Tim Hughes treads in a king’s footsteps for a stay in a surprisingly serene corner of the Thames Valley

With its neatly clipped lawns, weeping willows and profusion of honking geese, Runnymede is the embodiment of rural England at its most gentle.

Yet these serene, if unremarkable water meadows, which skirt the Thames on one of its loveliest stretches, just out of sight of Windsor Castle, are the scene of a defining moment in world history.

It was here, 800 years-ago – and in less genteel surroundings (no tea rooms then) that the tyrannical King John was brought to book by the barons, and forced to seal the Magna Carta – a charter guaranteeing the protection of rights to the church and the barons themselves – including a right to legal justice and a cap on how much gold he could rinse them for.

It didn’t quite work out as it intended, of course. The agreement was annulled, and when it was reissued, after his death, it was much watered down.Yet, still, it was the birth of statute law and, it could be argued, made this pastoral idyll the home of modern democracy – a message embossed on signs greeting visitors to this day.

The recent celebrations shone a light on what has arguably become an overlooked chapter in our history. And while it will, thankfully, never attract the kind of selfie stick-toting crowds which throng neighbouring Windsor, it is at least back on the tourist trail.

While the barons no doubt had to endure the night in tents, while they twisted the roguish monarch’s arm into agreeing to their terms, today’s visitors are better provided for – in the shape of the huge, appropriately-titled runnymede-on-thames hotel (the lack of capital letters being deliberate), a short gallop away down the Thames towpath.

They are also more likely to approach it, as I did, from the maelstrom of the M25 – five minutes from Heathrow, and just beyond the sprawl of outer London. But if all that sounds like an unpromising start – and I admit I shuddered as a huge jumbo screeched overhead as I sat in standing traffic waiting to pull off at junction 13 for the unappealing-sounding Staines bypass – all visions of orbital hell fell away as I, two kids in tow, made my way up the long drive up to the modern building – uncluttered and minimal, with a spacious reception lined, endearingly, on one side by scores of rubber ducks.

Those ducks are a runnymede mascot, and the kids were delighted to not just find a rubber version lurking in our room, but also a brace of the soft toy variety. A good start, indeed.

Despite being just minutes from the motorway, it feels remarkably isolated and oddly quiet – only those ducks (the real ones this time) and the odd swan disturbing the peace of its riverside gardens.

The waterside setting, it’s independent spirit (the hotel is still family-owned) and the presence of a lovely open-air swimming pool give the runnymede the feel of a holiday hotel. Guests can tuck into picnics on the lawns or, even hire boats for a trip up the river.

While I was keen to extol the virtues of parliamentary democracy to my two charges, with a visit to the place where it began, I was suitably out-voted and found myself umpiring a splash fight in the swimming pool (apologies to other guests), before reasserting my own power of veto, and heading to the spa for a soak in the Jacuzzi.

You can’t come this close to Windsor and not check out its crowning glory, though, so off we set for an afternoon exploring the castle. Much of the Queen’s Home Counties pad remains off limits, but there are enough battlements, turrets and grand state rooms, to make it well worth the hefty admission (£19.20 for adults and £11.30 for children over five).

Oxford Mail:

  • Eddie and Danny Hughes soak up the history of Windsor Castle

The crowning glory is St George’s Chapel – a masterpiece of gothic architecture, and a riot of pinnacles and stone fan vaulting. Established in 1348 by Edward III, it contains the tombs of 10 monarchs including Henry VIII and Charles I. Alas, not King John, though – whose body rests, at his own request, in Worcester Cathedral.

History dispensed with, it was time to return to the runnymede to check out its other claim to fame – its waterfront Leftbank restaurant which offers possibly the greatest buffet seen in these parts since King John’s entourage hit town. Here it was every man for himself – I piling my plate with tapas treats, huge prawns and tasty mezza – while the kids monopolised a lavish chocolate fondue.

Mains consisted of freshly-prepared steaks, all manner of fish and lovely comfort food of the pie and pasta variety – while desserts came in an equally bewildering selection.

The kids meanwhile chose the choc fountain – again... and again.

I’m tempted to think the hedonistic King John would have approved – if not his killjoy barons.

The essentials

* The runnymede-on-thames is on Windsor Road, Egham, Surrey, just off junction 13 of the M25.
01784 220600/therunnymede.co.uk

* Weekend stays cost from £169 per room per night based on two sharing a standard double on a bed and breakfast basis.