Janet's Adventures in Waterstones

Woking – Saturday 7th July 2018

Woking is a small town in Surrey, and its most famous resident must surely be H G Wells. Although the author only lived in the town for about a year, he wrote several books there, including arguably his most famous novel, The War of the Worlds – it’s a great book and well worth a read! The Waterstones here is in the Peacocks Shopping Centre.

Woking 07.07.18 (1)

Woking 07.07.18 (21)

The town is quite rightly proud of H G Wells. There are several statues of his work and one of him, as well as a town trail (which I would have liked to do, but sadly we didn’t have time).

Martian Tripod and Capsule

Wells’ house on Maybury Road

The photo below was taken on a previous trip through Woking. The statue was installed in 2016 and was sculpted by artist Wesley Harland. I believe it has moved to a new location since our last visit.

Woking 07.07.18 (13)

I have just realised that whilst trying to catch up on posts I m currently drinking coffee from my (subliminally chosen…?) ‘H G Tunbridge Wells’ mug!

Woking

Andover – Saturday 7th July 2018

Today was the beginning of our summer holiday. Our first destination was in Kent where we were attending a choral concert in the evening, before an overnight stop in Essex on our way to Suffolk. We decided to make use of the Saturday to do several branches of Waterstones on our way to Kent. The first was Andover in Hampshire where we stopped for breakfast! The Waterstones is in a small but modern shopping centre and has a cosy feel.

Andover 07.07.18 (2.5)

We didn’t have a lot of time in the town as we had more places to visit, but we thought the Town Mills (a former flour mill) building was very pretty. We did have to hurry past the troll before it ate us…

Andover 24

We also spotted this plaque – the words are from A A Milne’s poem ‘Halfway Down’ which appeared in his collection of poetry When We Were Very Young. It’s obviously some kind of town trail (it’s numbered 8), but Googling hasn’t revealed the significance of the poem to Andover!

Andover 7

Currently reading – The New Woman by Charity Norman and listening to Knots and Crosses on Ian Rankin on Audio Book

Tenterden – Wednesday 13th June 2018

After leaving Ashford we headed to Tenterden where the funeral was taking place. Tenterden is a pretty town in the Weald of Kent, known as the Jewel in the Weald, and has a nice mix of chain stores and independent shops.

We had an hour to spare before the funeral so stopped for a drink and a quick visit to the Waterstones. What a fantastic shop! It’s so quaint and quirky with small rooms and beams and even a fireplace! I bought a book here, and started reading it in the car on the way back to Somerset!

Tenterden 13.06.18 (1)

Downstairs

Upstairs

Tenterden 13.06.18 (20)

A milestone, and one of those free kerbside Book Swaps.

Milestone

Book Swap Library

Tenterden book 1

Currently reading – The Walworth Beauty by Michèle Roberts

Ashford – Wednesday 13th June 2018

We had a family funeral to attend in Kent so we drove up the night before and stayed in Ashford. The next day we headed into town for breakfast and to check out the Waterstones there which is based in a shopping centre so doesn’t have any real features but the staff I spoke to there were very pleasant.

Ashford 13.06.18 (14)

Ashford itself was quite pretty in places. There is a lovely church building just behind the main shopping area which we would have liked to look in, but sadly it was closed.

Dorchester – Saturday 2nd June 2018

It was a lovely Sunny day so we decided to head to Dorchester, which is a small town in Dorset about 50 miles from where we live. The Waterstones here is in the main shopping area in South Street – it’s a fairly unremarkable building but I still managed to buy two books!

Dorchester 02.06.18 (3)

Dorchester 02.06.18 (15)

Dorchester was home to Thomas Hardy. His books are set in Wessex – his version of Dorset – and his home town doubles-up as Casterbridge in the titular The Mayor of Casterbridge. Other books include Far from the Madding Crowd, The Trumpet Major and, my favourite (of those that I’ve read so far), Tess of the D’Urbervilles. It’s a nice town, especially on a sunny day.

The tiny cottage that Hardy grew up in is in a small village called Stinsford not far away, and Max Gate, the home that Hardy designed himself is on the outskirts of the town. Both are owned by the National Trust and well worth a visit.

Hardy Cottage

1 Hardy's Cottage resized

Max Gate

1 Max Gate resized

It was Hardy’s wish to be buried in Stinsford Church but the powers that be wanted to honour him by having him in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey. As a compromise, his ashes are interred in London, and his heart at Stinsford in a family grave!

This pub features in The Mayor of Casterbridge

DSCF1070

Currently reading – Birds, Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell, and listening to The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré

Wimbledon – Monday 28th May 2018

After leaving London we popped to Wimbledon as it was near where we were staying. We didn’t get to spend much time there as we wanted to get on the road, so we didn’t really see much of the town. The Waterstones is fairly small – at the time of writing this blog, their webpage doesn’t say anything about the store, which is fairly unusual as there is usually some information!

Wimbledon 28.05.18 (2)

Wimbledon

Hatchards, St Pancras – Monday 28th May 2018

This was our last day in London for the bank holiday weekend. After spending time in Islington we walked to St Pancras Station. Inside is a branch of Hatchard’s, which is owned by Waterstones. Perfect for grabbing a last-minute read before getting on a train!

Hatchards 28.05.18 (1)

Hatchards 28.05.18 (15)

Even if you’re not heading off on a train, St Pancras is worth a visit. The building was designed by William Henry Barlow and was opened in October 1868. It is gorgeous, both inside and out.

The Outside of St Pancras.

Isn’t it stunning!

And the inside

Sir John Betjeman Statue

In the 1960s, St Pancras was under threat of redevelopment – Betjeman was a very vocal opponent of the scheme, which was, thankfully, cancelled. This statue by artist Martin Jennings is a tribute to Betjeman saving the station.

Greenwich – Sunday 27th May 2018

After a visit to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in the morning, we jumped on the River Bus at Embankment and travelled up the river to Greenwich. Our first stop was the busy, bustling Waterstones, which has a prominent position in Greenwich village and is set over two floors.

Neither of us had been to this part of London for years, so after our visit we went for a wander round the area. We walked up to the Royal Observatory, but as it was late in the day we didn’t go in – we plan to return one day to do both this and the National Maritime Museum (which is free!). The views from the top across to London are spectacular.

Greenwich 27.05.18 (1)

Greenwich 27.05.18 (2) Greenwich 27.05.18 (3)

Greenwich 27.05.18 (19)

The Royal Observatory

Greenwich 27.05.18 (16)

Greenwich 27.05.18 (14)

I was reading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell on this trip.

Camden Town – Saturday 26th May 2018

A weekend in London is always a treat, especially when the sun is shining! We decided to explore a couple of areas that we hadn’t been to before, so we hopped on a bus and made Camden our first stop. What a wonderful, bustling area – we particularly loved the Lock and market areas. We stopped for a coffee at Pret A Manger on arrival and happily it was situated right opposite Waterstones!

The building was originally a furniture store called Bowmans owned by two bothers and built in 1864 – when the building burned down in the 1890s it was rebuilt as a fantastic red-bricked building with mosaics above the windows that still survive.

Camden 26.05.18 (1) Camden 26.05.18 (2)

Decorated Shops – Chalk Farm Road, Camden

Camden 26.05.18 (15)

Camden Lock

Camden Town 26.05.18 (18)

Amy Winehouse Statue, Camden Market

Camden Town 26.05.18 (19)

St Helier, Jersey – Thursday 10th May 2018

We spent a wonderful week in the Channel Islands celebrating our 30th anniversary – three days in Guernsey followed by four in Jersey. St Helier, Jersey’s capital, has a branch of Waterstones – the only one on the islands. Whilst there, I treated myself to a couple of Gerald Durrell books – he founded Jersey zoo in 1959 – My Family and Other Animals (which I have read before) and Birds, Beasts and Relatives.

Jersey 10.05.18 (1)