Maidenhead (Berks). Rail from Paddington (G.W.) 24 m. Fares, 4/-, 2/6 and 2/-; return, 6/-, 3/9 and 3/-. Week-end tickets 5/6, first class. Taplow station, on the Bucks side, is equally near the river. Boul Charming river scenery, especially the reach below the lovely wooded grounds of Clivedon, the seat of Mr. W. W. Astor. ter's Lock, the busiest lock on the Thames, provides an interesting spectacle in the season at all hours of the day, but especially on a fine Sunday afternoon. Rail (L. and S.W.) from Waterloo (9 m.); or from Broad Street (North London). Fares, 1/3, 1/- and 9d.; return, 2/-, 1/6 and 1/3. Also by Metropolitan District Railway. Rail and Tram. By Central London Rly. to Shepherd's Bush (2d.), thence by electric tram to King Edward VII. Bridge (2d.). Cross bridge, then continue by horse tram to Richmond (2d.) Steamboats in summer (see announcements). Hotels.-Star and Garter, Mansion, Queen's, Roebuck and others. No place in the environs of London is more attractive than Richmond, delightfully situated on the slope of a hill overlook ing the Thames on the Surrey side. It is an uphill walk of about a mile from the station to the beautiful Terrace Gardens, from which is gained that matchless View of woodland, water and tranquil pasture-land that poets and painters have vied with each other in depicting. By the recent acquisition of the Petersham meadows in the foreground and of the Marble Hill estate across the river at Twickenham, this view is now secured to the public for all time. Just beyond is the well-known Star and Garter Hotel, opposite the principal entrance to Richmond Park. This lovely domain, 2,250 acres in extent and nearly eight miles in circumference, was first enclosed by Charles I. Since August, 1904, a number of woods and game preserves, to trespass in which was formerly almost a hanging matter, have also been thrown open to the public. The Park is one of the most popular resorts of Londoners, and in fine weather the stream of motors, carriages and cycles on all the principal thoroughfares is unending. Large herds of fallow and red deer roam the Park. Nearly in the middle are the Pen Ponds, covering 18 acres, a favourite resort of winter skaters. The White Lodge was the residence before her marriage of the Princess of Wales, and also figures, like Richmond Hill, in Scott's Heart of Midlothian. Pembroke Lodge was the seat of Lord John Russell. The Richmond "Maids of Honour," it may be well to explain, are a kind of sweet cheese-cake. South of Richmond, and reached from it by the picturesque towing-path or by a stroll through the Park, is the ancient borough of Kingston, with Hampton Court Palace on the opposite bank of the river. In the Market Place may be seen, enclosed by railings, the Coronation Stone, on which Athelstan and other Saxon kings were crowned. The stretch of river between Richmond and Kingston is very popular with boating parties. Kingston is the starting-point of Messrs. Salter Bros.' well-known steamers to Henley and Oxford (see p. 31). Rye House (Herts). Rail from Liverpool Street (19 m.). Fares, 3/8, 2/10 and 1/8; return, 5/6, 3/9 and 2/10. What is left of Rye House, an ancient manor the owner of which lost his head in 1683 for participation in the so-called Rye House Plot," is now converted into an inn, the gardens of which are a favourite resort of bank-holiday folk, beanfeasters and the like. The manor at one time belonged to Henry VIII. The embattled Gatehouse is fairly well preserved. St. Albans (Herts). Rail from St. Pancras (20 m.). Fares, 2/8 first, 1/7 third; return, double fare. From Euston (24 m.). Fares, 2/8, 2/- and 1/7; return, double fare. From King's Cross (G.N. 23 m.). Fares, 2/11 first, 1/8 third; return, 5/9 and 3/5. Cycle and Motor Route (20 m.) viâ Marble Arch, Cricklewood, Hendon, Edgware and Elstree; or (21 m.) viâ Great North Road to Barnet. This ancient city, the Verulam of the Romans, and the burial place of the great Lord Bacon, is well worth a pilgrimage from London. The Cathedral (open 10 to 4, 5 or 6, according to time of year-nave free, transepts and parts east of nave, 6d.) boasts the longest nave in England, and is a mixture of the Norman, Early English and Decorated styles, restored at great expense, but questionable taste, by the late Lord Grimthorpe. Bacon's tomb is in St. Michael's Church, parts of which are even older than the Abbey. Other notable features of the city are the remains of ancient Verulam, the old Abbey Gateway, and the quaint round tavern, known as The Fighting Cocks, which proudly claims to be the oldest inhabited house in England. Southend. Also Rail from Fenchurch Street (35 m.). Fares, 4/4 first, 2/2 second; return, 7/- and 4/4. Week-end tickets, 6/- and 3/6. Cheap day tickets 2/6. from Liverpool Street (41 m.) and St. Pancras (42 m.). Steamers in summer from London Bridge (see newspapers). Southend shares with Brighton the advantage of being sufficiently near London to be available as a place of residence for City men. Its growth in recent years has been astonishing, the population (now just under 30,000) more than doubling in the decade between 1891 and 1901. The tide recedes so far that the Pier has been given a length of a mile and a half. The parts of the town adjoining the Pier and Esplanade are usually thronged with excursionists, for whose delectation all the usual appurtenances of "a good day out" are provided, but Westcliff and other residential quarters boast many amenities. Waltham Abbey. Rail from Liverpool Street or St. Pancras (12 m.). Fares, 2/-, 1/6 and 1/1 : return, 3/3, 2/6 and 1/9. This ancient Abbey, situated on the Lea, about three miles from the western border of Epping Forest, was founded by the Saxon Harold, and here he knelt to pray before setting out for the fatal field of Hastings. The nave has been restored, and is now used as the parish church. Waltham Cross, a mile west of the Abbey, was erected by Edward I, like Charing Cross and others, to mark the places where the body of Queen Eleanor rested on its way from Grantham to London. Windsor and Eton. Rail (G.W.) from Paddington (21 m.), or from Waterloo (North Station), 251 Cycle and Motor Route (22 m.) viâ Hammersmith, Brentford, Hounslow, |