I want to tell you about the Amersham Heritage Day we went to the other week. Why I am writing about Amersham when I normally write about Slough? Well, because I had no idea how close Amersham was to Slough! I always thought of it as that stop right at the end of the Metropolitan Line on the tube map, in the middle of nowhere. But actually, it’s only a short drive from Slough, it took us about 20 minutes.

The reason for the sudden interest in Amersham was from our visit to the Acton Depot Family Day where they were showing us heritage buses that were getting ready for Amersham and that there was going to be rides on a vintage tube train. I knew Tyler HAD to see this.

The day started with running to get a photo of the heritage bus leaving Slough for Amersham. We didn’t get this bus, as it was early and we were not ready, but had to get a photo as it was practically on our doorstep!

My first impressions of Amersham Old Town were that it resembled Beaconsfield so much, with its cutesy, picturesque olde style shops. This day was different from usual, as the high street had been closed off to traffic, and it was decorated with bunting. Market stalls lined the sides, and crowds and crowds of people filled the street. The free car park was full, so we parked precariously on double yellows as everyone else was doing. It was a Sunday and thankfully this seemed to be allowed on this unusual day.

The first thing we noticed were rows upon rows of classic cars, all restored in shiny bright colours. There was fairground attractions from olden times, and stalls selling food and crafts, there were a band of men sing old songs, a competition of best vegetables grown by locals, steam engine rides and right at the end of the high street was soft play and a huge bouncy castle. This was such a huge event, whoever organised this did an incredible job, I can’t believe how many businesses were involved in this day. The atmosphere was so jolly, and the amount of people that attended would rival a London event.

All the food stalls had long queues, so we went to the vintage tea room that had been created in a hall and ate cakes for lunch. After having a wander around the stall, Tyler was nagging us to go on the heritage buses. The bus stop was down a side road, and there was quite a queue. The bus rides were free and took people on a round trip to Amersham train station and Chesham. We waited for a double decker bus, and then sat up top. It was a bumpy ride!

At Amersham, we walked to the train station and asked the man if we could go through the barriers to look at the vintage train. He let us through, and there it was in deep red, waiting to leave at 2.45pm to Watford. We didn’t buy tickets to ride it, just wanted to look at it and take photos. There was a London Transport Museum stall set up selling the stuff they sell at Covent Garden. And there was a band singing old songs and dancers, all in the theme of 1940s. I think the train was a 1938 Northern line one.

After the train left, we bought a wooden train toy and a magnet from the stall, and then caught a heritage bus to Chesham. It was a short ride there and oh my goodness, I could not believe how pretty Chesham was. I had no idea! Really picturesque and I spotted a Caffe Nero, so I will definitely be returning with Lily. We stayed on the bus back to Amersham Old Town so Tyler could sit at the front.

Back in town, we bought some cookies and ate them in the memorial garden which was decorated with bunting and had a band singing 1940s songs. The flowers in this garden was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining, I lay down on the grass and soaked it all in (with Lily jumping on me). It was such a wonderful end to the day, and I was glad we had just discovered this side of the country they call the Chilterns. And that it was all so close to us. This was the start of discovering little English villages and towns near Slough – now there’s a blog post I could write once I’ve discovered them all!

Sabrina x