I Parked, I Saw, Twyford Conquered

Editor Jan Raycroft paid the price for looking around the village, but fate intervened at just the right time

- Jan Raycroft

LOVE can come in many forms… people, pets, and definitely places. This is how I ended up living in Twyford and trapped by its attractions. Perhaps that the relationship started expensively – and yet we didn’t get off on the wrong foot – demonstrates the depth of the passion. As does the fact that I ignored the reaction of friends, puzzled by this new obsession.

It began with wandering Berkshire and Buckinghamshire by car a few years back on a sunny day looking for a new spot to live. I simply followed roads signs to what sounded like interesting places and ended up in the Twyford Waitrose car park, somewhere I’d never previously visited. Twyford, that is, not Waitrose.

The plan was to have a quick look round on foot, buy a sandwich from the store and head on. Several hours later I’d virtually completed the process of renting a terraced cottage near the station and then headed back to Waitrose to find a parking ticket on my car. But nothing was going to stop what seemed like fate.