Hertfordshire | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

I am in the small market town of Hitchin, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and have had a delicious taste of Village Life. Neighbourliness and a sense of belonging are not dead and I found the people warm and friendly and quite different to the Londoners.

I love Linda’s cosy cottage and although she says she wishes she had a little more space, I think its incredible how well she manages the space she does have. To say the least her home has character!

I just love the red front door

And the welcome sign on the back door – Yes she does have a black cat

Whiskers the Black Cat

This morning we ‘went out’ for breakfast. This meant going to the local store which is also the post office to buy some croissants and enjoying them in the church yard.

The Corner Shop

Shop Keeper and Post Mistress

On our walk Linda introduced me to everyone we passed and they were all warm, friendly and cheerful.

Early Morning Horse Rider pass through the village

Early Morning Horse Riders pass through the village and call a cheery greeting to Linda.

It was a perfect day and lovely to sit in the peaceful churchyard and enjoy our croissants. A little Robin Redbreast hopped into view and posed obligingly.

Little Robin Redbreast

We chatted to a man who was tending his parents’ and grandparents’ graves.

The graves are tended with loving care

This Octogenarian has lived in the village all his life. Here he tends the graves of his wife and two of her friends.

The church dates back to the 18th Century

The Old School – now a residence

After a pleasant walk along country lanes and exploring the allotments we went home and enjoyed a cold ginger beer in this pretty little garden that Linda is looking after while her neighbour is away.

William’s Garden

This lovely butterfly enjoys the garden too.

Cambridge was our next port of call. It is about half an hour’s drive from Hitchin. You park some distance from the city and then get a bus in.

The University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English Speaking World. (Oxford is the oldest) It is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world. It was established in 1209. It now has 31 colleges and six academic schools. All these university institutions occupy different locations in the town and the student life thrives with numerous opportunities in the arts, sport clubs and societies.

But today we were there not for academia but for the shopping and the markets. The city was teeming with people and there was a lively vibe in every corner.

Not from 13th Century England

Cambridge today

Dressed up for the Shakespeare Festival

Me and a member of the Royal Guard

Button Necklaces on sale at one of the Markets

We had a thoroughly good time exploring the markets and shops and although there were many eateries; they were all full and expensive. So we decided to get wraps and juice from Marks and Spencer and found a comfortable wall where we sat and enjoyed our snacks. How sophisticated is that!

Me having a drink and M&S snack.

Later in the afternoon we browsed around John Lewis, did not find anything to buy and then went to their uncrowded restaurant for tea/coffee. We met Linda’s Italian friend, Maria there and it was great chatting to this lovely girl.

Linda and Maria

On our way home we stopped to take a photograph of the scenic view of Bedfordshire.

It had been a pretty hectic day and so we decided to go to the local pub for dinner. At 8 o’clock it was till warm and light and we sat outdoors in sleeveless dresses and no jersey.

The Local

Being shown to our table

Lambs liver for me, chicken for Linda

Cheers!

The food was good, the wine divine and the service excellent. The final test was the coffee and they passed with flying colours because I asked for ‘coffee that an Italian or Belgian would enjoy.’ “Yes, Ma’m – I’ll put an extra shot of espresso in it!’

At last summer has arrived in the UK – so good to be in summer clothes and no jersey for the past two days!

Getting from one place to another in The UK is a breeze. I had a fair distance to travel today and at home I could not have done it without a car. Once again I found myself walking to the tube station with day pack on my back and dragging my trolley bag behind me. Nobody gave me a second glance, the train arrived within seconds and I hopped on. I have now got to know the system so well that when another tourist asked me which station he needed to get off at for Buckingham Palace, I was able to tell him!

I changed trains at Green Park to get onto the Victorian Line to Euston where I bought an overground ticket to Tring. I was early and hungry not having had breakfast. I was spoilt for choice but finally settled for Marks and Spencer where I got myself a croissant and coffee and sat down amongst a million other travellers to enjoy my snack. Finding which platform to get my train was a tad confusing but I managed it without help. I felt a bit of an idiot when my ticket wouldn’t swipe at the turnstile but a gallant attendant showed me that it worked differently to my oyster card and I had to put it into a slot where it disappeared and then came out the other end! Hopping onto the crowded train on Platform 8 I called out to the air – Does the train stop at Tring. A lovely young man told me that indeed it did and got into conversation with me. He was with his wife and 4-year-old daughter who were seated, but like me he was standing with the luggage and push chair. They had come up from Devon four hours away and were on their way to see Granny. It’s the first time that any British stranger has spoken more than 10 words to me on a train. In the 30 or so minutes we travelled together I found out that he had a lovely home overlooking the sea, was on his second marriage and had 3 other children, had never travelled out of Britain and worked at a zoo! I found it amusing that he had never heard of Cape Town and thought that Mandela was still President of South Africa.

Tring Station

I spent the afternoon with Jenny who is now home from hospital but very weak and still suffering pain. It was good to see her and all she wanted was for me to chat to her but begged me not to make her laugh – it hurt too much! While I was there her plumber came to do some work and I was delighted to find that he was from Pietermaritzburg and of course the job was done perfectly!

Linda fetched me at quarter to six. We passed by Dustable Downs and stopped to photograph this lion!

Lion marking a wild life park at Dunstable Downs

This is the information I Google about this landmark.

This is a creation of the 20th century, built in 1933 from a design by Mr. R.B. Brooke-Greaves to indicate the position of Whipsnade wildlife park. It is the largest of all the figures and after being cut in outline only it is now a solid figure making it a very impressive site even from some distance. Being so conspicuous it is effectively used to advertise the zoo. The lion was covered for the duration of the war with netting, turf and paint. The lion is occasionally illuminated and was so for the 50th birthday of the zoo in 1981, the lights have been recently replaced. The lion is home to a colony of cavies and wallabies which can be seen occasionally on the lion.

An Indian Ocean with an appropriate name

We stopped to pick up an Indian take-away and I was very impressed with the service. We were shown to a waiting area where we could watch Wimbledon and have a glass of wine. The menu was brought to us and it was very civilised. Within 20 minutes we had our meal which we took back to Linda’s house and enjoyed in the garden. Remember it’s light here till well after 9 and we sat outdoors without jerseys!