Dorney

One of the finest Tudor manor houses in England, Dorney Court, just a short walk from the River Thames, has been the home of the Palmer family since 1530. Built in about 1440, it is an enchanting building, which also houses some real treasures, including early 15th and 16th-century oak furniture, beautiful 17th-century lacquer furniture, and 400 years of family portraits. It is here in 1665 that the first pineapple in England was grown.

On Dorney Common is the village of Boveney, which served as a wharf in the 13th century when timber was being transported from Windsor Forest. The flint and clapboard church of St Mary Magdalene, down by the riverside, was the setting for several scenes in Kevin Costner’s film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.