OLLIE WAS 'ERE!

So, we're arriving at Huntingdon, once the county town of the now defunct Huntingdonshire and now part of Cambridgeshire. Travellers on the East Coast Main Line may recall seeing the United Counties depot from the train. Here it is in 1978 (Richard Huggins).

 Next we head to the railway station, seen here in GNR times.

The station was later rebuilt by British Rail, with quadruple track and platforms on the slow lines. There was also a bay for DMUs heading to Hertford North.

An up HST zooms through, with the A14 crossing both the railway and the local road to Brampton. The A14 has recently been moved and its bridge demolished.

In 1980, some Intercity trains were still calling at Huntingdon.

Now for a few shots taken in the 21st Century.

A short cut through the meadows, probably made more pleasant after the closure of the A14, brings one to the town's bus station. Cambus once served here.

For a few years, Huntingdon & District became the town's main operator. It's a long story!

Stagecoach is now in charge.

Other services are operated by Whippet, once independent, but now owned by Tower Transit of London.

Duncan's of Sawtry once ran this ex London DMS into Huntingdon.

Now for a bit of a look at Huntingdon's history. It was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell and was once served by John Major as the town's MP. Right in the middle is the parish church, All Saints.

Now for a look at the town hall and the 'Thinking Soldier' war memorial.

Huntingdon lies on the River Great Ouse, as seen from the town bridge. The A14 used to cross here too, but no more.

The Old Bridge Hotel is conveniently placed here. It's a bit posh, but very pleasant and has good beer.

Huntingdon was once a brewing town. Marshall's is long since defunct.

Paine's of St. Neots used to own the Victoria, once the best pub in town, but now converted to housing.

A free house, the Samuel Pepys, is still in business and serves real ales.

One of my personal favourites is the Market Inn, a proper pub.

Another good pub, on and off the main square, the Falcon. It has real fires and real ales.

Finally, darkness had fallen, so we adjourn to the newish Wetherspoons, the Sandford House, a conversion of two adjoining buildings.

We'll leave Huntingdon behind us in the next post.

D'ARCY & CLUNY

 Having left Little Paxton behind, we meander our way vaguely north to Offord D'Arcy, where we find our first pub. It's a free house called the Horseshoe Inn.

A short walk northwards takes us into Offord Cluny, the two locations forming a continuous village, joined together like Siamese twins. The pub here is the Swan.

The pair of Offords were once served by a GNR railway station, Offord & Buckden.

The station has long gone, but the East Coast Main Line is very much open. Trains rush past at speed, rounding the famous Offord Curves.

We now cross the Great Ouse and there's a lock here.

It's now about a mile walk (there is the occasional bus) to Buckden, a fair sized village with a church and a castle.

Real ale is available at the Lion.

Only a couple of miles or so to the north is another large village, Brampton.The Grange used to sell decent beer in 2001. It was later converted from a pub into a hotel and finally ceased trading in 2007. Now it's a block of flats.

Luckily, the Black Bull is well and truly open.

The town of Huntingdon is next, but that must await the next posting.

THE FALCON GAINS A PIG.

I left you in Eaton Ford, so now all we have to do is cross the Great Ouse into the town of St. Neots.

 

Oh look, there's a pub right by the river and the bridge!

The Great Ouse is navigable and the remains of the wharf still exist.

Not far away, the parish church.

The main bus company used to be United Counties. Here's one of their early Bristol VRs, with a rebuilt front end.

United Counties got bought out by Stagecoach, which is now the town's main operator.

Cavalier/Huntingdon & District also succumbed to Stagecoach.

The town's other operator was Whippet Coaches.

St. Neots was once home to Paine's Brewery, right in the town centre.

Our first pub, though, is a former Whitbread house, Ye Olde Sun.

The pub's sign is a genuine Peter J Oldreive one - you can learn more here.

The Falcon was once a rough & ready Greene King pub.

It later became a great free house called the Pig & Falcon.

The Woolpack is a Charles Wells house.

Onwards towards a back street boozer, the Lord John Russell. It's since been rebranded as the Ale Taster.

There's also the obligatory Wetherspoons, the Weeping Ash.

It's a long walk to the railway station, but on the way there's a Greene King pub called the Bull's Head.

Even from the Bull's Head, it's still a good distance from the station, but here it is in Great Northern Railway days.

Here comes a train!

Heading north, the railway passes next to the village of Little Paxton, but there's never been a station. There is, though, a decent pub, the Anchor......

.....and that's where I'll leave you for now.