Henley Royal Regatta Chauffeur Hire

Five days at the turn of June and July belong to Henley Royal Regatta, crews racing two at a time up a straight stretch of the Thames from Temple Island towards the town. Racing opens in the morning and carries on into the early evening. You will spend most of that day on the towpath, or in the enclosures beside it, with lunch somewhere near the middle and Pimm's the whole way through. This being a river event, the weather gets a vote.

The difficulty is getting in, and getting out again. Henley funnels across a single bridge, the town runs a temporary road layout for the regatta, and a lot of the parking sits in meadows over on the far bank. A chauffeur puts you down close to the enclosure entrance and takes the car away, which spares you a long walk over grass in the shoes the day demands, and settles the whole question of who drives.

Two small pieces of advice. Once racing is under way the bridge slows badly, and so do the approaches coming in off the A404 and through Marlow, so aim to be there before mid-morning. And pack a layer. Whatever the forecast promises, the river turns cold the moment the sun drops. As for enclosure membership and guest badges, those sit with the stewards or with whoever is hosting you. We are an independent chauffeur company, take no part in admission, and would not pretend otherwise.

For a couple coming out for the day, a Rolls-Royce Ghost or a Mercedes S-Class does the job. Five or six fit a V-Class comfortably, with space for blazers, hats and a hamper should you be picnicking on the bank. When a party arrives from several directions, we run more than one vehicle to the same set-down and the same collection point, which saves an enormous amount of telephoning later.