Great Railway Journeys: London to Oxford and London to Cambridge gives a descriptive view of these two popular routes, describing points of interest which, generally, can be seen from the train window as it heads out from the city of London on journeys to the historic university cities of Oxford and Cambridge.
In the first half of this title the author, Roger Mason, takes the train from Paddington Station, London travelling to Oxford Station. The route he takes passes through Burnham, then further along the track crosses Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Maidenhead Railway Bridge which spans the River Thames as it heads on towards Maidenhead. The line then goes through Reading before heading for Didcot and on to Didcot Railway Centre, which is a living museum of the Great Western Railway.
The second route sets off from London’s Liverpool Street Station and proceeds on its way to Cambridge, however it then passes through the city as it heads to its final destination, the station at Cambridge North which opened in 2017. After starting out from London it is not long before the line passes through Tottenham and then continues on towards Waltham Cross, the site of one of the twelve, 13th century, Eleanor Crosses erected by Edward I as a tribute to his late wife, Eleanor of Castile. The route passes through a lot of scenic countryside including the River Lee Country Park, Roydon Marina and Thorley Wash Nature Reserve, before passing though the grounds of Audley End House, near Saffron Waldon. Just over 6 miles further on another English Heritage site to be viewed from the train is Duxford Chapel at Whittlesford, an attractive 14th-century chantry chapel; then a similar distance is covered before reaching Cambridge.
43 colour photographs. 96 pages.