Today I’m continuing my strategy of blogging about what’s close to home. What else can you do during lockdown? We’re back on The Green Way, but heading south this time, towards the village of Bray. You might have heard of it – it’s otherwise known as Heston’s Kingdom!
Bray is not the kind of place you’d expect to be world renowned. It’s a pretty, sleepy, tiny corner of Berkshire. But, strangely, it has some of the best restaurants in Britain. Of the 137 Michelin-3-starred restaurants globally, 5 are in the UK and 2 of these are in Bray. The rest are in London. Seems strange doesn’t it? Why this particular village? Let’s take a walk and check it out.
The Green Way runs pretty much past the end of our street, and it’s only a couple of miles to Bray, through the centre of Maidenhead. We start by passing one of Neil Garnett’s Guardians of the Green Way. There are 8 in total and they definitely add a bit of interest to the route, whether you like them or not.
The section of the path that runs through town has been regenerated over the last few years. There is still work to be done, but the opening up of the waterways has been a huge improvement to what was a bit of a drab centre.
The new weir, opened by our local MP, Theresa May, just this year, is designed to keep water levels constant throughout the town waterways. I’ve seen artist’s impressions involving gondolas, which seems a bit over the top, but you never know. Look out Venice, Maidenhead could soon be snapping at your heels!
On the other side of town, we enter Braywick Park, a local nature reserve. The Green Way takes us all the way through, with a few more Guardians to admire along the way.
At the end of the Green Way, we emerge in the village of Bray, foodie paradise extraordinaire. It’s also very picturesque, just how Americans imagine all English villages are, with a village green, an old church and some beautiful almshouses.
It’s the little quirky details that I love when visiting somewhere like this – an unexpected sign, an ornate gate. The things that give a place real character.
There’s also a more sinister side to the village. It’s here, at Bray Studios, that the original Hammer Horror films were made. Scary! Bray also seems to have a surfeit of mysterious old doorways that you would just love to go through. What’s on the other side?
But most people come here for top notch food. The Roux family have been in business on the Thames at Bray since 1972.
Heston has three restaurants in Bray, pretty much taking over the tiny High Street. Apparently, locals were a bit miffed when he siezed control of the Crown, their last traditional pub, and started serving gourmet food and Dom Perignon there in 2010. When we’ve been in, it’s always been bustling, and there’s usually a dog or two around, so it does still feel like a local pub, albeit a pricey one.
The Hind’s Head is a former 15th century coaching inn. It’s no longer a pub, although you can go into the comfy upstairs bar for a drink. The restaurant is our favourite place for anniversaries, as the food and service are excellent but it doesn’t break the bank.
And finally, you have the Fat Duck itself, so famous it doesn’t even have a sign outside. Possibly the most celebrated restaurant in the country. I managed to snaffle a table, no mean feat I assure you, but then coronavirus struck and they closed. Typical!
After strolling through the village we head out the other side and towards the M4, where we cross the River Thames alongside what is usually a torrent of cars…now more of a trickle due to current travel restrictions. The view from the bridge is much better than looking at the traffic, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Down a flight of stairs at the other side and we’re back on our old faithful Thames Path, heading north along the banks of the river towards Bray Lock.
As we pass Bray on the opposite bank, the husband can indulge in his favourite pastime of evaluating the homes of the rich and famous. He’s quite disappointed that I can’t remember which one belongs to Michael Parkinson. Presumably he would have really enjoyed dissecting it!
We’re approaching Maidenhead now and the town’s famous bridges come into view. First is the Maidenhead Railway Bridge, which was designed by the great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and opened in 1839.
The bridge’s two brick arches are the widest and flattest in the world, but don’t take my word for it, read the plaque for yourself.
The bridge was immortalised in 1844 in Turner’s painting of the Great Western Railway, which now hangs in the National Gallery.
Maidenhead’s other bridge, just a short walk further upstream, also appears in the painting. The current bridge dates from 1777 but there’s been a bridge here since 1280, taking the Great West Road from London to Bristol, hence medieval Maidenhead was established.
We’re nearly home now, but there’s just one last landmark to point out. The Skindles nightclub was voted the best in the country in the late 70s and 80s and attracted stars like John Lennon and the Stones. Thin Lizzy played there. Richard Nixon visited. It had an indoor swimming pool and a dancefloor that lit up in squares like the one from Saturday Night Fever. Wet t-shirt competitions were de rigueur! Ah, the glamour!
Unfortunately the hotel closed, the building was demolished, and the site was redeveloped. Now we have a shiny new Roux Brothers restaurant. Nice, but not quite so much fun.
Steph's Travels 