IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
High Street, MAIDENHEAD, SL6 2AH

The narrowness of Bray's High Street here has necessitated the introduction of a traffic restriction with priority given to vehicles coming in the opposite direction. The front doors of the half-timbered houses on the right that face out onto the street are so low that the lintels are below the shoulder height of an average man. Image is visible in the distance.

Bray village centre and War Memorial.

Looking north over flowers to catch the eye of "Britain in Bloom" judges, and past black & white half-timbered houses, towards the parish church of St Michael. The church dates from 1293, replacing a Norman church at the same location. The renowned 'Vicar of Bray' held the living here from 1667AD, under five separate monarchs, and is buried in the nave.

Or The Crown at Bray to give it its proper name. This is another old white-washed half-timbered building in Bray.

Houses on the High Street in the village centre.

The unostentatious pale building is the world-renowned Fat Duck restaurant opened in 1995 by Heston Blumenthal. It won three Michelin stars in 2004, was awarded the accolade of Best Restaurant in the UK in 2008 by the Good Food Guide, and Second Best Restaurant in the World in 2008 by Restaurant Magazines International Academy. The menu features an A La Carte listing at ninety-five pounds and a Tasting Menu at one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Amongst the gastronomic delights to be found in the Tasting Menu are Snail Porridge, Salmon Poached in Liquorice Gel, and Ballotine of Anjou Pigeon. From the wine list a glass of fine burgundy, say, Chambertin, Grand Cru, Dom A Rousseau, 1990, is priced at £1,295. The Fat Duck's website is here http://www.fatduck.co.uk/ There is a Francis Frith photograph from a similar viewpoint here http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/berkshire/bray/photos/bray_63821.htm which shows the restaurant building but with exposed half-timbering in the near gable end.

The interesting sign of the Fat Duck incorporates a webbed foot, feather and bill. Certainly from the outside this is a modest establishment although owned by a culinary megastar and appropriately priced.

Outside this house is displayed the results of Bray's entry in the Britain in Bloom competition for every year since 1990.