2 Best Sights in Eton, The Thames Valley

Signs warn drivers of "Boys Crossing" as you approach the splendid Tudor-style buildings of Eton College, the distinguished boarding school for boys ages 13–18 founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It's all terrifically photogenic—during the college semester students still dress in pinstripe trousers, swallowtail coats, and stiff collars. Rivaling St. George's at Windsor in terms of size, the Gothic Chapel contains superb 15th-century grisaille wall paintings juxtaposed with modern stained glass by John Piper. Beyond the cloisters are the school's playing fields where, according to the Duke of Wellington, the Battle of Waterloo was really won, since so many of his officers had learned discipline and strategy during their school days. Boris Johnson is the most recent of the country's many prime ministers to have been educated here. The Museum of Eton Life has displays on the school's history and vignettes of school life. The school gives public tours on Friday afternoon from early April through August, bookable online.

A giant step in the history of democracy was taken at Runnymede on the Thames outside Egham. Here King John, under his barons' compulsion, signed the Magna Carta in 1215, affirming in theory that individuals had the right to justice and liberty. There's not much to see, though you can stroll the woodlands. On the hillside, in a meadow given to the United States by Queen Elizabeth in 1965, stands a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Nearby is another memorial, a classical temple in style, erected by the American Bar Association for the 750th anniversary of the signing. There is no visitor center at Runnymede, just informational plaques, a nice tearoom, and a parking lot (small charge). The site is on the south side of A308 (traffic is noisy); on the opposite bank of the Thames are the ruins of the 11th-century St. Mary's Priory and the 2,000-year-old Ankerwycke Yew.