It doesn’t take long once you’ve walked through the doors of Crewe Arms Hotel that you clock its railway connections. In reception, there’s a screen showing departures for the vast mainline station across the road, while the wall opposite the check-in desk has a black and white picture […]
‘CATCH A BEER ON THE PIER!’. After walking for 1.33 miles (2,158 metres) to the end of Grade II listed Southend Pier – the world’s longest – you may feel like tempted to take up the Royal Pavilion’s offer. While the stroll was a bracing, but highly enjoyable […]
Fascinating as Cromer is as a place to explore in its own right, it really pays to venture from the centre and enjoy a stroll along the cliff tops. The town sits at the eastern end of the Norfolk Coast Path, a 47-mile waymarked trail stretching all the […]
Of all the ways of describing Cromer’s busy sea front, refined is probably not one of them. The main streets nearest the coast are lined with amusement arcades, fish & chip shops and bric-a-brac souvenir shops. To top it all, just beyond the boating lake and crazy golf, […]
The George Inn on Borough High Street is a busy place on Friday evenings as office workers, holding a pint or two in their hands, fill the rooms inside and outdoor courtyard. But this is nothing new – this pub has a history of being hectic. Writing in […]
Trudging through woodland is unlikely to be top of everyone’s list when it comes to choosing a place for a walk. As many a hiker will tell you, there is little better than being rewarded with a panoramic view from high up on the top of a hill […]
When the sun is shining London’s open spaces suddenly become much more attractive places to visit. Groups of friends gather for impromptu team games, families enjoy picnics and some (hoping they won’t get caught by the authorities) fire up a barbecue. For a city as populous as London, […]
Looking from afar across to Shoreditch, the Theatre would have been an incredible sight: a “gorgeous playing-place erected in the Fields”, noted one contemporary. Playgoers – who had grown up watching plays outside inns or on village greens – would have seen nothing like it before. Opened in […]
Boarded up and becoming derelict, the Royal Victoria Pavilion is an eye sore in a prominent spot on Ramsgate’s seafront. The distinctive white building, which opened in 1906 and was popular with daytrippers from London in the first half of the century, has stood empty since 2008. Today, […]
Intersected by a main road and blighted by an open air car park, Cecil Square today seems little more than a busy traffic hub. While there are clearly some interesting heritage buildings on one side, the eye is drawn to the ghastly post war concrete library structure on […]
Past In The Present 