Tag: Inside

Abergavenny – Saturday 23rd September 2017

After leaving Hereford we decided to head home via Wales, specifically Abergavenny, which is somewhere else we have never visited (this challenge is making us go to many, many towns we haven’t been to before!).  It’s a market town and considered a “Gateway to Wales”.  The Waterstones is a small, bright store in the High Street in the centre of the town.  As you would expect, the shelves are labeled in Welsh as well as English.

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Abergavenny 23.09.17 (8)

The Market Hall hosts several different types of market throughout the week.  On a Saturday it is what is known as the ‘Retail’ market, which was a mixed market containing second-hand stalls, food stalls and clothing and textiles.

We didn’t have long in Abergavenny as we had to head back home for an evening out, but from what we saw it seemed a nice town.

Chippenham – Sunday 17th September 2017

Chippenham is a small market town in Wiltshire.  This was just a quick visit and we didn’t spend much time in the town but we did manage to pop into the Waterstones to take some photos.

This store, like the one in Salisbury (yet to be visited as part of this quest, but one I frequently visit with my Mum) has a fish tank in the children’s department!

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Chippenham 17.09.17 (11)

Near to Chippenham is the village of Lacock which is mostly owned by the National Trust.  It is very picturesque and has been the set of many films and TV productions including the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, several of the Harry Potter films, Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford and The Woman in Black, based on the book by Susan Hill.  It is very worth a visit, although it does get rather busy at weekends.

Meryton in Pride and Prejudice – amongst other things!

Brussels – Tuesday 5th September 2017

We spent a few days in the wonderful, if touristy, city of Brugges in Belgium and then headed for our hotel in Brussels – it was on the Boulevard Adolphe Max.  We didn’t realise when we booked the hotel, but that was the same street as Waterstones!

According to the website, “The bookshop first opened in the 1920s as a W.H.Smith, famous for its tea-room, trading books, magazines and stationery. In the 1940s, it was taken over by the Germans, soon to become an officer’s mess when the Allied Forces liberated Brussels.”

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It even has a section of British food for ex-pats!!

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Brussels 05.09.17 (9)

Brussels is a great city.  It’s probably best known for the Brussels Boy (aka Manneken Pis – the statue of the urinating boy.  It is often dressed up and has lots of outfits.  Personally I think it’s pretty horrible!), the Atomium sculpture and the European Parliament building.

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There are far too many landmarks and attractions in Brussels to name them all.  One of our favourites was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where you can pay a few Euros to go up the tower to see fantastic views of the city. 

Despite the crowds, we also liked the Grote Markt (central square) and Egmont Park which contains one of Frampton’s statues of Peter Pan (the same as the one he was commissioned to make for Kensington Gardens).  I could go on and on…!

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Lakeside, Thurrock – Saturday 2nd September 2017

We stayed overnight in Thurrock (an impromptu extra night on our way to Kent) and so popped into the Intu shopping centre just to visit the Waterstones, therefore this is only going to be a short entry!

Lakeside opened in 1990 and, according to their Twitter account, the store opened there in 2006.  Like the branch in Tottenham Court Road, the store has an industrial feel.

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After leaving here, we headed across the Thames Crossing to Kent for a night there before our trip to Belgium.

Ealing, London – Monday 28th August 2017

After a fab weekend in London it was time to head home.  We got the tube back to Ealing Broadway and made a quick visit to the store there.  It’s quite a small store in a modern shopping centre. 

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Ealing Broadway 28.08.17 (8)

Ealing is a lovely part of West London, with a great mix of shops, bars and restaurants of every imaginable type of cuisine.  We have eaten in the @ Thai Canteen, and had a lovely meal there.

Ealing – we look forward to seeing you again!

Ealing Town Hall
Ealing Town Hall
Ealing Town Hall

The Russian Book Shop, Piccadilly, London – Monday 28th August 2017

Inside the store at Piccadilly is The Russian Book Shop, which stocks around 5,000 Russian language titles, and books about Russia.  Although not in a separate building, I thought it deserved its own (albeit very short) entry!

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Piccadilly, London – Monday 28th August 2017

This was our last day in London on this trip before heading back to Ealing for our journey home, and we had booked to go down the huge slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Olympic Park. It was awesome!  There was a fairly long queue (we had booked) and the slide only takes about 40 seconds, but it was great fun!

We then headed to Piccadilly to visit Waterstones flagship store and, according to their website, Europe’s largest book shop.  The Art Deco building, which was built in 1936, was originally a gents’ clothing store called Simpsons and is Grade I Listed.  It was thought to be the inspiration for the Grace Brothers store in Are You Being Served?  The store is set over six floors.

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Piccadilly 28.08.17 (9)

The Maughan Library, Strand
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand
Somerset House

Covent Garden, London – Sunday 27th August 2017

Before heading back to our hotel in Ealing, we went to Covent Garden.  This is one of our favourite parts of London (although there are so many!).  The Waterstones here is like a Tardis – bigger inside than out!  According to their website there are three entrances.  We only found… and therefore I only photographed… two – oh well, we’ll just have to go back…! 

Just look at the outside – gorgeous! 

The ‘I ♥ Darcy’ Bag is following me – I saw it in Dorking too.  Perhaps it’s a sign… 

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Garrick Street 27.08.17 (9)

After leaving here we stopped at Standford’s Travel and Map Bookshop – it’s a great shop, and is worth a visit for the floor in the basement alone! 

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King’s Road, Chelsea, London – Sunday 27th August

Sunday morning was a stunning day – a bright blue sky and not a cloud to be seen!  We headed to Chelsea (not an area of London we had been to before) to visit the Waterstones there.

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We really enjoyed walking round Chelsea – we love London and it’s good to explore new areas. The following are a few snaps of Chelsea…

After leaving Chelsea we headed towards Covent Garden (one of our favourite areas of London), via Marylebone where we popped into Daunt Books (well, it would be rude not to) and Blackfriars.

Daunt Books
Daunt Books
Daunt Books

Tottenham Court Road, London – Saturday 26th August 2017

Before heading back to our hotel after walking over 10 miles and visiting parts of London we hadn’t been to before, we made time for a quick trip to Waterstone’s in Tottenham Court Road.

Set over three floors, this stores was opened in 2015 and has a pop-up cinema and a bar in the basement!  It has an industrial feel about it, with metal structural beams, concrete posts and exposed lighting cables – it works!

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Ground Floor
First Floor
Looking into the basement
Basement

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