Although the Romans knew about the spring at Lamintone (meaning farm on the River Leam), it was lost again until 1784 when William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell, inhabitants of the village by then known as Leamington Priors re-discovered the medicinal qualities of the water in a well outside the local church.
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Tag: canal
Moseley and Edgbaston
Ten points for any reader who can guess the connection between these two areas of Birmingham without scrolling down the page. Felicity had a 10 am appointment in Moseley, so we decided to catch the bus instead of walking and arriving hot and sweaty. We wondered how we would pay the fare, and were impressed to discover that any credit or debit card can just be touched on the card reader. This technology is coming to NZ over the next few years.
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Birmingham Central City
When we told people where we were planning to base ourselves in the UK, the reaction was almost universal: “Birmingham? Why on earth would anyone want to go there?” After our first few days here, our conclusion is that the city’s biggest problem is its public relations, because it is a attractive and interesting place.
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Blenheim Palace Oxford
We spent most of a day packing our gear, departing Norwich and travelling to Oxford, but we had a couple of hours to wander around the town with our hosts Ros and Peter before heading home to their house. All of this university town is fascinating, but I thought the most interesting stop was the Weston Library, which is part of the Bodleian Library. Continue reading Blenheim Palace Oxford
Fort Augustus
Today’s walk has been very pleasant, first along the shore of Loch Oich, then along the side of the Caledonian Canal.
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South Laggan
After breakfast this morning our host drove us back to Gairlochy where we had left the Great Glen Way yesterday. The hot summer sun has been replaced by cloud and mist, and the temperature seems to have dropped about 10 degrees. It didn’t rain, but we needed our coats on to keep out the cold wind. No swimming in the loch today!
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Spean Bridge
Most of today we have been walking along the towpath of the Caledonian Canal, which allows boats to travel the length of the Great Glen from the east coast of Scotland to the west.
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St Albans to London
Felicity had meetings organised for today, so I took my bike on the London Overground train as far north as I could get on my Oyster Card, which was Watford High St. As soon as I came out of the station I saw a National Cycleway sign pointing north to St Albans, a bit over seven miles away.
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Hackney and Tower Hamlets
After spending all morning working diligently at our keyboards, we decided to reward ourselves with lunch at the Brick Lane market.
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London Canal Museum
This museum is in an old warehouse which used to belong to Carlo Gatti, who became famous first as an ice importer then as an ice cream maker.
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Grand Union Canal
I’ve been on my first English bike ride today; along the tow path of the Grand Union Canal. I have been a bit ambivalent about buying a bike, because the roads around West Hampstead are very narrow and busy, which is not my idea of a great riding environment. So I decided to try hiring a “Boris bike”.
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