Strap yourself in – there’s a lot to get through. Put yourself immediately riverside by throwing open the kitchen’s glazed wall to spill out onto the spacious limestone terrace and chill by the calming reflection pool. Get lazy here with a summer salad or barbecue with prime cuts from Cowdery’s of Cookham.
Take your morning coffee on the roof terrace and watch the boats glide by. Follow the long, tree-lined garden down to the jetty that’s perfect for al-fresco yoga. Pick medicinal herbs and fresh veg from the roof garden. Cook in the riverside kitchen or just dabble with the tea service.
Wander to the garden’s end to find yourself around the meditation orb, a warm, cosy space lit by twinkling lights that fronts the river. Sit out on the jetty and spot 42 different species of birds, including two swan families that forage beneath the weeping willow. Watch the river life.
Raid the boat shed for boules, badminton, two paddle boards and a canoe. Call up our partner company for instruction on paddle boarding and paddle board yoga. Slide off the slipway for the healing effects of wild swimming. Enjoy the sunset off the jetty around the firepit.
Get cosy wrapped in the lazy luxury of a glorious Thames-side home. Pick from several spacious living rooms and glide around the smoked-oak warmed by underfloor heating. Then gather in the log-warmed drawing room on the four-person sofa and love seats to catch Netflix favourites on the 65″ TV.
Notch up the serenity further with a ballad on the piano, pull a book from the shelf in the library, then find the study area for art projects or catching up on email. Book a yoga workshop in the central studio, large enough for 20 mats plus a teacher and lit from above by three huge rooflights and by the rooftop fairylights at night.
You’ll love the gleaming kitchen with its stone surfaces, big fridges, freezer, two ovens, induction hob, filtered boiling tap and dishwasher. There’s even a prep kitchen to hide the mess, an outdoor kitchen, and yet another one off the studio as a separate tea or snacking station, equipped with fridge, freezer, induction hob and dishwasher.
Should you prefer to be pampered, options abound. For five-star catering, call up Lush by Tom Kerridge. Mix food and art with Big Night In’s supper club. Enjoy Ottolenghi-style dining with Fiona’s Kitchen Karma. Or try fine dining and retreat catering care of
Melissa Webb Ltd.
Pop into Bourne End to stock up at Tesco and Marks and Spencer, or back the independents with meat from Cowdery’s of Cookham, deli from Deliciously French and farm-shop fare from Emmett’s. Grab a Turkish takeaway from Chank or a curry from The Coriander in Bourne End.
Eat out on the water’s edge at The Boathouse on the island at Boulter’s Lock. Arrive by boat at The Waterside Inn, or walk the Thames Path to Hall Woodhouse. If you’re feeling posh, consider Cliveden House to share Chateaubriand, or Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck for salmon poached in liquorice or snail porridge.
As the Thames rumbles slowly past, you’ll doze for England amid Sleepeezee beds with soft bedding and luxurious heated carpets. Freshen up in spacious bathrooms equipped with marble surfaces and Italian fittings.
The River Suite is the main event here, next to the roof terrace, with stunning views of the garden and river. At over 700 square feet, with a superking French bed, freestanding stone bath and luxurious en-suite, you won’t want for luxury.
Heron was the historic master suite, offering one double, two singles and an en-suite. Red Kite provides double-aspect views, two singles and an en-suite. Grebe is a bright and airy room with two singles and access to the main bathroom, shared with Kingfisher, a bright, double-aspect room with two single beds. Robin is an airy, vaulted room with three single beds and an en-suite.
Downstairs, we have Snowy Owl which has two single beds and Peacock comes with a large, south-facing window, two single beds (which can be changed into sofa’s). Finally, Kestrel can be supplied as a cinema room or with two single beds. All bground floor bedrooms have access to a shared ground-floor shower room.
