If Marlow’s suspension bridge seems familiar, that’s because it served as a prototype for designer William Tierney Clark’s later, grander project, the striking Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Look out, too, for a blue plaque identifying the house where Mary Shelley finished Frankenstein, and for a bronze statue in Higginson Park; the UK’s most decorated rower, Sir Steve Redgrave, was born in this riverside town where rowing heritage runs deep.

Unexpected culinary credentials

Marlow’s charms have lured various high-profile names – including residents Ricky Gervais and Chris Evans – but there’s a case to be made that it’s celebrity chef and restaurateur, Tom Kerridge, who has most shaped its current identity. His four Marlow restaurants – all opened within the last decade – are widely credited with helping the town achieve its current status as a honeypot for destination-diners, while his brainchild Pub in the Park, the UK’s largest touring food and music festival, has provided plenty of street cred.

The two Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers – a cosy, unassuming pub opened by Kerridge 20 years ago – is still the star of the show, though The Coach (another, more affordable Michelin-starred pub), private dining room The Shed, and The Butcher’s Tap (a traditional butcher’s with, no surprise, another pub) have helped to cement Kerridge’s influence.