Walthamstow – Saturday 24th March 2018

I stayed with some friends in Walthamstow for the weekend.  Unfortunately we didn’t get much time to explore the area, but we did find time to pop to the Waterstones to check it out!  It’s in a modern shopping centre and spread over two floors.  There looks to be quite a bit to do in the area.  Not only does Walthamstow boast the longest outdoor street market in Europe with more than 350 stalls, but it’s also home to a museum to the textile designer William Morris and the Vestry House Museum, which is somewhere I’d definitely like to visit.

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Just some of the lovely people I spent the weekend with – Sal, Gaynor and James

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The Economists’ Bookshop, London – Friday 23rd March 2018

After leaving my friend I had some spare time so I headed for The Economists’ Bookshop, founded in 1946 in a joint partnership between The Economist & the London School of Economics and part of the Waterstones chain.   The building set in the heart of the LSE and not far from the building rumoured to have inspired Dickens’ book The Old Curiosity Shop – I liked the inside of the store for its quirky layout.  (There is a great second-hand bookshop next door called Alpha Books which is definitely worth a visit at the same time!).

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Leadenhall Market, London – Friday 23rd March 2018

I met up with my friend Debi in London for the day before heading to stay for two nights with a group of friends.  She treated me to a lovely lunch in the Gallery Restaurant at the gorgeous Royal Exchange building and then we went to Waterstones at Leadenhall Market. The market is located in the heart of the City of London financial area and has featured in films including the Harry Potter franchise.

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The Royal Exchange

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Leadenhall Market

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20 Fenchurch Street – aka The Walkie Talkie

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Alton – Saturday 3rd February 2018

We had a few hours to kill in the afternoon of our trip to Hampshire so we headed to the little market town of Alton to have a look round also to visit the Waterstones.  They have a Jane Austen mural commissioned when the shop was owned by Ottakers by artist Chris Burke.  Alton is a pretty little town which has a market, but sadly on a Tuesday, not Saturday, so we didn’t get to sample it!

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There is a bronze sculpture – The Bear – by Mark Coreth nearby but I cannot find any information about any significance of a bear has to Alton!

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Basingstoke – Saturday 3rd February 2018

Basingstoke claim the author Jane Austen for their own, as she was born very close by. There is a bronze statue in the centre commemorating the 200th anniversary of her death (it always seems a bit odd to me celebrating the death of someone, but anyway…).  The Waterstones here is in the Festival Place shopping centre and set over two stores.  As the shopping centre is fairly new it doesn’t have any features to speak of, although it does have a rather nice mural of a Tintin book cover on the stairs.

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Exeter, High Street – Thursday 28th December 2017

This branch of Waterstones has two entrances – one on the High Street and the other opposite the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter which, amongst other things, boasts the world’s longest vaulted ceiling and is well worth a visit.  The Waterstones building (from the High Street side) is lovely – it was formerly a cafe, part of  chain called Deller’s and appears to have operated as such until the 1970s.

 

The High Street Entrance
The Cathedral-side Entrance

 

The basement, ground and mezzanine floors are really cozy – by contrast, the first floor seems rather stark…

 

Exeter High Street

Exeter Cathedral

 

Exeter also has a quayside which is worth a visit.  It is not used for shipping any longer, but instead is now used for leisure and there are quite a few places to eat and drink.  There is also a visitor centre – The Custom House (shown here on the left).

 

Goodbye Exeter – as ever, we had a great time.  See you again!

Exeter, Roman Gate – Thursday 28th December 2017

Exeter, county town of Devon, is one of our favourite English cities and only about an hour and 40 minutes away from home.  We had a few days here between Christmas and New Year.  There are two branches of Waterstones in Exeter – this one is in a modern building and is set over three floors.  As Exeter is a university town, it was nice to see a notice in the shop saying there is a new study area on the top floor!

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At the opposite end of town from this branch is the West Quarter of Exeter, which has some particularly beautiful buildings, including the church of St Mary’s Steps, complete with a beautiful timepiece known as the ‘Matthew the Miller Clock’. 

Opposite the church sits ‘The House that Moved‘ – which was saved from a slum clearance and moved – in once piece – round the corner from where it originally sat!  You can see a video of the move here.

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Newton Abbot – Wednesday 27th December 2017

Newton Abbot is a small market town south Devon with population of around 25,000 people.  It has a four different markets – indoor, outdoor, produce and livestock.  The population increased considerably in the Victorian era with the arrival of the railway.

The Waterstones is located in a pretty building in Courtenay Street in the centre of the town.

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Not far from Waterstones is St Leonard’s tower, all that remains of a 13th century chapel which had to be demolished 1836 as it had become dangerous. 

In front of it is a commemorative plaque which marks the site where the first pronouncement of William III, William of Orange, was read. It reads:

“The first declaration of William III, Prince of Orange, the glorious defender of the Protestant religion and the liberties of England, was read on this pedestal by the Rev. John Reynell, rector of this parish, 5th November, 1688.”

Hatchards, Piccadilly – Saturday 16th December 2017

Hatchards was founded by John Hatchard in 1797 and is the oldest bookshop in the UK.  It changed hands in 1956 when it was bought by Collins and then again in 1990 to a company that was later acquired by Waterstones.  The store still trades under the name of Hatchards. It has three royal warrants – by appointment to The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales.  The Royal Horticultural Society was formed here in 1804.

It is a fantastic store, spread over five floors!  We spent ages in here and, had I been on my own, I would probably have stayed longer!   As a result, there are lots of photos, for which I apologise!

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Basement

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor

Royal Warrants

Plaque commemorating the Foundation of the Royal Horticultural Society

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I was listening to The Chessmen by Peter May on Audio Book.  The third part of the Lewis Trilogy.

 

 

Loughborough – Saturday 9th December 2017

Loughborough is possibly best known for its university, but it is also the location of the first ever package holiday by Thomas Cook who arranged a trip for his Temperance Group to the town in 1841!   The town had a lively market when we visited (lots of wonderful fruit and veg stalls!) and it was therefore quite hard to photograph the Waterstones from the front as there were market stalls right in front of it!

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Loughborough is also home to the world’s largest Bell Foundry, John Taylor & Co, who have made some very famous bells, included bells located in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and York Minster – and the bell that features in AC/DC’s track Hells Bells from their number 1 album, Back in Black!  They also made the bells in the Loughborough Carillon Tower – a war memorial located in Queen’s Park.

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My friend Debi (who features in the entry for Islington) has suggested that I record my progress too – which is a good idea!   This branch was number 54/281 – so 19.22% completed – so some way to go yet!