Great West Way® Travel Magazine | Issue 01
The first edition of a brand-new magazine showcasing the Great West Way, Britain's newest touring route, has been launched. The Great West Way Travel Magazine features 84 pages of informative articles and stunning photography brimming with inspiration to explore further, delve deeper and uncover the essence of this unique part of England. It presents a series of inspirational themed features, articles and ideas suitable for visitors travelling along the route by road, rail, water, on bike or on foot. The magazine highlights the extraordinary variety of amazing tourism destinations and experiences along the route, each with something unique to offer. From idyllic countryside, beautifully quaint villages to elegant towns and buzzing cities, a route where creativity and culture rub shoulders with world-famous heritage.
The first edition of a brand-new magazine showcasing the Great West Way, Britain's newest touring route, has been launched. The Great West Way Travel Magazine features 84 pages of informative articles and stunning photography brimming with inspiration to explore further, delve deeper and uncover the essence of this unique part of England. It presents a series of inspirational themed features, articles and ideas suitable for visitors travelling along the route by road, rail, water, on bike or on foot. The magazine highlights the extraordinary variety of amazing tourism destinations and experiences along the route, each with something unique to offer. From idyllic countryside, beautifully quaint villages to elegant towns and buzzing cities, a route where creativity and culture rub shoulders with world-famous heritage.
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THE LEGENDS WHO LIVED HERE<br />
Quietly enriching the lives of passers-by for 150 years, we take a look<br />
at some of the plaques along the <strong>Great</strong> <strong>West</strong> Way -<br />
linking the people of the past with the buildings of the present<br />
Words: Gareth Herincx<br />
Pictured<br />
Freddie<br />
Mercury<br />
blue<br />
plaque<br />
with<br />
Brian May<br />
©English<br />
Heritage<br />
THE IDEA OF ERECTING “memorial tablets” was<br />
first proposed by William Ewart MP in the House<br />
of Commons in 1863 to mark the homes and<br />
workplaces of famous people. The first person<br />
honoured was poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) in 1867 with<br />
a blue plaque commemorating his birthplace at 24 Holles<br />
Street, Cavendish Square, London.<br />
There are now more than 900 plaques across London,<br />
plus hundreds of others across the UK, though they are not<br />
always round and blue or sanctioned by English Heritage.<br />
Follow the <strong>Great</strong> <strong>West</strong> Way from London to Bristol and<br />
you’ll find a fascinating cross section of society reflected<br />
in the plaques. A tour of them all would provide enough<br />
material for a book, so here we’ve chosen a combination of<br />
significant and quirky examples - from a Hollywood legend<br />
to the world’s most famous dog.<br />
Our journey into the past takes us out of the central<br />
London hotspot for plaques (where some properties have<br />
two each) to 40 Sandycombe Road, Twickenham - a house<br />
designed by artist J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851).<br />
He’s thought to have lived there with his father between<br />
1812 and 1826. Back then it was surrounded by countryside,<br />
now it’s hemmed in on all sides by London suburbia.<br />
<strong>West</strong> of Twickenham in the London Borough of Hounslow<br />
you’ll find the town of Feltham. It’s here at 22 Gladstone<br />
Avenue, TW14, that 17-year-old Freddie Mercury (1946-<br />
1991) settled with his parents after emigrating from<br />
Zanzibar in 1964.<br />
The Queen frontman was living in the modest semidetached<br />
home when he met two other members of the<br />
16 <strong>Great</strong><strong>West</strong>Way.co.uk
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