EPPING FOREST: Travel guide's snub provokes fury (From This Is Local London)

EPPING FOREST: Travel guide's snub provokes fury (From This Is Local London)

EPPING FOREST: Travel guide's snub provokes fury

7:00am Tuesday 17th May 2011

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• By Tom Porter »

A MAJOR travel guide’s snub to the area has provoked fury.

The Lonely Planet Travel Guide’s new edition on Britain contains only a short chapter on Essex, describing it as ‘home to chavs, bottle blonds, boy racers and brash seaside resorts,’ and contains no mention whatsoever of Epping Forest.

But residents have hit back, highlighting the area’s historical riches and natural beauty and asking tourists not to be taken in by the stereotypes.

Chris Sumner, chairman of the Waltham Abbey Historical Society, said: “I am extremely disappointed, Waltham Abbey is one of the richest historical sites in Essex, if not the country.

“Parts of the abbey are over 1000 years old, it is also the resting place of the last saxon king of England, King Harold, and anyone who knows about English history knows about 1066.”

Mary Salton, also of the Waltham Abbey Historical Society, said: “I am not at all pleased they have not mentioned the area.

“It has all sorts of hidden treasures, there is the old gunpowder mill, and the Lee Valley is stunning.”

Historical sites in Great Britain | Historical Sites Around the World

Historical sites in Great Britain | Historical Sites Around the World

Historical sites in Great Britain
People have been living in Britain for over two-and-a-half million years. The country has only been an island for around 8,000 years and during that time, settlers have made their mark on the land in many ways.
An historic tour of Britain could take many different routes, such is the vast quantity of historic sites and landmarks within the country’s shores. Here are just a few places that are sure to enlighten any historian seeking to learn about the wonderfully varied, ancient story of the land we now know as Great Britain.
Carmarthen
Wales is a great place to start any historic tour of the United Kingdom, and the many traditional Welsh cottages available to tourists provide an ideal base from which to explore this ancient part of the island. Carmarthen, in the south west of Wales, lays claim to being the oldest Welsh town, thanks to a Roman fort in the area that dates back to AD75-77. Carmarthen Castle was first built around 1094 and, despite having been destroyed at various times over the centuries, still stands today and is a great place to learn about the tumultuous history of Wales.
Hadrians Wall
Nobody knows for certain the specific reasons for the building of Hadrians Wall. It has been described by English Heritage as “the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain” but whether its construction in AD 118-122 was simply a display of the Roman Empire’s strength, or a more strategic manoeuvre, remains a subject of debate amongst scholars. What remains of the wall today attracts more visitors than any other historic attraction in the north of England and can be accessed easily from many of the superb holiday cottages in Scotland and the north of England.
Stonehenge
The prehistoric standing stones of Stonehenge in Wiltshire are famous around the world. Dating back to around 2,500 BC, the Neolithic monument is believed to have been a burial ground from its early beginnings, with cremated remains having been found at the site that date back as early as 3,000 BC. English Heritage manages the site now, and has created a visitor centre that gives tourists all the known information about this mystical landmark.
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village
Created on an area that has been lived upon since the end of the last ice age, West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is a living example of how pre-historic man lived in Britain. Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon dwellings were built in the 1970s to show modern tourists how people lived in West Stow as far back as 5,000 BC. The excellent visitor centre, café and shop are an essential part of any historic tour of the UK.
York
When the Romans set up a military camp in AD 71 and named it Eboracum, they set in motion a sequence of events that has left the United Kingdom with one of its most historic cities – the City of York. Romans gave way to Anglo-Saxons, and then Vikings, Normans and Elizabethans inhabited York along the course of a fascinating history. You can learn about this history by taking a tour of the winding alleys and cobbled streets that remain steeped in physical artefacts and remnants of York’s past.

Starting with Bletchley Park

We began our search for Magiovinium by simply trying to follow walk number three in the “50 Walks in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire” published by Britain’s Automobile Association (AA), which is a travel association like the U.S.’s AAA. I have to admit, this walk was something of a disappointment. I certainly wouldn’t bring any out-of-town guests on this one. I have to wonder how long it’s been since anyone from the AA has actually checked out the route they recommend. 

The walk itself is meant to celebrate the achievements of Bletchley Park, the famed home of Britain’s code-breaking efforts during World War II. Bletchley Park is worth a visit in and of itself, particularly for people interested in World War II, higher math and code-breaking and those interested in the early development of computers. We spent one long afternoon just investigating the grounds and displays at Bletchley Park. I would not have wanted to walk another six or seven miles after that visit.

So, we’re skipping the park and moving on to the other six or seven miles.     

The walk begins at Bletchley train station. Walking away from the station, you will see a green Enterprise Car Rental building across Sherwood Drive and just to the right. If you want to visit Bletchley Park, turn right and head 120 steps up the path. (This puts the Enterprise building on your left-hand side, across the street.) The way to Bletchley Park is well sign-posted. You’ll need to cross the street at the signal crossing, and you’ll see the park entrance from that crossing.

But we’re headed in the opposite direction. So, from the entrance of the train station walk instead to the road and turn left. This will put the Enterprise building on your right hand side (across the street) and behind you. You’ll see Milton Keynes College on your right, across the street, and as you head down the road you will quickly find first a fire station and then a Thames Valley police station.

You’ll want to cross to the right-hand side of Sherwood Drive before you reach the junction with Buckingham Road. Cross Buckingham to Water Eaton Road and continue forward. This will take you past a Territorial Army recruiting post (on your right-hand side). A few steps further down the path you’ll find a railway bridge, a traffic signal and a choice. Here you’ll find a public footpath leading off to the right. This will take you down a path between two fences that goes past the Pullman Swannery, which has an angling club and allows private fishing on its large pond. This sounds like it should be a pretty area, but you’re stuck on a path fenced off on both sides. The ground beyond the fences is covered with broken bottles, discarded food wrappers and other litter. It looks like the sort of abandoned back lot you could find in any city anywhere in the world. Do you really want to send your tourists here?

Once you get past the swannery and into the Blue Lagoon Nature Preserve, things look better. At least there’s no rubbish on the ground. Fishing and scuba diving are allowed in the lagoon, which is the pit of an old bricks works that flooded in the 1940s. The grassy area around the lagoon is clearly an excellent place to let your dog off his leash for a good run. As it is early spring the song birds are out in force as well. Still, I wouldn’t bring the out-of-town guests here.

And here is where the directions really failed us. We actually attempted this walk twice and this is the place where we ended up lost and confused both times. Again, if you know the area, no bother. There are other (and more pleasant) paths to take. 

Watling Street

Magiovinium was a Roman fort that stood just off the throughway known then and now as Watling Street.

Watling Street is an ancient route, first created in the time of the Celts (or perhaps earlier) and used by the Romans as a main thoroughfare. It is still in use today. In Roman times Watling Street ran (the BBC explains in detail here) from Dover and Richborough on the coast of Kent (i.e. from the English Channel) east to west across Britain’s mid-section to Wroxeter. It eventually crosses the River Severn and turns south to connect with Stone Street, which led to major Atlantic coast seaports. Traveling on foot an ambitious 30-plus miles a day you could walk Watling Street from end to end in about twelve days. Maybe we’ll try that one later. The walk we planned to follow runs a mere six to seven, depending on which route you choose.

 The website of the Milton Keynes Museum describes how the military needs of the Romans led to the paving of Watling Street and the creation of the small fort called Magiovinium: 


"From the earliest times it is thought that it was a track for the passage of man and beasts, providing an easier route from the gap in the Greensand escarpment at Brickhill to the fordable crossing of the Ouse at Stratford. With the coming of the Romans, the invasion force had a need for improved communications, and so a hardened road surface was required together with camps at about 12 mile intervals (representing a days march for an army with all its ancillary equipment). Magiovinium was established near to the site of the present Dropshort Farm, and probably originated as a tented encampment and later replaced by more substantial buildings. To the north and south were other stopping off places at Lactodorum (Towcester) and Durocobrovae (Dunstable). The road itself was typically about 24 feet wide to allow chariots to pass safely, and consisted of rammed gravel in the countryside, or stone paved surfaces in the larger towns, which were subject to greater wear and tear. The surface was cambered to allow water to drain, and was often raised on low embankments where it crossed marshy or low lying ground.


When the Romans departed these shores, roads generally fell into disrepair, and Watling Street was no different."

The oldest gold coin in Britain ...

I was drawn to this particular walk because it passes the remains of a Roman fort named Magiovinium or Magiovinto, depending on who you read. The fort’s remains lay in a field just off Watling Street in Fenny Stratford. Magiovinium is the place where one of the oldest (if not the oldest) gold coins in Britain was found by an ordinary guy with a metal detector. Cool.  The coin is currently on display at the British museum in London. Magiovinium was apparently the site of a coin-making enterprise. Arguments continue as to whether this was legitimate enterprise or a counterfeiter at work.