Tag: British Train Journeys
The Lea Valley – Cheshunt to Waltham Abbey
When Gytha Thorkeldóttir (who is she?) offers to William the Conqueror gold equal to the weight of her now dead son, he refuses to turn the body over. So it’s […]
The Thames Estuary – Southend-On-Sea
“The pier is Southend, and Southend is the pier”, said John Betjeman. Indeed, the pier at Southend is the longest pleasure pier in the world. And an object of pride. […]
Hughenden Manor, The Home of Benjamin Disraeli
Primrose Day is the anniversary of the death of Benjamin “Dizzy” Disraeli. It goes by unnoticed these days. But his house and gardens, which sit in the gorgeous Chiltern Valley, […]
The Thames Estuary – Thorpe Bay To Southchurch and Prittlewell
Not many have heard of Prittlewell. Unless one is a Southend United fan (the grounds are in Prittlewell), or if one lived in the medieval priory here when it owned […]
The Green Chain Walk – Mottingham to Eltham via a Palace
The first royal born at Eltham Palace in 1316 is John of Eltham, the second son of Edward II and Queen Isabella. From then, and until the Tudor Henry VII, […]
The Thames Estuary – Leigh On Sea and Hadleigh Castle
When word arrives that Princess Beatrice and Ralph de Binley are in the village of [1] Leigh waiting to sail to France, the guards at [2] Hadleigh Castle are summoned. […]
The Thames Estuary – Shoeburyness to Thorpe Bay
I’m on the aptly named coast to coast train service, heading east out of London in the direction of France. Within an hour, the train runs out of land. It […]
Cliveden – Bluebells and Astors
When his father dies in 1890, William Waldorf Astor becomes the richest man in America. His father’s passing also kicks off a family feud as to who should be the […]
The Lea Valley – Hertford to Ware
The river Lea is an ancient river. It’s name is thought to have derived from a Celtic name for a deity. It is one of the largest rivers in London, […]
Hertford – The Story of the She Wolf
#Hertford, by the #RiverLea, is under an hour away from #LiverpoolStreetStation. And in this idyllic town from #Saxon times I uncover the story of one of its owner, and then prisoner, of its once-upon-a-time castle.