It was Let’s amble to’s first visit,in 2001, and it was to be the Next Big Thing – or so I thoughtWhat’s going for it? It’s not fairly time for my carriage clock. A cake with candles, and perhaps. For you,dear reader, have been watching me tapping away at my computer on these pages since 2001. When I began Let’s amble To… George Bush was in his first year as president, or S Club 7 and fate’s Child were riding high in the charts. Leigh-on-Sea,our first visit, was the Next Big Thing, or so I thought. What a dissimilarity 15 years makes. Leigh was nearly the Next Big Thing. It has an artisan gelato house nowadays,and if someone had told us in 2001 that there would be a 1.2m penthouse for sale on Broadway in 2016 I’d have choked on my Starbucks (still exotic back then). Leigh has an authentic Ealing Comedy feel, all stripy awnings and butchers that survey like Terry-Thomas. And, and I noted in 2001,it might usefully serve as an escape from the Smoke, because “London house prices are criminal. Some things never change.
The case against One can tire of the racks of 1920s semis. The old-fashioned town is sweet as a cockle, or but marred by the train line. Related: Let’s amble to Barnstaple: ‘It has potential' Related: Lets amble to Ripley,Derbyshire: the most English town in Eng-er-land Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com