We were due to meet my nephew for lunch so we spent the morning in Windsor. The first place to visit was The Parish Church of St John the Baptist to see the 1660 painting of The Last Supper. As we arrived outside the church Mr C realised that he had forgotten to pick up his camera. He returned to the hotel to get it which left me plenty of time to find lots of other treasures within the church. When Mr C returned I showed him some of the more interesting features.

As we left we realised that the Changing of the Guard ceremony was soon to take place so we lingered a little so that we could see the soldiers marching out of their barracks on the way to Windsor Castle to take up their guard duty standing down the Ghurkas that we had seen mounting guard on our visit to Windsor Castle.

After watching the soldiers march we walked to the George IV Gateway at Windsor Castle, the start of the three mile tree lined ‘Long Walk’ to the copper statue of George III riding a horse. Being time limited, we didn’t quite reach the statue before we had to turn back.

Along the walk I was presented with my medal for the Platinum Jubilee Challenge, received for my pledge to walk 70 miles for the Queen’s Jubilee and a total of 100 miles for May’s National Walking month. On the Long Walk I had an interesting encounter with an Old English Sheepdog. He came to say hello to Mr C then circled around me pushing his way through my legs from behind before jumping up and gently putting his front paws on my shoulders. The owner was surprised at his behaviour as he doesn’t normally do that.

Back in town we made our way to Clarence Brasserie & Tearoom where we were meeting my nephew and his good lady for lunch. We had intended to sit outside but a few spots of rain and an ominous cloud led us to retreat indoors. This turned out to be a good choice; shortly afterwards the heavens opened! It was lovely to see my nephew and we had a good catchup over lunch.

After lunch, Mr C and I went to Henley where I was hoping to pick up a couple of outdoor clothing items from the Rohan outdoor shop. I arrived to find that the summer waterproof jacket I was hoping for was not due to arrive until the end of June. The fleece I was looking for was in stock but not in my size. Apparently, I was the second person that day who had enquired about the jacket in that size and they don’t stock all sizes these days due to online shopping. Well to my mind that was two sales lost on that day for not adequately stocking shops with merchandise. Before returning to the hotel we had just enough time for tea and cake, in my case the cake was passion fruit and frangipane.

We dined in a Thai Restaurant, The Giggling Squid. The service and food were excellent but for the second night running we had been placed within the fierce, icy blast of the air conditioning unit! We had a nightcap in Weatherspoon’s before returning to the hotel for our final night before returning home the next morning.

When I woke up the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Mr C started his morning ritual of making a cup of tea only to find that the drinks tray had not been restocked!  When we entered the dining room I chose a table that was next to French doors that opened out onto the terrace so we could enjoy the sunshine over breakfast.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, put our luggage in the car and took a short stroll down the high street to find the remains of the old Priory building which now functions as Hurley Parish Church. The inside of the church is delightful and within it is housed what is thought to be one of the oldest wooden crosses in England, dated at around 1040.

We then returned to the car and drove to Henley-on-Thames where we took a stroll around the town and along the river. As we approached the bridge over the Thames we noticed a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang style car that was driving over the bridge. It was making alarming noises and limped its way off the bridge before breaking down.

We then looked at options of where next to visit that would also serve lunch. Mr C opted for Stonor which was nearby although we nearly changed our minds when we got there. There was a large craft fair taking place and the place was heaving with cars and people. After a brief talk with the car park attendant we were advised that if we only wanted to go to the house and gardens we needed to go a different way.

When we got to the house there was hardly anyone there. Initially we only bought tickets for the gardens because we didn’t know if there would be time for the house. The formal garden was enjoyable and we found that we still had time to go inside the house so we upgraded our tickets.

The lady who was checking tickets on entry to the house persuaded Mr C that he should purchase a small pamphlet about the contents that are on display. I am so glad she did, it is full of fascinating information. Unfortunately they had run out of guide books so I had to come away without one.

The house and contents are fascinating. The house has been home to the Stonor family for over 850 years and is linked with the travails of the Catholics following the reformation by Henry VIII. The roof space at Stoner was used by Edmund Campion to print the ‘Ten Reasons’ pamphlet in the 1580s. The library houses an important collection of Recusant books that were either printed abroad and imported illegally or illegally printed in England.

On display is an original copy of the ‘Ten Reasons’. Next to the house is the private Chapel of the Blessed Trinity, the interior of which is quite stunning.

All too soon it was time to set off on our homeward journey. The traffic was free flowing unlike our outward journey and when we got home the weather was still being kind to us so we were able to dine on the patio. I have to say that as a culinary experience, it was meal of the weekend.