Apsley pass through

Non-stop.

Apsley

At the weekend i headed down to Hertfordshire, to Apsley. This was once a centre for paper manufacture (and still has a rather nice Basildon Bond clock on display) though is nowadays a suburb of Hemel Hempstead and leisure and residential accommodation has replaced the old paper factories. I did a canal walk along the Grand Union Canal, other Apsley photos can be seen here.

Tube Ends (3) : Metropolitan Line (Chesham to Aldgate)

The Metropolitan Line has it's origin in the Metropolitan Railway which in 1863 became the first underground railway in the world (which is why many later underground railways are called "metros"!) The underground section of the Metropolitan was between Paddington and Farringdon, as with nowadays most of the Metropolitan was above ground. Unlike the later proper "tube" lines which were tunnels dug deeper underground, the Metropolitan was built in a deep trench which was then covered over.

Chesham in Buckinghamshire is the furthest station on the Underground from central London, a little further away than the other north western terminus Amersham (though the Metropolitan used to go to Aylesbury and beyond!) The Metropolitan heads towards London through Buckinghamshire and then Hertfordshire at places such as Rickmansworth. The building of the Metropolitan to the north west of London in the late nineteenth century spurred much house building and expansion of existing towns and villages, creating the commuter demand which the Metropolitan (and later the Underground) grew successful on.

The Metropolitan passes through north west London including Wembley and Camden before arriving at the major interchange of Baker Street. Now the Metropolitan is under the London streets as it continues through Moorgate and terminating at Aldgate in the City of London.

Chesham

Rickmansworth

Finchley Road

Aldgate

Churches (223) : St Peter, Berkhamsted

The parish church of St Peter in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire was founded in around 1222CE though most of the current church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. The church was altered during a Victorian restoration.

The church is in a cruciform layout with a nave and transepts, the tower atop the crossing. The chancel is the oldest part of the church which dates from the 13th century. The south transept has a lady chapel. During the restoration in the 1870s the exterior was refaced with flint flushwork.

Berkhamsted

On Saturday i made a long overdue return trip to Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. I was last here just over five years ago and on that trip concentrated mostly on the canal and the castle, not visiting much of the town itself. I rectified that this time, visiting the town centre and also the canal! You can see my canal photos here and the other Berkhamsted photos here.

Churches (41) : St Mary the Virgin, Rickmansworth

The church of St Mary the Virgin is the parish church of Rickmansworth and also used by the Methodist Church. It is an example of a church completely rebuilt in the nineteenth century so that not much of the original church was left.

The church was built on the site of an earlier church which dated to the late thirteenth century. The church was rebuilt in the 1820s to a fifteenth century style with most of the medieval church pulled down and replaced. The West tower however dates from 1630CE and is a fine example of the Gothic style built from flint and stone.

Near Rickmansworth

A Chiltern service approaches Rickmansworth.

Rickmansworth

Originally I planned to go to Manchester today but the weather in the North West (and Wales) was awful so I headed South East instead and by the time I got to Rickmansworth the rain had stopped and the Sun had come out (and was remarkably warm for mid-October). I walked the Grand Union Canal, I didn't do as much as I intended as I got a blister on my foot but i'll return. Rickmansworth is a nice town in Hertfordshire, deep in what became known as "Metro-Land" to the North West of London. You can see my canal photos here.

Bourne End Mill Arm

The Bourne End Mill Arm is a formerly navigable arm off the Grand Union Canal near Hemel Hempstead. The arm once served a water powered corn mill at Bourne End. A mill has been on the site since 1289 though the current mill building dates from the nineteenth century. It is now a hotel and restaurant. The arm itself if closed off to navigation by a footbridge and is a nature reserve.

Tring

Today I visited Tring but I did not spend much time at all in Tring itself (apart from the station). Instead I walked the Grand Union Canal up to Marsworth (so crossing into Buckinghamshire, Tring is in Hertfordshire).

In doing so I passed the junctions of two arms of the canal I have visited before (Aylesbury and Wendover) so now have walked both ends of these two arms. It was a great walk along some interesting waterways and you can see my photos here.

Walking the waterways (13) : Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal is the longest canal in England, stretching 137 miles from London to Birmingham. However the Grand Union is a relatively recent creation, only existing from 1929 from the amalgamation of other canals such as the Grand Junction and the Warwick & Napton Canal in an effort to reduce costs in order to compete with the railways.

The Grand Union Canal at its maximum extent included the Regent's Canal and so extended from Limehouse on the Thames up to the Midlands. There were two branches to Birmingham and to Leicester, the latter is nowadays known as the Old Grand Union Canal or the Leicester Section.

These days the Grand Union Canal (as commonly marked on maps or signs) starts at Paddington at the end of the Paddington Arm and extends up through London, Hertfordshire (the likes of Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamstead), Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury), Warwickshire (Leamington Spa and Hatton) and into Birmingham. The furthest extent is at Salford Junction underneath Spaghetti Junction. Both ends of the canal are in the centres of England's two biggest cities but the canal passes through some of the most beautiful countryside England can offer.

Aston Clinton Field Bridge 13 near Aylesbury

Berkhamstead

Leam Bridge 44 in Leamington Spa

Paddington Arm

The start of the canal at Salford Junction

Winkwell Slew Railway Bridge 147B near Hemel Hempstead

Arriving at Hemel Hempstead

A London Midland Desiro arrives at the station.

Grand Union at Hemel Hempstead

Another long canal walk today as i returned to Hertfordshire and the next station down from Berkhamstead at Hemel Hempstead. It was a very good canal walk in a lovely part of the world with so much to see: locks, bridges, a marina, moorings, an arm and so many boats! You can see my photos here.

I walked along the canal in the direction of Berkhamstead, in fact i was only about 2 miles away when i turned back. I suppose i could have just gone on up to the other town but maybe that can be done one day in the future.

From the battlements

A first for me... videoing a train from the battlements of a castle but here is a train departing Berkhamstead station which is right next to the castle as you can see.

Castles (2) : Berkhamsted

Berkhamsted castle dates from the 11th century and was a Norman motte and bailey castle built to help strengthen the grip of William the Conqueror on his new lands. The castle continued to be developed and expanded into the 14th century but in the 15th it fell into decline and later ruin.

The castle was nearly destroyed by the coming of the railways, the London-Birmingham line was originally intended to cut straight through the castle but was saved by becoming the first building to receive statutory protection in parliament in 1830.

Now the castle is a rather picturesque set of ruins located next to the railway station. No complete building survives though a number of walls fragments and the motte survive. You can see my photos taken at Berkhamsted castle here.

Berkhamsted

I visited Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire today. I've never been before but know i had to when i saw on Google Maps that the station was flanked by a castle on one side and a canal (the Grand Union) on the other! Berkhamsted did not disappoint, i enjoyed a very nice canal walk through the town as well as visiting the canal (which will be described in a later post). You can see my canal photos here and some photos at Berkhamsted station here. I must return to explore the canal in the other direction and maybe even visit the town too!