The northeasternmost station on the London Underground isn't in London and it isn't underground. It's at Epping, in Essex, and you have to travel to the farthest tip of the Central line to reach it. There used to be three stations even further out, at North Weald, BlakeHall and Ongar, but this section of the line was woefullyunder-used and closed down in 1994. A bunch of diesel-friendly volunteers are working on reopening the extra bit, for weekend pleasure rides at least, but for the time being Epping's as far as you can get.
Epping remains a popularstation, not least with commuters across several square miles of surrounding countryside, which is why alongside platform 1 is the second largest station car park on the entire network. Drive up the hill and turn left, past a selection of leafy suburban retreats, and you can be in the main HighStreet in a couple of minutes. It's a broad and pleasant thoroughfare all told, dominated by the tall Gothic tower of St John's parish church, and with enough grassy interludes to give the place a bit of character. There are perhaps too many coffee shops, I thought, but the orange-fronted bakery looked rather inviting, and the independent EppingBookshop added extra literary appeal. The local butchers sell Epping sausages, which are famous apparently, although I can't say I've ever tasted any. At the southern end of the High Street stands the town's brick Victorian water tower, now topped off by a collection of mobile phone transmitters. And beyond that is the edge ofEppingForest. It's easy to see why people might want to live here.
That's Epping, Essex, population eleven thousand. But there are several other Eppings around the world, including twosuburbs in Australia each with a population greater than the English town, plus another in Cape Town, South Africa. There's even an Epping in Maine, in the easternmost county of the easternmost state of the USA, although that Epping's rather smaller. It's not so much a two-horse town as a one-dog street corner, home to a few far-flung neighbours spread out along a wooded backroad. The nearest small town has a population of 459, that's how small the American Epping is. Not somewhere I'd ever dream of visiting, let alone blogging about, because I suspect there wouldn't be much to say.
But that's not going to stop Geoff. He's visiting Epping ME today, at the start of a madcap ten-week hurtle around the good old US of A. You may remember Geoff as the former holder of the Guinness World Record for visiting all the stations on the London Underground in the shortest possible time. Five years ago he and his friend Neil visited all 275 stations (including Epping) in 18 hours, 35 minutes and 43 seconds, and earned themselves a cheap-looking certificate for their troubles. Their record lasted only a couple of years before being snatched away, by which time Geoff had moved to America and the opportunity to grab it back had slipped away.
So now Geoff's trying something similar, and yet completely different, on the other side of the Atlantic. He's attempting to visit 48 American locations with the same name as an underground station, one in each of the 48 contiguous states. A ridiculous idea, obviously, but one for which I bear considerable responsibility as I suggested it to him in the first place. Sorry Geoff.
His grand tube tour is entitled Underground : USA, and he's hoping to complete it all by the end of August. He's driving all umpteen thousand miles in a borrowed automobile, and he's blogging the entire journey with video, text, progress maps and copiousTwitterage. There might even be a film documentary later, you never know. Geoff's first stop is today in Epping, then second stop Putney, then careering onwards through Plaistow, White City and Watford, to name but a few.
It's the sort of bonkers thing I'd love to try, if only I could drive and had three months spare and didn't mind sleeping in motels or endless camping or eating appallingly. But no, I shall have to observe Geoff's tube journey virtually, as can you if you'd like to follow how his road trip pans out. Facebookers can tag along here, I believe, or else the main webpage is on Geoff's usual site here. I'm not sure how anyone could ever make Epping, Maine, sound interesting, but I'm sure he'll manage...
The northeasternmost station on the London Underground isn't in London and it isn't underground. It's at Epping, in Essex, and you have to travel to the farthest tip of the Central line to reach it. There used to be three stations even further out, at North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar, but this section of the line was woefully under-used and closed down in 1994. A bunch of diesel-friendly volunteers are working on reopening the extra bit, for weekend pleasure rides at least, but for the time being Epping's as far as you can get.
Epping remains a popular station, not least with commuters across several square miles of surrounding countryside, which is why alongside platform 1 is the second largest station car park on the entire network. Drive up the hill and turn left, past a selection of leafy suburban retreats, and you can be in the main High Street in a couple of minutes. It's a broad and pleasant thoroughfare all told, dominated by the tall Gothic tower of St John's parish church, and with enough grassy interludes to give the place a bit of character. There are perhaps too many coffee shops, I thought, but the orange-fronted bakery looked rather inviting, and the independent Epping Bookshop added extra literary appeal. The local butchers sell Epping sausages, which are famous apparently, although I can't say I've ever tasted any. At the southern end of the High Street stands the town's brick Victorian water tower, now topped off by a collection of mobile phone transmitters. And beyond that is the edge of Epping Forest. It's easy to see why people might want to live here.
That's Epping, Essex, population eleven thousand. But there are several other Eppings around the world, including two suburbs in Australia each with a population greater than the English town, plus another in Cape Town, South Africa. There's even an Epping in Maine, in the easternmost county of the easternmost state of the USA, although that Epping's rather smaller. It's not so much a two-horse town as a one-dog street corner, home to a few far-flung neighbours spread out along a wooded backroad. The nearest small town has a population of 459, that's how small the American Epping is. Not somewhere I'd ever dream of visiting, let alone blogging about, because I suspect there wouldn't be much to say.
