30 June 2025

By William O’Chee

Our intrepid HTBS contributor, William O’Chee, goes looking for ways to spend money in and around Henley-on-Thames. Silly boy!

When a Henley campaign can cost a visiting crew the equivalent of a small inheritance, one might consider advice on how to spend money at Henley Royal Regatta somewhat superfluous. That said, if spending the last pennies which separate you from penury is still on your bucket list, there is no better place to do it than Henley and its surrounds. Here is the HTBS guide to the best-value and must-do places to be found.

Collier & Robinson (5 Grey’s Road, Henley)

When Collier & Robinson was founded in 2003, there would have been some who thought gaudy rowing blazers were a thing of the past. With no small measure of courage and perseverance, CEO Kristie Shemilt has not only saved the rowing blazer from extinction, but introduced it to a whole new array of devotees in Britain, Europe, the Americas, and even as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

On entering the cramped store on Grey’s Road, one can hear the whir of sewing machines in the workroom upstairs. Kristie is proud of Collier & Robinson’s local roots.

“Everything we do is hand made here in Henley, using wool from mills in Yorkshire. When our customers buy from us, they are buying a little piece of the home of rowing, and taking it back with them,” she tells me.

The business now has over 300 institutions on its client list, including most of the world’s leading rowing clubs. Although making a blazer takes more time than is possible during the regatta, customers can be measured up for a new blazer which will be delivered to them at home. There is also an ample supply of hats and other essential rowing accessories.

The Scoop Room (31 Duke Street, Henley)

Let’s face it, the Thames Valley can be both hot and humid. What better way to overcome the summer fluster than with a refreshing gelato or sorbet? If this is the case, there is no better place in Henley than The Scoop Room, just around the corner from Collier & Robinson. This unassuming hole in the wall has been serving award winning gelato and sorbet for many years, and is a sure fire way to quench the heat.

They have a great range of refreshing flavours and are more than happy to allow customers to sample before making their choices.

One of the joys of being a retired cox is not having to watch one’s weight. For coxes large and small, and for rowers of all sizes, The Scoop Room is a good reward for a day well rowed.

Way’s Rare and Secondhand Bookshop (54 Friday Street, Henley)

I was first introduced to Way’s Bookshop by my dear friend, the late Tom Weil. “You must go to Way’s when you are in Henley,” he urged me. “You must say hello to Diana and Dickie,” and sure enough it was sound advice.

This little piece of paradise is down on Friday Street, not far from the river, and down the road from Collier & Robinson.

Although Richard Way’s name is over the front of the shop, one will likely be greeted by his wife Diana, a no-nonsense lady who knows the contents of the store intimately. There is a constant stream of people through the store; some visitors to Henley, and others locals or regular patrons. 

On entering the store, one is struck by the collection of trophy oars and rudders dangling from the ceiling, along with the original sign from Searles boat builders, and an OUBC cap. Sliding between the rows of bookshelves, there is a bookcase made from the bow of a boat from 1934. There are other bookstores in town, some of them very good, but Way’s is an institution.

While Way’s is known for its rowing collection – numerous books on rowing, and the river Thames, as well as magazines, coaching manuals, and prints – its offering is quite diverse. Dickie takes quite an interest in military history and espionage, and these topics are well represented, but so are poetry, ballet, and all manner of things.

When I finished writing my rowing history, The Pinnacle of Fame, I treated myself to a book from Way’s in celebration. I selected one of four copies of A Text-Book of Oarsmanship by Dr Bourne, only for Diana to tell me that it wouldn’t do as there was no inscription. Instead, she selected another one and read the inscription: “To Con from Donald, September 1937,” she said. “I wonder who Con could be?” It was none other than my first ever rowing hero, Con Cherry, and the Donald was Don Burnell. My rowing love affair had gone full circle. Way’s is that sort of place.

Asquith’s Bearpawium (26 Hart Street, Henley)

In Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, Lord Sebastian Flyte is accompanied about Oxford by a teddy bear called Aloysius, although he refuses to take the bear to Venice, lest he pick up bad habits from incorrigible Italian bears. How delighted Lord Sebastian would have been had he been able to visit Asquith’s Bearpawium in the main street of Henley. Founded in 1984, it was the world’s first dedicated teddy bear shop.

I am no Sebastian Flyte, but I do admit to buying teddy bears when friends have babies. A teddy bear is something a child may often keep for life, and young children often like to accumulate a collection of soft toys. That is why Asquith’s is strangely fascinating, even for grown adults.

There are bears everywhere, starting with the disturbingly large one outside the shop to bears with striped blazers, soft animals of various kinds, and rather cute Steiff bears wearing blue or pink Henley sweaters with crossed oars.

Bijan’s Kitchen (38 Market Place, Henley)

If you have traveled halfway around the world, or even from the north of England, the food offerings in Henley can sometimes fall short of expectations. It’s a good thing, then, that the town can boast Bijan’s Kitchen in the Market Place. 

Much overlooked because of its location, Bijan’s offers massive platters of authentic Persian cooking that are aromatic, and mouth-wateringly delicious. Walking into the restaurant one is assailed by a heady mix of exotic fragrances that promise something out of the ordinary.

The key to enjoyment here is to step away from your culinary comfort zone, safe in the knowledge that there are no bad choices. 

Consider Ash-E-Reshteh, a traditional Persian soup made from herbs, beans, vegetables and noodles, which is garnished with fried mint, fried onions and whey. Or there is Baghali Polo Ba Mahicheh, a dish comprising a slow cooked buttery lamb shank, served with traditional Persian sauce and steamed saffron rice, mixed with dill and broad beans.

Bijan’s Kitchen is the product of a Persian Christian diaspora which has taken root in England. While there are not many living in Henley, Reading claims a fair population of them, many of whom make the journey to dine at the restaurant.

For centuries, Persia has been known for its warm and kind hospitality. With excellent food and a full bar, Bijan’s Kitchen gives proof those traditions are alive and well in the middle of Henley.

The Dew Drop Inn (Honey Lane, Hurley)

On the back of several recommendations, I took a short journey beyond Remenham Hill to The Dew Drop Inn, which sits at the top of Honey Lane, a turn off on the right hand side of the road immediately before Hurley village.

This is the pub we have all dreamed of finding. The staff are genuinely friendly, and you have a choice of intimate indoor dining spaces or a large garden for outdoor eating, with covered tables and braziers for colder nights. There is plenty of room for children to play, and dogs are welcome. There is ample parking for cars, and bicycles, and even a place to park your horse, should you be so inclined.

However, the star of the show is the food. This is genuine restaurant quality food at pub prices. What other pub offers such exquisite dishes as creamed crayfish and clam tagliatelle, rosemary, garlic and chilli sauce; or, wild mushroom and truffle gnocchi, served with parmesan, black pepper and light cream? Wednesday nights are steak nights, with a variety of offerings in addition to the regular menu, and the prices for these are reasonable as well.

Take a bus, take a car, take a bike or even a horse. The Dew Drop Inn is a fine dining experience, far from what can often be an overcrowded Henley at Regatta time.

The Regatta Shop (Outside the Boat Tent)

We are here for the Regatta, right?  So it is only logical that every athlete, coach and spectator will want to take away a little bit of the Henley magic. That is why the Stewards, clever men and women that they are, have provided a Regatta Shop stocked with everything from homewares and picnic baskets to HRR branded rowing kit.

Sometimes such places are full of somewhat tasteless offerings, but the Regatta Shop is largely immune to such embarrassment.  In fact, some of the merchandise is downright stylish.

The range of goods on offer is truly breathtaking. Their selection of homeware includes teapots, mugs, picture frames and cooking aprons. One can even buy one’s own canvas regatta chair, which is a good thing, since stealing them from the lawn in the Stewards’ Enclosure is definitely frowned upon.

There are also shirts, sweatshirts, books, prints, key fobs, cufflinks, ties and socks. Lord, are there socks!  They come in single colours, stripes and even a bulk pack with a different sock for every day to match the colour of the Stewards’ Enclosure passes.

And for those still rowing, the selection of sportswear for men and women is extensive. Just try not spending a quid or two.

The Pink Hippo Shop (Leander Club)

Rounding out the retail offerings at the Regatta is Leander Club’s Pink Hippo Shop, set in an opening in the wall just beside the club’s front gate.

While everyone is here for the Regatta, there is no denying the allure of Leander Club, which was founded in 1818, and has hundreds of Olympic gold medals to its credit. In 2024 alone, 25 Leander athletes rowed at the Olympics, collecting 20 medals, eight of them gold.

The Pink Hippo Shop services both members and the public, allowing every rowing aficionado with the chance to touch some of the club’s emblematic pink magic. Ties, for example, come in different varieties, for full members, club members, and the rowing world at large. For ladies there are scarves, sweatshirts and jewellery, while men can choose from a number of different cufflinks and even pink braces.

Being a rowing club, the range of sportswear for men and women is most impressive. No doubt visitors to the shop will return home and turn their friends, ahem, pink with envy.

Not that we at Hear The Boat Sing recommend mixing alcohol and exercise, but one cannot celebrate a win, or even a very good time at the Regatta without at least some of the club’s pink champagne or famous Leander Pink Gin.

Author’s declaration: While the author is a member of Leander Club, no incentives or inducements were received from any of the establishments contained in this article, not were they sought.