Tag: Cottages

Old farts railway adventure Portchester

When we got off the train at Portchester station, it was hotter than either of us had envisaged. We’d set out on our Old Farts Railway Adventure knowing it would be warm. It was 25 June, after all. We hadn’t expected the sky to be quite so cloudless or the sun so hot, though. From my previous trip with CJ  in 2015, I knew it was about a mile from the railway station to the castle. A mile is no distance, and at least I knew the way. Even so, when we passed an old-time bus going to and from the station, I was miffed we hadn’t known about it earlier. It would have saved us a hot walk and brought back memories of hopping on and off the dodgy platform at the back as kids. 

Continue reading Old farts railway adventure Portchester

Church Lane, the Cobbett trail

image

16 August 2015

For the next part of my walk Botley I’d be following part of the Cobbett trail, a self guided walk in the footsteps of William Cobbett, the renowned political journalist turned radical politician and farmer. Cobbett moved to Botley in 1805 to farm the land and one of the first interesting buildings I came to was Cobbett’s Cottage. A house no bigger than my own with a crumbling wall and bricked up window backed with slate tiles seemed a fairly humble place for such a rich and famous man to have lived. Of course he didn’t actually live there, this little cottage is all that remains of his estate which was opposite Botley Mills. Continue reading Church Lane, the Cobbett trail