details
Adults £10; children £8.50 (020-7249 6876, puppetbarge.com).
More information visitthames.co.uk