Tunbridge Wells 1: Rock on

TW has its own version of Brimham Rocks. As with Yorkshire’s it’s a source of huge climbing fun for local girls and boys. Except here the children are called Mungo and Octavia.

Most of the day was this: pleasant, if unremarkable, railtrails from Three Bridges to TW. The last, Forest Way, is on the course of Dr Beeching’s local line, which he used a lot, and still closed down.

The Pantiles, TW’s showcase shopping street. Great if you’re on a budget. A budget of thirty grand for a bathroom, eighty quid for a dog collar, or £18 for a pork pie. I was surprised to see the diamond shop closed for lockdown: I’d thought that here it would count as essential goods.

Even the cycle parking is bespoke here. I suspect that if I locked mine to one of these, I’d come back to find my bike still there but the bike-shaped rack stolen.