The day started as the first day of the family holiday always starts,, with my cousin cooking chipolata sausages for breakfast. we’re usually the first up and enjoy a cup of tea together catching up on all the family news that we didn’t catch up on the night before. My cousins all live in the Cambridge area, we live in the west country, so although we keep in touch by phone, there is still lots to chat about!
After breakfast people head off to do different things, and we go down to Tonbridge which I have never been to before. Tonbridge is on the River Medway and is the site of a river crossing going back to Neolithic times. When the Romans arrived in Britain, they too used the crossing, maybe built a bridge, and they were followed by the Saxons who settled in this idyllic place, and the Normans who secured the crossing by building a castle. In medieval times Tonbridge continued as a market town, and there are still many historic buildings to be seen; more than 150 of them are listed!
The name Tonbridge, originally spelt as it is pronounced, Tunbridge, may have come from meaning the tun or town by the bridge, or maybe Tunne was the name of the local chief… no-one really knows. we found it an interesting little place (its population is nearly 40,000) and we particularly liked the castle. Tonbridge Brewery is about six miles away… sadly we didn’t get to try any of their beer! next time, maybe!!
The bridge across the river
Lois Elsden 