The first time I visited London back in the 1980’s, I fell in love with the city and I’ve found myself returning many times and always finding new things to experience and old favorites to enjoy again. Needless to say, I’ve made use of London’s mass transit system known as “the tube” to get from one side of the city to another. If you have ever used that system, you know how efficient it is and you might also know that each train is announced by its end point destination. I’ve always been curious about those end point destinations so on this trip I decided that I would ride one of the lines all the way to the end and get out and look around. That’s how I happened to visit the pretty village of Amersham located at the very north-western end of the Metropolitan line. It was interesting to see how the crowds on the train thinned out the further out we got, dwindling down to just me and two other people at the very end.
The city is located 27 miles northwest of London and is split into two districts, Old Amersham in the valley and the newer and rapidly growing Amersham-on-the-hill located around the rail line. It was the newer section that I explored on my short visit there.
I also ventured into some residential streets where I found lovely tree-lined lanes and beautiful brick homes with half-timbered trim.
I enjoyed this exploration so much, that I’m sure I’ll do it again the next time I’m in London. Maybe I’ll head to an eastern end point the next time.
8 comments:
It is a wonderful way to see a city and its surroundings. Glad you did this to give us another and diffferent glimpse of the area. Curiosity should not be denied!
A nice quiet little place after the hustle and bustle of the tube and London!
Quiet and pretty. I like!
An interesting idea, Sharon!
The railway companies made lots of money by buying up farmland, constructing the railway then waiting for the city to expand. They could then sell the agricultural land they had bought on either side of the track as more valuable housing land. Unfortunately for them the Town and Country planning Act of 1947 allowed the metropolitan authorities to impose Green Belts around major cities, limiting the growth of London. Some rail lines were left "high and dry" running through open country, though towns at the end of the lines, like Amersham and Ongar, still were served.
This was a great way to spend your time, Sharon. Your post led me to google a copy of the London tube map. Probably the only end points that I have visited are Heathrow (of course), Richmond and Wimbledon. And I have heard of Epping but haven't visited it. I might copy your idea next time I go.
Beautiful! I especially like the bottom shot.
You are creative in your manner of exploration! And it paid off here handsomely. What a nice-looking community!
Thanks for your nice comment, Sharon. I'm back posting sporadically for a time, but it's great visiting my blogging friends again!
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