# London And Beyond



## MyGeorge (Mar 4, 2012)

wonderful shots of London and I like the varied architectural designs.


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## Fro7en (May 23, 2015)

I love those old british rooftops!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks, guys!


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Another quick day trip out of London. This time we are going to Deal on the Kent coast. It's a sleepy little seaside town now, but in the past was an important port especially famous for smuggling. 

*Deal* was described by diarist Samuel Pepys as "pitiful"...










Indeed throughout history the town was almost universally despised. Daniel Defoe described it thus -

"If I had any satire left to write,
Could I with suited spleen indite,
My verse should blast that fatal town,
And drown’d sailors’ widows pull it down;
No footsteps of it should appear,
And ships no more cast anchor there.
The barbarous hated name of Deal shou’d die,
Or be a term of infamy;
And till that’s done, the town will stand
A just reproach to all the land"










Two centuries later in 1823 William Cobbett offered this description - "Deal is a most villainous place. It is full of filthy-looking people. Great desolation of abomination has been going on here; tremendous barracks, partly pulled down and partly tumbling down, and partly occupied by soldiers. Everything seems upon the perish. I was glad to hurry along through it, and to leave its inns and public-houses to be occupied by the tarred, and trowsered, and blue and buff crew whose very vicinage I always detest."










And here's Dickens' description from Bleak House - "At last we came into the narrow streets of Deal, and very gloomy they were upon a raw misty morning. The long flat beach, with its little irregular houses, wooden and brick, and its litter of capstans, and great boats, and sheds, and bare upright poles with tackle and blocks, and loose gravelly waste places overgrown with grass and weeds, wore as dull an appearance as any place I ever saw."










Today though it is a pleasant and pretty little town.










It has lots of old stuff.










Middle Street was the first conservation area created in Kent in 1968.










Middle Street is lined with 17th - 19th century buildings, both big and small.










As has been already mentioned for much of its history Deal was infamous for its smugglers with practically everyone in the town being involved in it in one way or the other.










These houses even today still hide treasures from its smuggling past - just recently in one of the houses here was found a hidden compartment concealing 18th century French leather gloves and tobacco. Who knows what else they hide.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Indeed, Deal now seems like a very pleasant town.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Yes indeed. kay:


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## Dallas star (Jul 6, 2006)

Great shots!


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## Gratteciel (May 4, 2008)

Very nice and great pics!


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## shik2005 (Dec 25, 2014)

Nice post about "smuggler's nest"


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## diddyD (May 12, 2014)

Very nice update.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Thanks guys, now go and comment on my Edinburgh thread before it gets buried! Go quick!


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

nice houses but the streets are deserted. on the good side, the beach is quite nice with light colored stones.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

It was Sunday


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

Hello, there, time for an update...

Recently we bought a pair of folding bikes and last weekend we made our first proper long distance trip. We finished work on Friday evening, got home, got some food, got our bikes and went to the train station to catch a train that would take us to our destination - Ipswich. Next morning we rushed out to catch another train - to Woodbrige....

*Woodbrige* is an ancient town dating back to around the 10th century. It is a small place with some lovely Medieval buildings. We didn't stay for too long as we had a long day before us. Here is a lovely town hall of the town.










*River Deben* and Woodbridge in the distance...










*Ramsholt Church* was our main destination, although it was only at about half-way point of our cycle tour. This place was perhaps the most beautiful place I ever visited in England. The church is a very old, in fact nobody is quite sure how old. There is a reference to it in a 1287 chart and during King Edward 3'rds time this would have been a thriving busy place. Today however the church stands completely alone - the river Deben on one side and farm fields on the other...










We spent around 2 hour in the churchyard, relaxing and having a nice picnic. It was a very windy day, with wind gusts reaching 50 miles per hour, but the churchyard surrounded by its ancient walls and tall pine trees provided a welcome escape and let the August sun beat down on us...










It is isolated, but not unknown. During our stay, cars with visitors would come and go at regular intervals...










Doorway of the church...










Stunning place and one I wish to return someday...










On our trip we visited many churches and churchyards, but the oldest tombstone I managed to find was this one. 1780.










*Butley Church* was another ancient church we visited. It dates from around the time of Norman Conquest but with many later additions...










From the other side...










Another old tombstone also from 18th century...










A little statue I found on the side of church....










And after 41 kilometres we were back in Ipswich....










Ancient buildings on Silent Street....


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## Romashka01 (Mar 4, 2011)

Lovly update! kay:


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## marlonbasman (Apr 21, 2012)

neat shots of lovely places.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Lovely places, wonderful pictures! kay:

Particularly love Ramsholt Church!


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

cool photo update, love the charming ambiance of these English towns.


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## alexander2000 (Aug 6, 2011)

beautiful...exactly a grand photo tour.


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## DarkLite (Dec 31, 2004)

For some odd reason there haven't been any London photo threads in the most recent pages of this subforum. It is such a pity, lately my interest has been piqued to explore more of the city from the perspective of someone (not just Google Street View).

Do you by any chance have any shots that could be shared here? Like I said, you would be performing an almost civic duty because of the dearth of London photo threads.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice new photos, El_Greco


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

Loved the two Churches you visited near Ipswich, especially Ramsholt. You don't often see round tower churches. It was a revelation to me to see graveyards with long grass growing; I'm so used to seeing the grass cut. I guess it takes a bit of adjusting to get used to the idea. At first I thought maybe Ramsholt Church had been abandoned, but read up on it and learned that it is not. In their description of their church they refer to the _"beautifully tended church yard full of flowers"_ for people like myself not used to seeing this! 

I'd love to go back in time and be a fly on the wall to see what Deal was like back in the day. The disgusted description of that villainous place made it sound sort of interesting! 

Thanks again for another of your wonderful tours!!


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## Salazar Rick (Feb 6, 2009)

Very nice... interesting places!!!


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