Sonning

Sonning really is a treasure on the river.  Being the home of the Upper Thames Motor Yacht Club, and many of our friends that moor at the club, it has a special place in our hearts; but it takes more than that to make it such a gem.  The village doesn't have any shops, it doesn't have a post office or an off licence, but it does have three of the finest restaurants you'd find anywhere, one of the best pubs going, a gorgeous hotel, a beautiful churchyard and The Mill theatre.

Starting at the club you'll find bookable visitors moorings with a friendly welcome.  You'll need to book in advance and your best bet is to call the secretary, xxx on xxx.  As you leave the club, if you turn left you will end up at The French Horn - very expensive, very chic and very good.  It rates up there with the Compleat Angler and the Riverside Inn for food, but you won't get the 2nd class treatment that people complain of at the Riverside and the atmosphere is more intimate than the Angler. 

Turning right out of the club brings you first to The Mill Theatre, where you will find all manner of out of town runs and previews of London shows as well as a restaurant where you can feed your body as well as your soul. 

Pass the Theatre (if you can) and cross the bridge to the Great Hotel which offers you a choice of drinking and dining possibilities both inside and out.  Their food, wine lists and accomodation all contribute to its very well deserved stars. 

But if you want to dine well in comfort, without spending the mortgage, you should pass the hotel and take the first side road to the right, cutting through the church yard to get to The Bull Inn.  I don't know why, but it seems that most of the good places on the river have been visited by Jerome K Jerome - and that includes this Inn which he features in his book.  They offer a wide range of fresh cooked food with a good cellar for both beers and wines.  As well as the homely dishes they offer pasta, steaks, Lamb Shanks Provencal, Duck Christina, stuffed game and stew with dumplings and a variety of other seasonal dishes depending on what's good on the day.  Their curries are worth trying if you're into Indian food, and the European dishes come with a dish of vegetables which definately are not frozen or tinned, nor kept in a bain marie all day.  Recently we have had tiny bundles of beans tied with bacon, crisp broccoli and cauliflower and carrot batons.  When you order your potatoes you'll find you have a choice of five different types, including mash, garlic and rosemary roasted, new and sautee.  Desserts include deicious icecreams such as coffee and pistachio, an array of sweet and sticky puddings and even The Kitchen Sink!  (Apparently a little bit of everything.)  You can't book the Inn, but if you get in at about 19.30 hours you'll get a seat with no trouble at all, it fills up by 20.30 even on weekdays.

The Inn has a few rooms that can be booked, including one with a four poster.  Contact them on 0118-9693901.

The eleven arched brick bridge at Sonning is one of the oldest on the Upper Thames, and is so narrow traffic has to cross in single file.  The nearby village of Barcham is the oldest locally, having been mentioned in the Doomsday Book.  It once formed the boundary of Henry VIII's hunting forest.