It was while we were in Cambridge that one of our friends there suggested that we should take a look at Saffron Walden as we had never been there before. I’ve always loved that name so after a couple of days in Cambridge we ended up in Saffron Walden where I discovered that I love the place too.
Driving into the town I remarked to Jack that I hadn’t realised that Saffron Walden had a cathedral. It doesn’t, but there’s a massive parish church which stands on a small hill above the town and does a very good impression of a cathedral. You can see it from quite far away but when you’re in the town it doesn’t seem high at all, strange. There’s always been a lot of money in that area, the town was famous for producing saffron centuries ago so there used to be fields of crocus all around the place, but I suppose saffron all comes from much warmer countries now as they’ll be able to get more than one harvest each year.
I don’t know what it is about S W but it’s a bit like stepping back in time – in a nice way. It’s not just because all of the buildings are fairly ancient and twee. It might be something to do with the fact that it’s obviously peopled by folk that are comfortably off or if they are poverty stricken they’re good at hiding it. It’s all very genteel. No empty shops that I could see so it’s all very different from places which are struggling at the moment.
I actually heard a woman in a shop exclaiming – Oh my giddy aunt! It’s years since I’ve heard anyone using that expression. I felt like giving her a hug because she’s one of an almost extinct species! So you’ll gather that S W is a sort of jolly hockey sticks place.
It’s another town with lots of independent shops and wee boutiques, a second-hand bookshop which smelled absolutely divine, even outside on the pavement, but it was one of the few bookshops that I didn’t buy a book from, I don’t think it was expensive but it just didn’t have anything that I was looking for.
Unfortunately I seem to have taken mainly photos of the church, I’ll have to break myself of that habit. It’s beginning to seem like a tour of English churches rather than a road trip!
I suppose it’s part of what’s known as the stockbroker belt but it’s certainly a lovely town and we hope to go back there again sometime in the future. Especially as when we were driving away from the place we passed Audley End which we hadn’t realised was so close but by that time it was too late to stop off and go around it.
