Get us in your inbox

Search
Marlow
Photograph: Shutterstock

A perfect day in Marlow

Michelin-starred grub, riverside walks and snug pubs await visitors on a perfect day in magical Marlow

Written by
Charlie Allenby
Advertising

A darling Buckinghamshire beauty, Marlow is a great getaway from the chaos and madness of London. Home to fewer than 15,000 people, Marlow has become a byword for haute cuisine and foodie magic, as TV chef after TV chef set up shop here to pump out incredible cuisine, seemingly at will. If you’re looking for lunch in Marlow, you’re in luck.

Not hungry? Not to worry, there are plenty of things to do here that will help you work up an appetite. The perfect day in Marlow involves plenty of relaxation, retail therapy and the undeniably British magic of a crisp pint in a cosy boozer. What’s not to like?

Perfect day in Marlow

First up

First up

Head to Higginson Park and get your first view out across the Thames. Mooch around the green, pop into Marlow Museum for a free exhibition and scout out the statue dedicated to local lad and Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave.
Stop for lunch

Stop for lunch

No trip to Marlow is complete without sampling Tom Kerridge’s creations. Sit down for pub grub at The Coach or head to The Butcher’s Tap for food on the go. Pick up one of the mammoth pork pies and wash it down with a crafty half from the bar that doubles up as a butcher’s during the day.

Advertising

Drink like a local

Get cosy in The Two Brewers. The welcoming, redbrick-fronted building is the oldest pub in Marlow and serves cask ales from local brewery Rebellion. If you’re in town on the first Tuesday of the month, head to the brewery itself for an evening of tours and tastings straight from the tap.

Soak up the vibes
Shutterstock

Soak up the vibes

Cross Grade I-listed Marlow Bridge. Fun fact: this suspension bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark and later used as the template for a structure he built to connect Buda and Pest in Hungary. Fancy walking off that pork pie from lunch? Go for a stroll along the Thames Path and spot wildlife on the river.

Advertising
Splash the cash

Splash the cash

Browse vintage and modern designs at antique specialist Sara Hughes, where you can also take a workshop on how to upcycle charity-shop finds. If threads are more your thing, make a beeline for the dapper menswear in Hewett's. 

If you only do one thing

Marlow had its fair share of famous faces long before celebrity chefs became a thing. Head out on a blue plaque-hunting adventure and find the building where fantastically named 1930s jazz bandleader Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson studied, the place TS Eliot called home during WWI and the spot where Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’.

Advertising
And if you stay the night, wake up here

And if you stay the night, wake up here

The Hand & Flowers, the first pub ever to receive two Michelin stars also has beds where you can lay your head. In keeping with the amazing food, the nearby cottages are no ordinary B&Bs. Rooms come with antique furniture, four-poster beds, enormous copper baths, and even hot tubs. Book a suite in Flower Cottage to make sure you’re close to the main attraction and prepare to be spoilt rotten. With afternoon tea on arrival, a malted-milk nightcap left waiting for you while you’re at dinner or the king of fry-ups the morning after, you won’t be in a rush to return to real life. From £240 a night. 

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising