Hartlebury

Hartlebury is a Worcestershire village to the south of Kidderminster.

The White Hart public house

Information
County:	Worcestershire
District:	Wychavon
Population:	2549

The village has been in existence from Saxon times, in 817CE it was known as Heortlabyrig (Hill of the Deer) and was granted by Burghred, King of Mercia to the Bishop of Worcester in 850CE. The area was known for it's sandstone quarries, which were used in local buildings including the parish church.

The area remained a home for the Bishop until the 21st century. The fortified manor house Hartlebury Castle being the residence of the Bishop from the 13th century until 2007. The castle is now open to the public and includes the Worcestershire County Museum.

The church of St James is of a much later period than the castle, it was mostly built in 1836 though retains elements from earlier buildings. The tower is 16th century and there are some arches from the 14th.

Hartlebury is a stop on the railway line between Worcester and Birmingham via Kidderminster. It also used to have a line through to Shrewsbury via the Severn Valley, and indeed was the original starting point of the Severn Valley Railway.

St James church

War memorial

Cottages

More housing near the churchyard

The Talbot public house

Kingsbury

Kingsbury is a village in the North of the county between Birmingham and Tamworth.

Kingsbury Community Centre

Information
County:	Warwickshire
District:	North Warwickshire
Population:	7662 (2011 census)

Kingsbury is derived from the Saxon Chinesburie which means "King's fort". The village is located next to the river Tame and was in a defendable position. The village is listed in the Domesday Book. Kingsbury (or Bracebridge) Hall was a fortified manor house located next to the parish church and next to the river. Part of the house is still in use as a farm house, some of the fortifications still exist.

Kingsbury is in the Hemlingford Hundred of Warwickshire, Hemlingford being a ford over the river Tame very close to Kingbury's church, a mill existing at this location as far back as the Domesday Book at least. The hundred's meeting place was at Hemlingford Green.

Kingsbury remained a small hamlet until the 19th century and the advent of the railway through Kingsbury in 1839. Coal mining and gravel extraction helped the village grow. In modern times the important Kingsbury Oil Terminal supplies oil to the Midlands. Kingsbury railway station was closed in 1968 though the railway line remains open. The parish church dedicated to St Peter & St Paul has existed since about 1200.

The fortified manor house

The church

The Royal Oak pub

Another pub, the Swan

Crossing the river Tame

West Kirby

West Kirby is a town on the North Western edge of the Wirral peninsula. Historically part of Cheshire, it is now in the Merseyside metropolitan county.

Shops and apartments in West Kirby

Information
County:	Merseyside
Borough:	Wirral
Population:	12,733 (2011 census)

Kirby has Viking origins, the name being derived from Kirkjubyr or village with a church. West was added to the name in the 13th century (or earlier) to distinguish it from Kirkby-in-Walsea on the other side of the Wirral (nowadays the town of Wallasey).

The old village was based around St Bridget's Church though the modern West Kirby has expanded and the modern centre is around West Kirby railway station which opened in 1878. The town became a tourist destination like nearby New Brighton in the 19th century and retains a Victorian promenade. The town has a large artificial lake which can hold sailing and other water sport events.

Station forecourt

Marine Lake is the name of the artificial lake mentioned above

Steam in Wirksworth

A Lanchashire & Yorkshire Railway locomotive in Derbyshire!

Wirksworth

Wirksworth is a market town in central Derbyshire in the Peak district.

Wirksworth

Information
County:	Derbyshire
District:	Derbyshire Dales
Population:	5038 (2011 census)

Wirksworth has Saxon origins with the parish church of St Mary thought to date from 653CE (though the current building's oldest parts date from the 12th century). The town's origins might pre-date that, is possible the Roman settlement of Lutudarum was at Wirksworth. The town has the oldest town charter in the Peak district, dating from 835. 

During Roman and Anglo-Saxon times there were a number of lead mines nearby. These were later listed in the Domesday Book as being owned by Repton Abbey. There continued to be lead mines in the area into the modern period. In the 18th century  the cotton mills began to grow in the area. The town was prosperous enough to allow for the building of a grand new town hall in 1871.

Wirksworth remains a prosperous market town though the old industries have departed. The town is the headquarters of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway preserved line.

Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

Blacks Head pub

Old buildings and new commerce in Wirksworth

St Mary's church

Field

Farm field in Churchill.

Which way

Modern signpost in Churchill.

Churchill

Churchill is a village at the very north of the county near to Kidderminster.

Churchill

Information
County:	Worcestershire
District:	Wyre Forest
Population:	1601 (combined parish with Blakedown)

At the time of the Domesday Book, the manor of Churchill was owned by the Dudleys, having been owned by the Saxon Wigar previously. The area around village has remained largely agricultural until the present day.

Churchill has one of the few surviving water powered plating forges in the country. The forge is located on Ganlow Brook and has existed since at least 1238 when it was mentioned on a charter. In later centuries the forge produced agricultural edged tools like hoes and spades. Since the 1980s the forge has been maintained as a working museum and on open days visitors can see it in operation.

Within walking distance of Churchill is the village of Blakedown. Churchill railway station (originally called Churchill then Churchill & Blakedown) is located in Blakedown. Nowadays it is just called Blakedown though the former signalbox still carries the Churchill name.

Churchill's parish church dedicated to St James the Great is a fairly modern building (1866) though built in the style of a 14th century church.

St James the Great

You are entering Churchill

Cow shed

House in Churchill

Churchill & Blakedown Signal Box

The tower

Close-up of the tower of All Saints church.

Bedworth railway station

On the Elephant & Bear Line.

Bedworth

Bedworth is a market town in the North of Warwickshire between Nuneaton and Coventry.

Houses in Bedworth

Information
County:	Warwickshire
District:	Nuneaton & Bedworth
Population:	31,332 (2011 census)

Bedworth has Saxon origins and was listed in the Domesday Book as Bedeword. Bedworth was a small settlement, suffering greatly during the Black Death, by the late 16th century it had been reduced to just fourteen families. The town remained small until the early-modern period, local coal mines helping to spark a boom in the town. By 1939 Bedworth had twenty coal mines but after the war the mines gradually shut down, the last was closed in 1991. Bedworth also grew due to ribbon weaving and textile manufacturers moving from Coventry. 

Both industries have now gone and Bedworth inhabitants mostly work elsewhere especially in nearby Coventry and Nuneaton. The parish church of All Saints has 14th century origins though was rebuilt by the Victorians.

The Coventry Canal, which flows through the town, opened in 1789. The railway arrived in Bedworth in 1850.

All Saints

Houses and offices

Coventry canal

St Francis of Assisi RC church

Lifeboat station

Aberystwyth Lifeboat station, find out more about it here.

The harbour

Many boats at Aberystwyth.

Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth is a university town on the coast of Wales on Cardigan Bay, Ceredigion.

Atop Constitution Hill

Information
Ceremonial county:	Dyfed
County:	Ceredigion
Population:	15,935 (2011 census)

The name Aberystwyth means Mouth (Aber) of the river Ystwyth. People have lived in the area since at least the Mesolithic. A Celtic fortress was built overlooking where the town is now in about 600BCE. In 1109, a castle was built by Gilbert Fitz Richard on lands granted by King Henry I. The castle was built on the south bank of the Ystwyth to the south of the current town but it is what gave the settlement it's name.

The castle was replaced in 1277 (after it had been burnt down for the second time) by the current one at Castle Hill. Aberystwyth castle was built by King Edward I, however it was burnt down itself within a few years! The castle was repaired and became an important strategic location, serving as a royal mint during the reign of King Charles I. Cromwell's forces destroyed the castle for good in 1649.

Aberystwyth grew as a town after a building of a port in the 18th and 19th centuries. The railway reached Aberystwyth in 1864, the town becoming a popular Victorian tourist destination. A funicular railway was built up to the top of Constitution Hill, which overlooks the town, in 1896.

These days Aberystwyth continues to be a popular tourist destination, it is also a major cultural centre in Wales with the National Library of Wales in the town which was established in 1907.

Street in Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth Cliff Railway

The harbour

The promenade

The pier

The Severn

Crossing the Severn at Upper Arley.

An Englishman's home

In Arley it can be a castle.

Upper Arley

Situated on the banks of the river Severn and with a railway station on the Severn Valley Railway, Upper Arley looks like the sort of village which has been in Worcestershire since the Domesday Book. In fact the village was in Staffordshire until being transferred in 1895!

Arley Tower in the centre of the village

Information
County:	Worcestershire
District:	Wyre Forest
Population:	741 (2011 census)

The manor of Upper Arley was founded in about 996CE. Originally it belonged to the college in Wolverhampton. In 1276 it was bought by Roger de Mortimer and remained owned by his family until the mid-15th century. Later on it was owned by the Lyttleton and Woodward families.

The oldest building in the village is the Norman church dedicated to St Peter (the oldest remains date from the 14th century). Arley railway station opened in 1862. It closed 101 years later but was reopened by the Severn Valley Railway in 1974. The station has appeared in many films and TV shows including Oh, Doctor Beeching!

Arley Tower is a casellated folly built in the village, and is Grade II listed.

St Peter

Bridge over the Severn at Upper Arley

Village shop and post office

River Severn

Arley railway station