We were up early and off for a short drive and walk before breakfast. The light drizzle didn't dampen the excitement of a "little" boy chasing long gone trains. Lucky it was early and no one else was around because stopping and parking in the narrowstreet and lanes was challenging.
We had only just left the hotel at Limpley Stoke when .....
(Greg writes now ......)
As we passed a spot on a typical narrow country road (lane), it was instantly recognisable to me. One of my favourite movies, "The Titfield Thunderbolt", was filmed in and around this area - the railway station of "Titfield" was in fact the (closed) nearby station at Monkton Combe, and the "Titfield village" scenes were filmed at the also nearby village of Freshford. I had to stop for a photo shoot (I have to admit we had already been up ealier before breakfast for a quick trip to nearby Freshford to get some street shots of where filming had occurred nearly 60 years ago).
Then on to another location called Midford, also part of the Titfield Thunderbolt set, but also steeped in railway tradition in its own right as a semi-mainline location of a railway known as the Somerset and Dorset Railway, which ran from Bath down to Bournemouth (West). It's a very famous, well known railway.
Standing on the Midford viaduct was a treat for this little, by now regressed, 12 year old boy. Having seen so many pictures in books and magazines, and so many b&w movies made in the 50s and 60s, to be actually standing on the now disused viaduct (which I believe is heritage protected) was indeed one to "cross off the bucket list". Soup for lunch at the typical country pub underneath the viaduct capped off a perfect morning. (Greg's literary indulgence ends here).
The rest of the day was spent travelling to Padstow, along a few more country roads, down the M5, along the A-something-or-other, then the A30, the A395, and so on (love their road naming conventions!).
Eventually, Padstow. Another town of narrow winding streets (this time on the other side of the channel). And, of course, we had to arrive on the start of the Bank Holiday weekend. These narrow streets were teeming with people and we felt embarrassed and out of place taking a car through them, albeit slowly ..... very, very slowly.
One funny thing, we both commented on how long it seemed to take to get between places. For example, on the M5 towards Exeter, a sign would say "Exeter 20". After what seemed an inordinate length of time, we were still only at "Exeter 15". Had we only come 5, it seemed so long ago. Then the penny dropped - we're in the UK. They're MILES! not kilometres. Of course it will take longer to travel 5 miles than 5 kms. Idiot tourists .....
The cottage is great. 2 storey semi-detached, open-plan loungeroom and kitchen downstairs, 2 bedrooms andbathrooms up stairs. Thank goodness for our own off-street parking space.
A quick visit around town, around the harbour (both still crowded with tourists at 8pm -it stays light until about 9pm), then the obligatory English take-home fish and chips for tea (that's what everyone else seemed to be sitting around eating, so when in Rome ......).
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