Saturday, 21 August 2004

Greenbelt

Newport Pagnell

My circuitous journey to Greenbelt continues. I'll be in Aberystwyth for the weekend so I hit the M1 straight after breakfast.

And there, just a few junctions north of where I set off in Luton, a memory from Greenbelts past.

[Newport Pagnell Services sign]

Newport Pagnell Service Station.

In the Castle Ashby days - in our late teens - we'd stop here to regroup, our convoy of five or six cars. The aim: to hit site together on the dot of noon when the campsite opens. All the better for nabbing the best pitch.

While waiting for the others (my car was invariably first - the result of leaving early, rather than particularly fast driving), we'd exchange nods with other Greenbelters, all proudly displaying matching wristbands.

Does the Cheltenham site have its Newport Pagnell? Do Greenbelters smile in recognition of each other at Strensham in the north and Michael Wood in the south? Or is this all just an image overgrown in the soil of my memory?

Posted by pab at 10:30 | Comments will be back later in the year. Please email me instead!