Watford Junction may not seem the most exciting place to start a tour of my birth county. (I was born in Bushey.) I'd eased my way through an excited crowd of international tourists. They were making for a bus heading to the Harry Potter Studio Tour (wbstudiotour.co.uk) at Warner Brothers' Leavesden base. I must be the only person in England who hasn't been there yet. But more of Hertfordshire's film links later. I was aiming instead for a forgotten corner of the station where a branch line starts. A short train took me "clickety-clacking" along the single track, towards St Albans Abbey station.
I got off at the rural idyll of Bricket Wood. Its Edwardian station building has recently been restored. Last summer, a tearoom opened within; I was eager to try it. A freshly made avocado sandwich and wide choice of homemade cake was too tempting to resist. With flowers on every table and polished faux gas lamps shining brightly, it's about as far removed from an old British Railways buffet as you could imagine.
One customer told me the village was once a popular day trip destination for Londoners, with special trains bringing Sunday school parties and firms' outings to fairs held on the common for much of each summer. "Those who could afford it went to a tearoom in a thatched cottage, called the Old Fox With His Teeth Drawn. The cottage is still there, but it's now a private house," she said. At the pub, I spotted a photo of a fair, dated 1905 and showing helter-skelters, swing-boats and crinolined ladies. "The first July fair was Gooseberry Pudding Sunday," says the caption. "There were five others before the tenth of the month, a busy time for the showman." Now quiet, I found the common a lovely spot for a wander, with its heathland and ponds.
Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av Best of British.
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Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av Best of British.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Forties Post – Plastic Fantastic – Andrew Wilson shines the spotlight on a pioneering plastic surgeon
A hero in many people's books and even a war hero to others - John was recognised in his lifetime by his contemporaries, his patients and in letters that made their way into the local newspaper, the Staffordshire Sentinel. Over time that gradually fell away, to the point where, if asked, few people would ever have heard of John Grocott - apart from his former patients, for whom the universal question appears to have been: "How do you say thank you to someone who has made my life worth living?"
POSTCARD FROM HERTFORDSHIRE
Bob Barton makes plenty of connections to the film world as he returns to the county of his birth but still finds time for a vintage bus ride
Still Walking the Streets of London
Peter Robertson chats to Ralph McTell 50 years after his classic single became a hit
The Tears of a Clown
Chris Hallam remembers Bob Grant, a troubled star of On the Buses
David Wilkie
Peter Robertson pays tribute to one of Britain's most successful athletes
A Century of Smiles, Ceremonies and Celebrations
Claire Saul visits a new exhibition at Buckingham Palace's King's Gallery that reveals life on both sides of the lens of royal photography
A HARD DAY NIGHT
Greg Morse celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' first film
Terrific Tucktonia
Susan Brewer remembers the UK mainland's first theme park
A Chip Off the Old Block
Colin Allan looks back on the tennis career of Stanley Matthews Jr
The Bucolic Frolic
Martin Claytor celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Knebworth Festival
