Croydon is a large commuter town in south London. It was home to London Croydon Airport – the UK’s first purpose-built airport terminal. We were staying overnight in Leatherhead in order to visit the Airport Visitor Centre the following morning. After our visit, and before heading to Canterbury for a few nights, we had time to quickly pop into the town to visit the Waterstones, which is located in a large indoor shopping centre, and is set over two floors. We had to get on the road quite swiftly after our visit, so sadly didn’t have time to explore the town.
Historic Croydon Airport Visitor Centre
Croydon Airport opened in 1928 and was operational until 1959. It had the UK’s first control tower and is where Air Traffic Control first started. It also had the first British airline called Imperial Airways. As well as that, the distress call “Mayday” was conceived here when a radio controller was asked to come up with a word as a distress signal. Mayday is the phonetic equivalent of the French term m’aidez, which means help me.
The centre, which opened in 2000 is run by volunteers and opens on the first Sunday of every month. At a recommended minimum donation of just £6.00, is definitely worth a visit.
Janet's Adventures in Waterstones 