Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Wisbech – Dann’s Clock

[I originally posted this in July 2018 and have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

The full story of Dann’s clock is far better told at http://www.wisbech-society.co.uk/bridge-street-clock.html and it’s an interesting story of how a piece of Wisbech’s history was so nearly lost. It was originally erected in the 1860s as a public service for those who didn’t have their own watch (or smartphone).

It took its name from when James Dann owned his clock, watch-maker, optician and jeweller shop (he seems multi-talented) at 10, Bridge Street in the town. He was clearly proud of his illuminated clock as it was commented on in much of the advertising that he placed in the local media at the time.

In 1869 the local press reported of the council meeting where the clock was discussed by the local elected representatives. The council had agreed to pay for one lamp’s worth of illuminating Mr Dann’s clock at night, because this was seen as a public service to avoid people being attacked when it was dark. Mr Dann was very pleased with this, but he discovered that his lamp was using 21,000 feet of gas (I’m entirely unclear what sort of measurement that is) and he wanted the council to pay for two lamps. I liked how the meeting reported that one alderman queried that they had paid for one, and he “didn’t know how that it was” that they now had to pay for two.

Back in its rightful place, although if I’m being honest, I only noticed it was even there because of the sign on the wall. It cost over £2,000 to bring the clock back to Wisbech and that was donated by local people and businesses, and it feels like money that has been well-spent. The clock would have lost so much of its meaning in any other setting.

The sign on the wall which brought my attention to the clock. I like reading signs relating to history, especially lengthy ones like this.

August 13, 2025
Wisbech – Wisbech Park

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

The land on which the town’s main park now resides was originally owned by the Church Commissioners, who rented it for grazing and market gardening. I know this as the council has helpfully placed signs up around the park giving a history of the site.

The park opened in 1869 and the Town Corporation purchased the land at a cost of £2,000. This thrilled the local population who had to pay a penny on their rates for thirty years to fund the purchase, and over 100 ratepayers complained about the cost.

There was apparently a bowling green here, before they planted a grass maze on it. Note the size of the park is nineteen acres, but seemingly they couldn’t think where to put a grass maze other than on a bowling green. Bored by that idea, they’ve now turned the area into an orchard. The aim is that residents can wander through the apple trees and pick themselves an apple. It’s a shame Greggs can’t do something similar with chicken bakes…

Further information about the apple project.

This is the Richard Young memorial, which is at the northern end of the park. He was a Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire between 1865 and 1868, and he was also the Mayor of the town from 1858 until 1863. Hansard reports that Richard Young made one verbal contribution during his time in the House of Commons. This is the report of his comments:

“Richard Young, who had returned to the House, said, he had thought his presence unnecessary”.

It’s not exactly Disraeli is it?

Here’s the inscription on the memorial.

The bandstand was opened in 1908 at a cost of just under £100. It was restored in 2017 at a cost of over £60,000, which sounds rather expensive to me, but some was spent on a new thief-proof roof. I’m not sure that anyone had pinched the previous one though.

A view over the park.

The sign notes that this area of the park was “a magnet for anti-social behaviour”, so work was completed by volunteers (and some perhaps slightly less than volunteering members of the community payback scheme) and it is a much nicer area now. They’ve also created an “insect hotel” which I hope doesn’t encourage any snakes to move in.

August 13, 2025
Wisbech – Wisbech and Fenland Museum

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

This museum claims that they believe this is one of the oldest museums in the country which is still located within its original purpose-built building, and the Wisbech and Fenland Museum opened in 1847. Indeed, the museum seems overly large for the size of the town and it’s no doubt a testament to the volunteers that it has survived for over a century and a half.

The museum was first founded in 1835 when 31 members of the local community came together to form a literary and antiquary society. It now has over 50,000 items in its collections, although I’m not entirely sure where they store them all.

In an age where museums seem too willing to dispose of items, I was glad to read that the museum says “we do not have the resources to carry out a rationalisation project and consequently it is not a priority”. So, nothing will be flogged off. Sometimes having insufficient money can be for the best.

There is an entrance room, which has a small shop, and then there is a room with various items of porcelain, postcards and information about different aspects of the history of the town. This room was formerly the museum’s lecture room, and then there is the two storey main gallery which has the bulk of the items on display. This is rather a tight space, but it feels authentic and they do fit a lot into the area. There must also be a library in the building, although I believe that this was closed on the day of my visit.

What is left is a very Victorian feeling museum which offers a friendly welcome and a rather eclectic range of exhibits. Unfortunately, what I consider to be one of their most interesting exhibits, which is the original text of Great Expectations, wasn’t on display on the Saturday when I visited. The museum had been given the manuscript in 1868 by Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend, a friend of Dickens.

I mentioned above that it is fortunate that the museum isn’t currently to dispose of items. It hasn’t always been so though, as the museum trustees tried to flog off their most precious asset, the Dickens manuscript, in 1947. It results in an inquiry from the Charity Commissioners which the trustees tried to ignore, despite being told not to sell it. The will donating the item to the museum specifically said that the trustees couldn’t sell it, and it’s not clear why they ultimately didn’t, perhaps the legalities proved too much to bear. The sale would have raised around £10,000, but fortunately the trustees didn’t prevail in their plans.

I’m sad to say that I hadn’t previously heard of Thomas Clarkson, who is another important part of the museum. Clarkson was an anti-slave campaigner who lived from 1760 until 1846 and he was a student of Wisbech Grammar School. The museum tells the story of Clarkson’s endeavours, including how he spoke to 20,000 sailors and travelled 35,000 miles to find out more about the slave trade.

William Wilberforce is the much better known historical figure who fought against slavery, and there’s a fascinating museum dedicated to his life in Hull. However, the museum explains that it was Clarkson who provided Wilberforce with details and facts about the slave trade which became crucial to his speeches.

A carved oak chair from the 1870s, sculpted by Marshall George Strapps. He took up carving when working as a toll-keeper, and later in his life he collected tolls on the town’s Leverington Road. He is also buried in the town, at Leverington Road Cemetery.

My favourite exhibit in the museum was the 1657 manuscript map of Wisbech Hundred. The museum explains that the land had recently been carved up now that it was newly drained, and this map records that.

Also in the museum is a collection of birds, or what Dylan would call “dead animals” (actually I think I called it that, but he’s used the term many times since). It’s a rather Victorian style of displaying wildlife, but now it has been created it would seem wrong to destroy it.

Every provincial museum should have items which visitors can relate to, and this museum didn’t let me down. Lots of household items, although I’m obviously too young to remember any of them.

Some bottles from Elgood’s Brewery, which is a local business which first opened in 1795, and is still based on the town.

When Cadbury’s made proper chocolate….

There is also a collection of coins, which is quite an interesting little exhibit, although they only had a limited amount of space to display them. They have numerous Roman and Greek coins, most of which have been found in the local area.

Overall, I thought that this was a delightful little museum and it’s marvellous that it has survived for so long. There is no entrance charge, although donations are gratefully received, and there are numerous events which are put on by the museum.

August 13, 2025
Seville – Renfe Train Journey from Seville to Madrid

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

As I was in Seville for a few days, I thought that I’d take the opportunity to travel onto Spain’s capital, as I had never visited before. The ticket purchase was easy enough, via Renfe’s web-site, although the prices weren’t that cheap. An advance purchase ticket cost around £39, although it’s more expensive on the day of travel.

I made a slight mistake in how I booked the tickets, which is that I opted to go from Seville San Bernardo railway station, instead of Seville Santa Justa railway station. This didn’t matter, and I don’t think it impacted the price, but it meant that I had a three minute connecting journey and it’d have been just as easy for me to walk to Santa Justa. The photo above is of Seville San Bernardo which is a relatively large station, although it’s much smaller than Santa Justa.

On entering San Bernardo I was rather confused, although this isn’t a rare situation for me to be in. One advantage of the British rail network is that when there are automated gates, there are always staff present to help passengers. Other networks across Europe don’t seem to always have that requirement, so I was faced with a row of automated ticket machines and no way through them.

I had the ticket on my phone, but there was no obvious way that the ticket machines could read that. So, I noticed there was a Renfe information desk, and after a five-minute wait I was able to speak to someone. She was helpful and she explained that I needed a card to get through the barriers, and she handed me one. That was that mystery resolved.

The station was more like an underground line, although it had sufficient seats and was pleasantly air conditioned.

Screens showed when the trains were coming through. Which is another problem with the Spanish rail network, as every journey requires a seat reservation. That meant I couldn’t have got an earlier train for my three minute connecting journey, and it meant that I had to have a seat reservation for that journey. I understand the need to have seat reservations for long distance journeys, but this seemed excessive for other journeys.

Anyway, the train turns up on time and is packed, so the seat reservation system had failed anyway. I felt that I could manage the three minute journey in the train’s corridor, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant trip as it was quite warm.

My first impressions of the Spanish rail network were, at this point, rather negative. I’d had to work out how to get through the barriers, be limited as to what train I could get and then find that the train was full. But, fortunately, everything got much better.

I liked that when I got off the train that there was a staff member with a sign telling customers what platform to go to for the Madrid train. This was rather like at an airport where staff are trying to get customers to their connecting service, and it was all very managed. I liked how at the entrance to platform two, which is where my train departed, that a staff member was checking everyone had a ticket. I didn’t have long to make my connecting train, so it was reassuring that I knew that I was in the right place.

Going down the escalator to the train, where it was possible to see the security checks and ticket check that was on the platform. Since a rather serious terrorist incident on the Spanish network over ten years ago, they have since scanned baggage before customers can board. I’m not sure how effective the whole system is, but it perhaps gives reassurance to passengers. There was also then a ticket check, with all of the staff members being friendly and helpful.

SNCF have an irritating habit of giving me a seat reservation and then not having a carriage which matches that seat reservation. This was much better, there was a staff member to guide customers, but the information on the side of the train was clear. I knew which carriage to board and the numbering of seats was also clear.

Renfe staff handed out free headphones at the beginning of the journey to anyone who wanted them.

There was a film showing on screens, which was the Greatest Showman, and customers could plug their headphones in to a connector at the seat if they wanted to listen to the audio. A rather nice idea, I’m not sure if any British rail company does something similar.

Also by the screen there was an indicator which showed the time and how fast the train was going.

I had been allocated a window seat and the terrain was quite varied along the distance. One slight issue is that there was air conditioning, but it only seemed to be working on the section by the window. This meant that I was only half cooled down, although the overall temperature in the carriage wasn’t too bad.

Disembarking from the train in Madrid, with the service having been around 80% full. The train journey had taken 150 minutes and it arrived on time.

Other passengers disembarking from the train.

And, my first visit to Madrid now began….

August 13, 2025
Madrid – Puerta de Toledo (Gate of Toledo)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 and have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

Constructed between 1813 and 1827 is this gate, which was constructed to make Spanish independence from France. The inscription on the gate reads that Fernando VII, the father of the nation, has restored the country back to the people following the French usurpation. It was one of the last gates to be added to the city walls of Madrid, which at the time encircled the central part of the city.

It’s rather difficult to get to the gate as it’s in the middle of a traffic island, somewhat left adrift from everything. It was once a main gateway to the city through which people, horses and carriages would have entered, although it is no longer used for that purpose.

The gate was fully restored in 1995, although I thought that it was a slight shame that such a beautiful structure is now surrounded by cars. It also has a slightly more sinister past in that it was formerly the location for where locals would come to celebrate public executions.

Although it’s not easily visible to the human eye, and indeed, not at all possible for me to notice, there are some problems with the central arch subsiding slightly. This was caused when someone decided that it would be a marvellous idea to place a tunnel just below the structure.

Here’s what it used to look like, with the city walls visible on either side.

August 13, 2025
Madrid

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image link]

That’s the end of my short stay in Madrid, which was unfortunately just a little too hot. But, I’ll have to come again as I have two metro journeys left unused on my ticket, and I want to make the most of them. I might well come back during a slightly cooler period of the year though….

It’s a rather lovely city, although I only got to explore a relatively small part of it. Not quite as vibrant as Seville, and perhaps not quite as historic as I had expected, but still full of atmosphere and character.

Cibeles Airport Lounge

Thyssen Museum (Floor 0)

Thyssen Museum (Floor 1)

Alvaro de Bazan Statue

Puerta de Toledo (Gate of Toledo)

Ibis Madrid Alcorcon Tresaguas

Almudena Cathedral

Beer in McDonald’s

R-Line on Metro

Museo de Historia de Madrid

Oven Restaurant

Thyssen Museum (Floor 2)

Muslim Walls and Parque Emir Mohamed

Campo del Moro (Moorish Gardens)

Thyssen Museum

Plaza de Espana

Mercado de San Miguel

Renfe Train Journey from Seville to Madrid

August 13, 2025
Madrid – Cibeles Airport Lounge

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

I had an early morning flight from Terminal 1 at Madrid airport and I noticed that the airside lounge was open 24 hours a day. This suggested to me that the security process also didn’t close at night, so at 02:00 I tried to get through security, and I was allowed through. The entire security process took under a minute, an efficiency that I appreciated at that time of the morning.

The lounge is located in the non-Schengen area of Terminal 1, but I see no reason why anyone on a Schengen flight can’t go through as there are one-way exit doors back to the main part of the terminal. It just means going through the customs check at the airport. The lounge is then situated near to Gate B26 by going in the lift to the second floor.

Technically access to the lounge is only allowed three hours before the flight, but I tried four hours before, just in case. The staff member was friendly and helpful, and scanned my Priority Pass app, saying that the early arrival was fine.

It was clear that my entry didn’t cause any issues in terms of lounge capacity, as I was the only passenger in there. There was to be only one other person in the lounge during the three hours that I remained there, so it’s clearly not a busy lounge in the early morning.

There were numerous different types of seating area, including comfortable low chairs, and some at tables. There were a large number of power outlets, located by most of the tables.

The lounge is large in size and there are toilets inside the lounge, so passengers don’t need to go back into the main terminal. There was also a reasonable selection of magazines and newspapers, in a range of languages.

There is a large central bar which contains food and drink, with refrigerated chillers located along its length. There were self-pour wines and spirits, as well as a decent range of soft drinks, and I was pleased with the chilled lemon Fanta. There were lots of different teas and also some flavoured waters. There was also a Nespresso machine, and unusually, there were very clear instructions on how to use it and a description of the four capsules that were available.

The fridges contains a few different types of yoghurt, around eight different types of sandwiches and some pre-cut fruit options of apple and pineapple. The sandwiches were a little bland, but the chicken and mustard one wasn’t too bad.

The pastry selection, of which I tried valiantly to make my way through on my own, but without entire success. I noticed that at lunch and in the evening that there were cooked meals available, with some of the options looking quite tempting.

There were also breads, jams, cereals and other options to choose from.

I like the lounge, it was spotlessly clean and the staff member at the reception desk was helpful. I think customers with the appropriate status from Sky Team and Star Alliance can use the lounge, but on this occasion I used my Priority Pass.

August 13, 2025
Madrid – Ibis Madrid Alcorcon Tresaguas

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

For my time in Madrid, I decided to stay at this Ibis hotel, which was around a fifteen-minute underground journey away from the centre. It’d have been nicer to have stayed in the city centre, in the way I was able to in Seville, but it was just a little too expensive. I opted for this one as the room and breakfast came to around £40 per night.

The hotel is around a twenty-minute walk from the nearest underground station, although there’s a slightly nearer railway station.

The check-in process felt a little awkward, as it was mostly conducted in silence. The staff member seemed to speak English, but nonetheless, it was all efficiently handled. I was given my free drinks voucher, but this is perhaps the first time in my experience that it was only for a soft drink.

I’m not sure why the free drinks voucher was only for a soft drink, perhaps the hotel isn’t very generous, or perhaps it’s limited by Spanish law from giving away alcohol. However, the Fanta they gave me free is actually more expensive than the wine, which was €1.95 per glass.

The room. The sheet wasn’t like that, but I’d had to lie down after getting into the room as it was so hot outside. Ibis rooms have a standard design across the world, although this is the first time that the cushion to go on the bench on the right hand of the photo wasn’t there. I managed valiantly without it.

This was a complete bloody mystery to me. I have no idea why they’ve provided an ashtray in a non-smoking room, with a no smoking sign placed on it. I had wondered whether it was in case I wanted to go and smoke outside, but they had ashtrays there anyway. Since I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life, and don’t intend to start now, I didn’t find the need to locate somewhere that I could use my ashtray.

If anyone from the hotel, over the next few years, ever reads this, I’d like to know the reasoning behind it though.

The breakfast selection was reasonable and there was lots of choice, with numerous different types of bread.

Churros or something similar.

There were cold meats, cold cheeses, cereals, freshly squeezed orange juice, fruit and yoghurts available. It was all acceptable and kept topped up by the staff, who all seemed friendly and helpful.

Overall, I thought that the hotel was a rather good choice, as it was clean, at the appropriate temperature for me (cold) and the breakfast met my expectations. I didn’t experience any noise issues either internally or externally and I thought that the price of the room was reasonable.

The only limitation for me, as a walker, was the location of the hotel, as it was just a little bit of a trek to walk to and from the underground station in the heat (I might have mentioned that it’s hot in Madrid). The hotel does though have free car parking, so it’s likely much more accessible and appealing for those driving there.

August 13, 2025
Madrid – Museo de Historia de Madrid

[I originally posted this in July 2018 and have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

I may have mentioned, on occasion, that it’s very hot in Madrid. So, it seemed a sensible idea to go into a museum to avoid the mid-day sun. The city’s history museum is free of charge and is centrally located, as well as having lots of positive reviews.

The museum is located in what was formerly the Real Hospicio de San Fernando, a hospital building dating to 1673. One of the slight disappointments of this museum is that there was absolutely no evidence of this inside the building, as a modern refurbishment has made the interior look rather bland.

This is Charles II, of the Habsburg dynasty and who was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. It is thought that his distinctive chin, which was shared by other family members, was the result of many centuries of in-breeding. Charles II also had significant health problems throughout his life and he died at the age of 38 having had no children.

A model of a bull-fighting ring, which used to be very popular in Madrid, with numerous rings across the city. It’s not something that I’d ever want to go and watch though.

I’m not sure who wrote the English translations around the museum, but the quality of English was excellent. I did like the description of coffee houses as “spots where people gathered to share news and gossip”. They sound quite interesting places, not that I’m one for gossip.

The museum had an interesting collection of early photographs of the city, showing the evolution of Madrid from “a listless city at a standstill” (their words) to a modern capital. The photo is at an angle in an attempt not to get a reflection of me standing in front of it….

To put it politely, some of the museum’s paintings weren’t of the greatest standard. They had a reasonably large collection and I was pleased that they had put so many out on public display, but the quality wasn’t always breath-taking. This large painting was though much more interesting and is of the Dos de Mayo Uprising, which is when in May 1808 many of the city’s residents rose up against the French troops who were occupying Madrid.

An interesting advertising poster, and to pinch the museum’s text about it: “Advertising poster painted in oil on a type of beans sold in the Casa Díez Obeso of Hortaleza street in Madrid. It is a simple composition and somewhat naive and very explicit, accompanied by broad legends as befits the publicity of the time. The gentleman on the left chokes eating some beans of dubious quality until he acquires the celebrated beans and can enjoy a good dish, a circumstance that occurs in the vignette on the right. In the lower panel, a couple of farmers comment on the previous scene”.

The museum had a lot of maps on display, and I hadn’t realised how much of Madrid’s development and growth had been relatively recent. The museum explains how the city was rather hemmed in by its city walls, and Madrid hadn’t always been the country’s capital. This meant that it didn’t have its own cathedral and the infra-structure was also quite weak.

There were plans to make the city more modern in the early part of the twentieth century, which meant more housing, office and retail complexes being built outside of the city centre.

An omnibus, which the museum has dated from between 1800 to 1900, which is a little vaguer than I’d ideally like. However, it’s clear that they were common throughout the nineteenth century, before they were replaced by cars.

Overall, I thought that this was a really well put together museum, which was broadly in chronological order. There wasn’t much coverage of Madrid post Second World War, but there was a depth to the collection and it seemed well curated. As mentioned, the quality of the English translations was also excellent, perhaps the best I’ve seen in Spain.

Bearing in mind that the museum is free and covers four floors, it’s hard to complain about the value for money. Although, having said (written) that, I note that some people on review sites do still complain. Anyway, definitely recommend, and the air conditioning keeps the interior lovely and cool.

August 13, 2025
Madrid – Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Floor 1)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

Following on from my visit to the excellent Thyssen Museum, I arguably stunned the art work with my analysis of the artworks on the second floor. Well, perhaps less stunned, as was totally ignored, but that’s probably for the best. I’ve rather forgotten exactly what floor some of the artworks were on, but from what I remember, the below were all on the first floor.

Henri Matisse’s Canal du Midi which was painted in 1898 and which is apparently painted with oil on cardboard, which is then attached to plywood. Sounds very professional…. The painting was for a while owned by Leo Stein, the American art collector and older brother of Gertrude Stein.

Édouard Manet’s Horsewoman which was painted in 1882 and is the only artwork by this artist that the gallery has. Manet was ill when he started to paint this artwork and the model was Henriette Chabot. He was keen for the artwork to be recognised by the Salon, a French organisation that was highly influential for artists, in 1884.

Edvard Munch’s Evening which was painted in 1888. This, rather randomly, reminds me of the immense security operation there must be at the gallery, and indeed at tens of other galleries around the world. Munch paintings have been stolen on numerous occasions, and it must be very difficult to defend such a large building from a potential attacker.

The painting includes Munch’s sister, Laura, and there are two other people in the artwork, standing by a boat. There were also once another two people in the painting, but Munch removed them, perhaps so that Laura remained the primary focus.

Vincent van Gogh’s Les Vessenots en Auvers which was painted in 1890, shortly before he killed himself. The photo is taken from a strange angle as that’s the nearest I could get to it, as it was one of the most popular paintings in the gallery. Actually, I could have patiently waited for a clearer photo, but I didn’t have the energy to faff about.

Henri Matisse’s The Yellow Flowers which was painted in 1902. It looks like a load of splodges to me, but I’m not very artistic, so let’s go with the gallery’s description instead. They say “the despondency triggered by the scandalous bankruptcy of his parents-in-law, who had been his financial mainstay during the early years, and the influence of the Nabis dulled his palette and simplified his compositions”.

Vincent van Gogh’s The Stevedores in Arles which was painted in 1902. The gallery has a long and detailed description of the meaning behind the painting, but the colours are certainly vivid and contrasting.

Andre Derain’s Waterloo Bridge which was painted in 1906. It’s not entirely clear from the photo, but the painting is comprised of lots of paint dots (apparently called the pointillist technique) and it was painted from the Victoria Embankment. The Houses of Parliament are in the painting, although are a little difficult to make out.

Something a little different, John Frederick Peto’s Toms River, painted in 1905. The painting is named after his house, and the HH is painted on, it is thought it refers to his grandfather, Hoffman Ham. The Star of David is there as an acknowledgement to the suffering of Jewish people, although it is hard for anyone to imagine just how much worse that got for so many Jews in the following decades.

Paul Gaugin’s Street in Rouen which was painted in 1884. The gallery has eleven works by Gaugin and they show a range of his different artistic styles. The gallery notes that he painted this during the period in which he was moving from being an amateur to a full-time artist.

August 13, 2025