England Guide
Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and the Cotswolds
Cookham
Tiny COOKHAM, 11 miles east of Henley-on-Thames, is the former home of Stanley Spencer (1891–1959), one of Britain's greatest – and most eccentric – artists. The son of a Cookham music teacher, Spencer's art was inspired by the Bible and many of his paintings depict biblical tales transposed into his Cookham surroundings. Spencer made his artistic name in the 1920s, first as an official war artist and then for his Resurrection: Cookham, which attracted rave reviews when it was exhibited in London in 1927. Much of Spencer's most acclaimed work is displayed in London's Tate Britain, but there's a fine sample here at the Stanley Spencer Gallery (Easter– Oct daily 10.30am–5.30pm; Nov– Easter Sat & Sun 11am–4.30pm; £3; 
www.stanleyspencer.org.uk ), which occupies the old Methodist Chapel on the High Street. Three prime exhibits are View from Cookham Bridge, the unsettling Sarah Tubb and the Heavenly Visitors, and the wonderful (but unfinished) Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta. The permanent collection is enhanced by regular exhibitions of Spencer's paintings and the gallery also contains incidental Spencer letters, documents and memorabilia. The gallery has a leaflet detailing an hour-long walk round Cookham, visiting places with which he is associated.
Practicalities
From Cookham train station, which is on the Maidenhead to Marlow branch line, it's a fifteen-minute walk east along the High Street to the gallery. Maidenhead is on the London Paddington to Reading line. The antique, half-timbered Bel & The Dragonpub, just across the street from the Spencer Gallery, is a good spot for a pint, though Cookham is also a short drive from one of England's most acclaimed and proclaimed restaurants, Heston Blumenthal's 
Fat Duck, on the High Street in BRAY ( 
01628/580 333, www.fatduck.co.uk ; Tues– Sat noon–2.30pm & 7–10.30pm, Sun noon–2.30pm). It's vastly expensive, but it's here you can taste extraordinary delights such as pig's trotter and truffle, snail porridge and egg and bacon ice cream; reservations are essential.