Tag: Day Out From London
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. […]
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 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 […]
Bletchley Park – The Code Breakers, Part I
When World War Two breaks out, a sense of national duty, brings men and women to a place called Station X in Bletchley, The Govt. Code & Cypher School, it’s […]
Arundel Castle – A Reduced History From The Normans To The Norfolks
I’ve done a six-mile walk, from Arundel to Stoke, and now I must return, to the company of folk, I walk along a tunnel, of ferns and tall lithe trees, […]
Blenheim – The Grand Old Dukes of Marlborough, Part I
In a town along the Danube, in the depth of Bavaria, a man scrawls a note on the back of a tavern bill. It says “I have not time to […]
Sonning to Reading – Back to Prose and Reading
Having made it from Shiplake to Lower Shiplake, I must now get to Reading, my nearest station at 4 miles away. But I’m not complaining, as it promises to be […]