Adventures around Sloughwith PlusBus
Slough is Berkshire’s second-largest town and people sometimes think of it as a place of grey, corporate offices. That’s why BBC comedy series The Office was set in Slough. But all you need to do is jump on a bus to find green spaces and wide waters. You can stroll beside the River Thames with views of Windsor Castle. You can walk past world-famous Eton College, see where Thomas Gray wrote his Elegy in a Country Churchyard or marvel at the colours and designs of the Stoke Poges memorial garden. Here are just a few of the things that are easy to reach by bus from Slough station. Just ask to add PlusBus when you get your train ticket for unlimited bus travel in the area all day. And watch red kites circling overhead while you’re waiting at the bus stop!
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1. Stoke Poges Memorial Garden
One of Slough’s best-kept secrets, these Grade 1 listed gardens, a short bus ride and walk from the railway station, are free to visit. A memorial garden may sound an odd place for a walk, but the trees and flowers are beautiful year-round and there are views of some fine old buildings. Buy a PlusBus ticket and catch bus 12 from outside the station.
- The Quaker Penn family, who gave their name to Pennsylvania, settled in the old Tudor Manor House at Stoke Poges. In the eighteenth century, John Penn built a new house, now Stoke Park. There are views of this grand mansion, across an ornamental lake with fountains and a bridge, designed by Humphry Repton, from the memorial gardens.
- The gardens, laid out in the 1930s, include a wisteria-wreathed colonnade, a circular stone pool, 600-year-old oak tree surrounded by spring daffs, and all kinds of other trees, from monkey puzzles to magnolia. You can pick up a tree trail leaflet from Church Cottage, near the entrance gates. Inside the cottage, there’s a tiny museum with a trove of objects relating to the Penn family and the poet Thomas Gray. In 1751 Gray penned his most famous poem “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” in the field and peaceful graveyard by Stoke Poges parish church nearby.
- St Giles’ Church, with its Norman pillars and colourful stained glass, is well worth visiting and stands just beside the gardens. Don’t miss the panel in the west window that seems to show an angel riding a bicycle! Walk past Gray’s family tomb in the churchyard and turn left into Gray’s Field beyond, with its ancient oaks and grand monument, now owned by the National Trust.
- How to get to Stoke Poges memorial gardens car-free: Catch bus 12 from near Starbucks, opposite Slough Railway station. After about ten minutes, get off at Whiteford Road. Walk a few steps back to Stoke Poges Lane and turn left along the pavement, past Stoke Park’s Lion Lodge. You’ll soon find a little tree-line path running parallel with the road almost to the garden gates.
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2. Riverside walk with views of Windsor Castle
More of Slough’s surprisingly green corners can be found along the Thames Path near the pretty village of Datchet with its half-timbered pubs. The Thames Path is a long distance walk that follows the River Thames for nearly 200 miles, from a muddy field in Gloucestershire to Woolwich in Southeast London. You can walk a lovely two-mile stretch of the Thames Path from Datchet to Eton with fabulous views across the water to Windsor Castle.
- How to get to Datchet: Hop on hourly bus 2, which runs from Landmark Place (Stop S) near The Curve in central Slough. On the bus journey, look out for views of the scenic area around Herschel Park, including medieval Upton Court and Slough’s oldest building, the Church of St Lawrence.
- Get off, after about ten minutes, at Churchmead School, cross the railway and stroll down Queen’s Road. Turn right along the pavement of Windsor Road and look out for a sign saying Thames Path. Follow the sign and you’ll soon find yourself on a delightful wooded footpath with the river on your left.
- Cross Victoria Bridge and keep on along the other side of the river. You can stop for refreshments at the waterside Boatman pub or cross the stone footbridge into Eton for more choices.
- There are grand views of Windsor Castle from the walk, framed by mistletoe-studded trees. From Windsor bridge at the end, it’s a very short detour to the castle if you want to visit before you cross into Eton. (Thanks to Windsor Castle and John Freeman for the photo above). Windsor has its own PlusBus ticket if you wanted to explore further another day. See Good Journey’s directions.
- The streets on both sides of the bridge are picturesque and packed with pubs and cafes. Lots of menus in the area feature the local speciality, Eton Mess, a tasty pudding made of berries, crushed meringue and cream.
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3. Tea in Eton
Now one of the world’s most famous schools, Henry VI originally set up Eton College in 1440 to provide free education for 70 students who would carry on learning at King’s College, Cambridge. The school boasts twenty former Prime Ministers, Princes Harry and William and a huge list of other influential people among its alumni.
- In summer, you can take a tour inside the historic areas of the school but you can actually see quite a lot from the outside, just walking through Eton town. There’s the fourteenth-century chapel with its perpendicular gothic architecture and a Russian gun, captured at Sebastopol, that sits in front of Eton’s Geography department. Look out for the Burning Bush, an ornate Victorian lamppost and other interesting features.
- To get to Eton College from Windsor Bridge: stroll ten minutes along Eton’s charming High Street, across the wrought iron Barnes Pool Bridge. To get to Eton College directly from Slough station: Walk to Landmark Place and catch bus 15.
- The surrounding town of Eton is full of independent shops and great places to have tea. Once it emerges from the shrouds of restoration, don’t miss the medieval timber-framed architecture of the old Cock Pit Inn and look out for a Victorian post box next to it.
- To get back from Eton to Slough: Catch bus 15 from outside the domed School Hall and Library. The bus stops at Landmark Place and the railway station is a few minutes’ walk round the corner. If you need more refreshments before you get your train, there’s a good cafe in Spaceworks, opposite the station.
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