Higginson Park

Park

Explorer Tom

Higginson Park gives Marlow a green front room beside the Thames, with lawns, flowers, boats and enough space for a proper riverside dawdle. It is the town's main public park, about twenty-three acres between the High Street and the water. Even the ducks seem to know they have the best address. The grounds began as gardens in the eighteenth century and became a public park in 1926. Local people raised money to secure the land and presented it to General Sir George Higginson, who gave it back for public enjoyment. A statue of another famous Marlow figure, five-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave, now stands here too. The council manages the park today, while the Thames keeps doing what it has always done: stealing attention from everything built beside it. Follow the Thames Path, admire the formal flowerbeds or try the brick-in-grass maze made for the Millennium. There is a play area, skate park, cricket pitch and leisure centre, plus places to eat and public toilets. A protected wetland at the western edge shelters water birds including swans and kingfishers. River trips and boat hire may be available seasonally; check the operators rather than assuming a boat is waiting whenever inspiration strikes. The main gates are reached from Pound Lane, Marlow SL7 2AE, with a car park nearby; Marlow station is roughly five minutes away on foot. The park is public open space, and the Thames Path makes it an easy stop on a longer walk. Keep to the paths around the wetland, leave the birds some room, and let the river decide whether you keep walking or sit down for a while.