Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • London – Central London (Cordwainer Statue)

    London – Central London (Cordwainer Statue)

    This statue is located on Watling Street in the ward known as Cordwainer, named after the shoemakers who worked in this area. There’s a difference between a cordwainer and a cobbler, as the former makes shoes and the latter fixes shoes. The word is from the French ‘cordewaner’, meaning shoemaker, which is derived from the Spanish town of Córdoba in Andalusia whether the leather used in shoemaking was often from.

    The statue was commissioned in 2002 by the Ward of Cordwainer Club to mark their centenary. Initially, the statue was placed in the churchyard of St Mary le Bow, but was moved to its current location a couple of years later. The statue is located near to the site of the Livery Hall of the Cordwainers’ Company, where there were six successive halls from 1440 until 1941. When the hall was destroyed in the London Blitz, a decision was made by the company that they wouldn’t construct another. The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers still exists, but they’re primarily a charitable organisation, with some members being descendants of shoe-makers and some working in the industry today. One of their charitable efforts in recent years was a bike ride from Córdoba, where their name began, to London.

  • Bacton – Bromholm Priory (Gateway)

    Bacton – Bromholm Priory (Gateway)

    The gatehouse of Bromholm Priory remains standing, unlike much of the rest of the monastery. More on other sections of the monastery in other posts, but this was a prestigious priory which was shut down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The above photo is from within the priory grounds looking outwards.


    The above photo is taken from around the same place, and there’s not much change other than some bricks added, a little unsympathetically, to the right-hand side of the arch.


    This is another photo taken from the same location, but is likely from a couple of decades before the 1955 date quoted by Francis Frith. This looks more like the photo taken in 1937 by George Plunkett.

    A photo of the gatehouse from the outside.

    This photo is also from the outside, showing that the gatehouse was formerly quite a substantial structure with two floors and two bays. Anyone coming to the priory for the first time would have likely got a positive first impression. This is a Cluniac priory and it reminds me of the gatehouses at Castle Acle and Thetford, also both Cluniac.

    One of the rooms inside the gatehouse.

  • Bacton – St. Andrew’s Church

    Bacton – St. Andrew’s Church

    Overlooking the sea and Bacton Gas Terminal, this church was originally constructed in the fourteenth century, although was remodelled in the fifteenth century.

    The church was heavily restored and faffed about with in 1847 and it was partly reroofed in 1895. What was discovered during the Victorian restoration were numerous wall paintings, some half an inch thick, which displayed stories relating to St. Christopher. Some of these wall paintings, thought to be from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries, are still visible inside the church. And, as a reminder that crime has always been a problem for churches, in the 1840s someone pinched lead from the roof.

    The sign said that the church was open. The church was shut.

    The four-stage tower is from the mid to late fourteenth-century.

    I understand that sometimes creativity is needed with historic buildings when elements such as air conditioning, heating or ventilation are added. But this is bloody ridiculous.

    I’m not sure that we were entirely aware when we were at the church how dark it had become.

    Below is a photo of the church in 1955, those neat bush things leading to the porch have now gone.


  • Matlock – St. Giles’s Church (Wooden Grave Markers)

    Matlock – St. Giles’s Church (Wooden Grave Markers)

    I don’t have any background information to these graves, but I thought that they were interesting as wooden markers would have once been commonplace in churches. They seem to be bearing up well at the moment, but I still suspect many churchyards would have once been full of these, part of the reason there are in some places an absence of gravestones from before 1800.

  • LDWA 100 – Q & As with Tara Williams

    LDWA 100 – Q & As with Tara Williams

    This page is all part of my effort to walk the 2021 LDWA 100.

    This is part of my little series in asking those who have completed the 100 just how they did it, and whether it’s an entirely good idea. This set of answers is from Tara Williams, who perhaps sensibly thought that just one of these 100s was enough, but then decided that perhaps she’d do more. I’m still sure I won’t be doing that, I just have to remember to stand firm on this… (which incidentally is what I’ll probably do on the 100 rather than walking because I’m quite good at standing). Anyway, I digress.

    Incidentally, I’m now moderately worried about toenails, Chelle Armour mentions those as well when talking about the 100…. I like the whiskey bit though, although mine will be beer, but the logic holds. And I’ll be amazed if Nathan doesn’t have a tantrum when we walk it, and I doubt I’ll be a bundle of joy either.

    Q. When was your first 100?

    Having discovered the LDWA in 2007, my first 100 was the Wessex in 2009.

    Q. When you finished your first 100, did you think you’d do another?

    I had stated categorically that I was doing ONE (and ONLY one) 100…I completed the Wessex…job done…or so I thought…

    Q. When you e-mailed me about answering some questions you mentioned you’d had some tears and tantrums on the 100. This sounds just like what I’m hoping to have, tell me more.

    The 100 reaches parts of you that other events just do not reach. It can take you to some amazing highs but also some very deep, dark recesses of the mind. The tears can be due to pain, suffering, self pity, fear or just the sheer joy of knowing that you are within stumbling distance from the end.

    The 100-related tantrums can rival a 2-year old in their ferocity. The best one was having completed the Housman 100 (2011) and then finding my travel tickets in my bag, having been ‘abandoned’ by my partner…whhhomppp…I went off like a rocket, no holding back. FULL on tantrum…for which I was congratulated (by a lovely lady in the first aid room, whose name I cannot recall…but I am guessing that she remembers me!) as it was pretty spectacular from someone who has just finished the 100!

    Q. What would you pick at a checkpoint, two sausage rolls, one chicken bake or one steak bake?

    In the early stages, I keep it savory to prevent the sugar rush and save that for the later stages…when I need it. Sandwiches (especially the ones at the Devon and Cornwall group CP, although their CP is later in the event), quiche etc to start then after about 50 miles, anything and everything…and all at once! The only non-negotiable is my large slug of Whiskey at the breakfast stop. That tradition started on the Heart of Scotland 100 and was actually what got me out of the breakfast CP and on the road again.

    Q. How important are the marshals to you at checkpoints on longer challenge events?

    Very, very, VERY important!

    Q. Are there moments that you’ve nearly retired from a walk only to then finish? How do you get that mental strength?

    That will be most events! There are a lot of mind over matter situations on events. Usually a ‘pep talk to self’ will do it but when a ‘diva meltdown’ threatens there is always the thought of the people who have had to walk hundreds of miles when fleeing war, famine etc. They did not have all my nice kit and a welcoming checkpoint every few miles. That usually kicks me into gear again…feeling rather ashamed of my (self-inflicted) predicament.

    Q. Have you hallucinated towards the end of a walk?

    Yes, during a walk, I saw a deer fence which went up, up, uphill and through a never-ending bog…and it was raining…and the deer fence continued, and so did the hill… If you were on that 100 (HoS), you will know exactly what I mean but it was (unfortunately) REAL!

    Q. Are you more reliant on the route description or the GPX file?

    Route description – it has been written to get us round so I will use it. I am not a fan of GPX…but could change my mind rapidly if I was asked that question when I am lost!

    Q. What are your top tips for footcare on the 100?

    Accept the fact that your feet will never be the same again! A few days before, cut your toenails short, remove any rough edges and paint them a BRIGHT colour. That way, if you arrive at a CP (Aberfeldy on the 2010 HoS) and remove your sock to get the ‘stone’ out, you will easily see that one bright pink splodge is missing…and will be able to spot it and retrieve it quickly…before anyone notices that your toenail has just gone flying across the floor!

    Q. Have you been scared of a sheep / cow / snake / pig / seagull or similar on a challenge walk?

    Llamas and anything that looks like a sheep/camel cross can usually be very territorial or just plain angry!

    Q. To those people who are thinking about taking part in their first challenge event, maybe just 18 miles, what advice would you give them?

    Everything you do in life starts out with taking the first step. You do not know what you are capable of until you try…and then are usually very surprised at what you CAN do.

  • London – Christ Church Greyfriars

    London – Christ Church Greyfriars

    I haven’t paid much attention to these ruins before, but they have a considerable heritage as they are from a monastic church built in the thirteenth century on what is now Newgate Street. The monastery was dissolved during the Reformation and was turned into a parish church which was given by King Henry VIII to the Mayor of London for the use of the city’s population. This church building was though lost, along with most others in the heart of the city, during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The replacement building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, but this in turn was unfortunately destroyed in 1940 during the London Blitz.

    The few sections of the remaining church still standing were demolished following the end of the Second World War, with the site turned into public gardens. There are some important people who have been buried at this site over the centuries, including Isabella of France (also the Queen of England), Marguerite of France (another Queen of England) and Joan of England (who was the Queen of Scotland). I’m equally confused as to who was Queen of where, but it’s evidence of the importance of the church.

    Some of the surviving arches and it’s positive that it was decided to keep this as a public park, rather than shoving up another office block on the site.

    The former door into the nave.

    The gardens are impressive and before this health scare meant fewer people came into London, I imagine that this was a busy place for those wanting to eat their lunch.

    The tower, which was completed in 1704, survived the London Blitz and was restored in 1960.

    There are many more photos of how the church used to look at https://thecitizensmemorial.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/11/.

  • London – Chinatown

    London – Chinatown

    Some photos from Chinatown in London on Monday evening. Although London had felt quiet all day, there was a bit more vibrancy with people taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and most restaurants looked pretty full. Within a short distance of Chinatown and Soho though it remained a different matter, numerous restaurants and takeaways not even opening at all this month.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 144

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 144

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Goose Riding

    As a prior warning, this is completely horrific and thank goodness that this is in the distant past. The dictionary defines it as “a goose, who neck is greased, being suspended by the legs to a cord tied to two trees or high posts, a number of men on horseback, riding full speed, attempt to pull off the head: which if they effect, the goose is their prize. This has been practised in Derbyshire within the memory of persons now living”.

    Although the dictionary mentions Derbyshire, this was a tradition in numerous parts of Europe and more humane versions are still practised today. Better known as goose pulling, it’s thought that it originated in twelfth-century Spain before being spread further afield. The practice had pretty much died out in England by the later part of the eighteenth century, but it was spread to the United States where it persisted until the later part of the nineteenth century.

    The practice did though carry on into the twentieth century in the Netherlands, although live birds were substituted for dead birds by the 1920s. It is in only in the last couple of years that the use of dead birds is now also thought to be inappropriate, so non-animal replacements are used.

  • London – Quiet on the Underground

    London – Quiet on the Underground

    OK, so Chancery Lane isn’t ever the busiest of London underground stations, but nonetheless, it was eerily quiet this afternoon.

    The packed platform.

    Endless amounts of warnings about social distancing.

    Mind the Gap…. Still quiet at Oxford Street.

    It was a little busier on the Oxford Street platform to get onto the Bakerloo line, but it’s still all rather quiet.

    As for TFL, they’re not doing particularly well at keeping people safe. The first two hand-sanitiser dispensers I tried were empty. So, on a quest to discover how bothered TFL really are, I tried another six more during my journey into Oxford Street. Two worked, another four were empty. I won’t veer into politics, but this really isn’t a particularly good look for TFL and pretty much every other transport operator seems to manage.

    Anyway, I quite enjoyed the quiet network and there was a very high percentage of people wearing masks and lots of social distancing. I did note one man cough and this alarmed a woman who fled the scene but, otherwise, all uneventful.

  • Matlock – Pic Tor War Memorial

    Matlock – Pic Tor War Memorial

    The war memorial in Matlock stands over the town, located at the top of Pic Tor and having one of the best views of any similar memorial I can think of. It’s in the design of a Celtic cross and there are numerous pathways and steps up to reach the memorial, a walk which is worthwhile given the reward of the fine views.

    The memorial was unveiled on 7 August 1921 by FC Arkwright, who had lost a son and a son-in-law during the First World War. The memorial cost £500 and it was designed by William Nathan Statham and constructed by John William Wildgoose. Unfortunately, the process took longer than it probably should have done, with a series of disputes and letters to the local newspapers about just what design should be used for the memorial. The moderate danger of the location was realised a week after the war memorial was unveiled, when a young boy named Kelsey managed to fall down the slopes and render himself unconscious.

    The war memorial commemorates the names of 178 men from Matlock who died during the First World War, with another 47 names being added after the end of the Second World War and another name added later on marking the death of a soldier in Northern Ireland.