Maidenhead bridges, rail and road, span the river above Bray. Maidenhead is easily accessible by the Great Western Railway main line, and, with Taplow, which comes down to the river on the opposite bank, counts its devotees in thousands. Taplow village is a little distance away, but Skindle's Hotel on that side counts largely in itself as representing Taplow. Not even the sacred Ganges itself could show a crowd more ardent or more gaily clad than this stretch of the river on a fine summer day. The rich ochres and purples of the East are outshone by the soft brilliancy of blues and pinks, the rose-reds and yellows of the gayer sex both in their garments and sunshades. And if the great day, the Sunday after Ascot, be in any way tolerable, Boulter's Lock, all the more sought apparently because of its congestion, is a sight indeed. People come in crowds to stand on the banks and view it as a show. But all the year round, even in winter, a few visitors may be found in the reach above Boulter's, under the magnificent amphitheatre-like sweeps of the Cliveden woods. The cliff itself rises to a height of 140 feet and is clothed to the very summit. Oak, beech, ash, and chestnut show up against clumps of dark evergreen. The bosky masses are broken here and there by a Lombardy poplar pointing upward, and the whole is wreathed and swathed in shawls of the wild clematis, the woodbine of the older poets, otherwise traveller's joy. Beyond the Cliveden reach is Cookham, beloved of many, with its pretty little church tower peeping over the trees, and opposite is Bourne End, near which is a wide, open reach used as a course for sailing boats. The only woods that can rival those of Cliveden are the Quarry Woods, opposite Great Marlow, and they lose in effect from not coming right down to the water but sweeping away inland. The Quarry Woods are largely beech and evergreen, and in the autumn the stems, owing to the damp atmosphere, are covered with a vivid green lichen, the thick leaves, turning the burnt red colour peculiar to beeches, not only shine overhead, but make a rich carpet for the ground. Then the woods might well be the enchanted woods of a child's fairy tale, so glorious is their aspect. Between Marlow and Henley, as we have seen, most of the ancient historical associations cluster; within that short space are Bisham, Lady Place, Medmenham, and Greenlands, and the reach of the river is quite pretty enough to tempt people without the added glamour. [Illustration: COOKHAM CHURCH] Medmenham Abbey is now a carefully composed ruin, with a most attractive-looking cloister close to the river. So well has art aped reality, that it is regarded with much more reverence than many genuinely old buildings which make less display. It is at present a private house, but began its career in the orthodox way as an abbey, being founded about 1200 for Cistercian monks. Few of the thirteenth-century stones can now remain, unless it be as foundations.