Inanna Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Its just ridiculous, not only was it almost 6 years behind, but the cost of it was astronomical, and on opening day the lift got stuck too :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Very interesting Inanna. This topic is really fantastic - like reading a travel book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I never knew why the stars and crescent were on the Pompey thing. Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanna Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I never knew why the stars and crescent were on the Pompey thing. Cool. Never did I till I did that post lololol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 here's mine, sorry its a bit long-winded!!!! Not at all - we all love reading at this forum & it's always interesting to hear a little about the places members live. Some of us have been around a bit & it's nice to be able to say "oh, yes - I know a little something about such-&-such-a-place". Interesting stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Ooh! (Or hoo!) I was in High Halstow in about Novemberish, on possibly the stupidest walk of my life. I just felt like walking miles and miles and miles on the flat. I started from the nature reserve, walked down to Cliffe, then all the way around the Hoo sea wall as far as Allhallows, and then back inland. I think it was around 23 miles. I was very knackered at the end of it. A very spectacular place, although I can imagine it's not to all tastes. Huge expanses of sky, industrial stuff looming on the other side of the river, and down and upstream, and yet almost complete tranquility and marshes and birds and river/sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 A 23 mile round walking trip??? How did you ever manage that? Andy, I think you might be just a little bit crazy (but we love you that way - LOL!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I got myself fairly fit over the summer, doing lots of walking and cycling (although my build, and my instinct to eat and drink, naturally counteract any exerciseyness). But I was just in the mood for wiping myself out, and Hoo was a fascinating place on the map and there were no roads, no towns, and no footpaths meeting the sea wall so you had to walk and walk and walk. And I got into the swing of it, and there was nobody around and it just felt great. So I kept going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, mind. It's an utterly bonkers walk. But it was right for me at the time. I suppose it's a bit like doing a marathon in walking boots... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 , and on opening day the lift got stuck too :shock: Gosh..someone must have gotten grief over that! :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanna Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 It was the perfect climax to what was already total doozy, thats all the paper went on about for days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Let's see what I can find... Erith.. Some history Apparently it has the longest pier in London.. I've just learnt something new there! lol Slade Green... I didn;t even know this site existed until today! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tash Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Ramsgate Ramsgate is part of what was the 'Isle of Thanetos' or 'Island of Death'. It was one of the islands of chalk left when the sea broke through to form the English Channel in 6500 BC: the others are now beneath the sea. It was left separated from the mainland by what became known as the Wantsum Channel until the deposition of silt from the River Stour and the build up of shingle which was occurring along the coast have now practically joined the Isle to the mainland. Ramsgate is most known for being a harbour town in the South East of England which dates back to Roman times. It was originally built as a port of refuge for vessels sheltering from storms. The harbour was given the 'Royal' title back in 1821 when George IV sailed from Ramsgate to Hanover and back. The hospitality given to him by the people of Ramsgate was so good that he decreed Ramsgate Harbour should have the right to add 'Royal' to its name. It stands today, the only Royal harbour in the United Kingdom. It is also a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque ports. It was used during the Napoleonic wars and more famously, was the disembarking point for the thousands of soldiers who escaped from Dunkirk beach. In fact, one of the boats used for evacuation during that time is still moored there for people to view. The harbour serves not only local fisherman and yachtsman from all over the world but also hosts many events throughout the year. From speed boat races, French markets and the Heineken Race of the Classics (old classic Dutch ships from 15 - 55m in length), it can draw crowds in from the most distant of regions. For those beer lovers, we even have a beer festival this year Ramsgate is also home to St Augustines Abbey. Its dedication commemorates Augustine, the first archbishop of Canterbury, who landed at Ramsgate in AD 596 and brought Christianity to Britain. Ferries run from just down the coast from the harbour, on a much less frequent basis than nearby Dover. The crossings are for freight, however, they do accommodate a reasonable amount of public also. If crowds are not your thing, a leisurely trip more suitable than a flying sail from a hectic port, then a 4 hour crossing to Ostend in Belgium can be a wonderful day out. I personally find the actual town of Ramsgate very small for shopping. A new shopping centre was recently added to the nearby Westwood Cross which is a much more preferable place for the seasoned shopper, however, Ramsgate still offers a wide range of stores, restaurants and bars. There are plenty of historical things around to learn about Ramsgate, aside from the harbour history. We of course have the Maritime museum, but also a Motor Museum, underground town tunnels http://www.undergroundkent.co.uk/ramsgate_tunnels.htm, an original (although restored) Viking ship just along the road at Pegwell and...... Jacobs Ladder http://www.kent-opc.org.uk/Pictures_Of_Kent/Ramsgate/ramsgate.htm#Jacobs_ladder Just off our coast towards Deal are the famous 'Goodwin Sands', well worth a read up about. http://www.doverpages.co.uk/goodwin.htm For more about Ramsgate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsgate (the part about the 2nd officer of the Titanic I find fascinating) http://www.tourism.thanet.gov.uk/pages/ram_intro.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I love this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acesare* Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 St Albans St Albans is a small city about 20 miles or so north of London and situated in the green belt that surrounds the capital and the area has a very long and interesting history (so this post could be quite long!). Verulamium was the third largest city in Roman Britain. Its remains are beside the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, on park and agricultural land. Before the Romans it was known as Verlamion, (meaning 'settlement above the marsh') the capital of the Catuvellauni tribe. The settlement was established by their leader Tasciovanus. In this pre-Roman form it was among the first places in Britain recorded by name. It was built beside the River Ver. The Roman settlement was granted the rank of municipium in c. AD 50, meaning its citizens had all the rights of a citizen of Rome. It grew to a significant town, despite the attentions of Boudica of the Iceni in AD 61. It grew steadily - by the early 200s it covered an area of about 125 acres (0.5 km Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 Wow! That was really interesting, Jo. Not only that, but I've been reading Simon Scarrow's Eagles series & the Catuvellauni tribe have been mentioned a lot, so it's always exciting when I read or hear something & can picture it outwith the book. Thank you for that, Jo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acesare* Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 As we've had a few new members since this was lat used, I thought I'd bump it up a bit! Anyone else like to share some info on their home town? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 My home town is near Bath. I moved West when I got married. ~~~~~ I grew up in Higham: Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. It is in two parts � Higham itself on the main road, and Lower Higham around Higham railway station, a mile to the north. The civil parish of Higham is located in Gravesham district. History The priory dedicated to St Mary was built on land granted to Mary, daughter of King Stephen. In 1148, the nuns of St Sulphice-la-Foret, Brittany, moved to Higham. Higham priory was also known as Lillechurch. (Medieval Religious Houses, p. 259). On the 6th of July 1227, King Henry III confirmed the royal grant to the abbey of St Mary and St Sulpice of Lillechurch. The original parish church is dedicated to St Mary, now in the care of the Redundant Churches. The pulpit there is one of the oldest in Kent, dating from the 14th century. Gad's Hill Shakespeare refers to Gad's Hill (or Gadshill) and its relationship with highway robbery in his Henry IV Part I. As far back as 1558 there was a ballad entitled The Robbers of Gad's Hill. The Sir John Falstaff public house stood at the top of a steep thickly wooded hill, an ideal spot for highwaymen. Gad's Hill remains the only factual detail concerning the incident of the legend of the long ride north made by Dick Turpin, a highway man of some repute. The basic facts of the story are true, but they were told by Turpin to his admirers before he went to the gallows, and he was taking credit for the deed of one of his fellow highwaymen, and gang member, a certain Captain, Richard Dudley whom was guilty of the deed. Gad's Hill Place was once the home of Charles Dickens who bought it in 1856 for �1,790. In its garden once stood a Swiss chalet in which Dickens would compose his works. The chalet is now in the gardens of Eastgate House, a Tudor building of great character in Rochester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanna Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I love the name, its wonderful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Dover Whitfield is a small village just down the road from Dover. It's quiet and everyone is very friendly. There are several types of birds in the area, including: blue tits, great tits, kestrels, goshawks, house sparrows, starlings and jackdaws. There are foxes as well. At the back of some gardens, including mine, there a few fields. These are the home to cattle and sheep. During autumn, wheat and corn grows to taller than me. In addition to that, there are some woods at the entrance of the fields. I love it in Whitfield. Apart from Devon, Somerset or Cornwall, I can't think of a better place to live! [/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahrob Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I live on the Wirral peninsula From Wikipedia: The Wirral is a peninsula in North West England bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. It is administered by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in the north and Cheshire County Council in the south. Previously it was entirely in Cheshire as a hundred. 2006 sees the Wirral play host to The Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake. Wirral was once an independent Viking mini-state with its parliament at Thingwall. Ancient Irish annals record the population of Wirral by Norsemen led by Ingimund expelled from Ireland and getting agreement from Aethelflaed or "Ethelfleda", Queen of the Mercian English to settle there peacefully. Place name evidence (all the -by names) and archaeological finds (such as two hogback tombstones) corroborate this. Tranmere Rovers FC is the only team in the English League with a Norwegian Viking name: Tranmere = trani melr "cranebird sandbank". At the end of the twelfth century, Birchen Head Priory stood on a lonely headland of birch trees, facing open countryside and surrounded by the Mersey. It was from here, Merseyside's oldest building, that Benedictine monks operated the first Mersey ferry in 1330, having been granted a passage to Liverpool by a charter from Edward III. The original ferry service, now famous throughout the world, put Wirral on the map as part of the King's highway, yet for centuries the peninsula remained a cluster of small holdings and hamlets. It wasn't until the 1820s that steam-powered boats improved communication and opened up Wirral's Mersey coast for industrialisation. Wirral's first railway was built in 1840 planned by George Stephenson and connected Birkenhead with Chester. This encouraged the growth of Wirral; Birkenhead and Wallasey grew into large towns. In 1847, Birkenhead's first docks and its municipal park, the first in Britain and the inspiration for New York's Central Park, were opened. The Mersey Railway led to increased development after 1886, when pioneering Victorian engineers were the first in the world successfully to tunnel a railway beneath a major river. The first tunnel was supplemented by a vehicle tunnel in 1934 (Queensway) and a third in 1971 (Kingsway). Wirral's dockland areas of Wallasey and Birkenhead continued to develop and prosper. The 1820s saw the birth of the renowned shipbuilding tradition when John Laird opened his Cammell Laird yard and a host of other port-related industries came into existence, such as flour milling, tanning, edible oil refining and the manufacture of paint and rubber-based products. A large chemical and oil refining complex is still in Ellesmere Port. Another important development was the building in 1888 of the now famous industrial village of Port Sunlight, designed to house employees at the original firm of Lever Brothers, now part of the Unilever group. The village, which turned Lord Leverhulme's philanthropic dream into reality provided workers with a benign environment. It always amuses me that these potted histories always, always mention Port Sunlight, but never mention Bromborough Pool. Bromborough Pool is an earlier industrial village which was built for the workers of Price's Candles. Port Sunlight is walking distance for me and has the Lady Lever Art Gallery, which is my absolute favourite place and is somewhere I spend an inordinate amount of time. You can still go round Birkenhead Priory - it is largely ruined but still has a tower and a crypt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 hey new guys..perhaps someone would care to teach me some geography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 In Roman times and for centuries afterwards the site of Kingswinford would have been dense primeval forest. Before the Norman Conquest the manor of Kingswinford had come into the King's hands. About the year AD 1010, King Ethelred sold the village, among others, to the Dean of Worcester. During later wars these were seized by the Sheriff of the County of Stafford on behalf of the King and for more than 100 years they belonged to the Crown. The name Kingswinford is the first entry in the Domesday Book (Liber de Wintonia) for the County of Stafford. The name is derived from 'Rex tenet Svinesford', The King holds (King)swinford. The Domesday Book (1085-1086) shows little worth recording in "Svinesford" for most of the land was lying waste - five hides valued at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrstrecool Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I really want Galactic Space Hamster to tell us about his home town!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acesare* Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Just Wikied the village I grew up in and it's actually there!! Chiswell Green I'm so sadly excited. I worked in The Three Hammers for 3 years (and there weren't 2,800 living there when I lived there - damn urban sprawl) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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