September 6
Bourne End to Shrewsbury
After several days of cloudy, damp and cool weather, I dressed accordingly and walked to the station in bright sunshine, feeling far too hot.
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I waited with a few others for the train, which arrived and departed on time. At Maidenhead I took the opportunity of photographing Sir Nicholas Winton.
I have only recently discovered that the statue was of him and that he had a long connection with Maidenhead, living there for most of the years after the war. He died a couple of months ago at the age of 106, a hero for saving hundreds of children from the Nazis by organising trains to transport them to the UK.
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The local train arrived a minute late and we arrived in Reading on time. This gave me the time to have a coffee and to photograph the smart new station roof before my train arrived. This was early but it then sat in the station for ten minutes until its scheduled departure time.
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We left on time and had a very smooth journey to Newport. The train was well over half full and the sun shone. I took a photos through the windows, mainly to prove that they seldom work, and we arrived five minutes early in Newport. It takes a few minutes to remember that Wales is foreign and that the signs and announcements are bilingual. The station had been modernized and there was a rather fine atrium servicing the coffee bar. I waited in the bright sunshine until the next train arrived on schedule and I boarded.
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The Arriva train was small and most of the seats were either occupied or reserved. Interestingly, most of the reserved seats were not occupied so I sat on one. There was no wi fi so my plan of following the Grand Prix on the WWW was thwarted. I could, however, get radio reception so listened that way.
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The journey was uneventful and we arrived in Shrewsbury on schedule. The trains have distinguished themselves so far.
Shrewsbury Station is one of the grandest 1n the country. It was cleaned and refurbished a few years ago and looks magnificent.
I took a narrow path which climbs over the station, passes the prison and drops down to the river bank by a flight of steps.
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I took an assortment of photographs as I walked the quarter of a mile to the English Bridge. One of these was of the site of The Gay Meadow, home to Shrewsbury Town for well over 90 years but now the site of a new housing development. We passed the new ground on the train on the outskirts of town.
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The Lion and Pheasant is a very old building in which I have stayed many times. I located my room and then walked around the corner to meet an old friend in a pub. St Julian's Friars has been gentrified over recent years, is now largely pedestrianised and is lined with new flats.
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I walked down to the river for an explore before returning to the pub for a couple of beers and a long chat. Back at the hotel, I had another rest, then found the restaurant, beautifully half timbered, and ordered dinner. Not having eaten since I left Bourne End, this seemed like a good idea. The cured salmon and lobster was exquisite. Small, beautifully presented and full of delicate flavours. The Faultline Sauvignon Blanc, from Saint Clair, was perfectly presentable although not top class.
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As the hotel is almost opposite Tanners, one of the top independent wine merchants in the country, it probably came from there.
The pork main course was good - perhaps not quite as good as the starter. It contained quinoa, which I have never knowingly eaten before but which was interesting and full of flavour. The Rioja was OK but not brilliant.
Common sense told me to ignore pudding and just to have a coffee. This was the weak link in the chain. Not good.
I went upstairs, played on the wi fi and the TV and went to bed.