River & Rowing Museum

To understand why Henley’s so crazy for rowing, visit this excellent modern museum, 500yd south of the train station. The airy 1st-floor galleries tell the story of rowing as an Olympic sport, with striking displays that include the early-19th-century Royal Oak, Britain’s oldest racing boat. Downstairs, a sweet 3D exhibition pays homage to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows; the romanticised river that book so lovingly depicts was inspired by the Thames around Henley.