Chorleywood
Our journey has brought us to Hertfordshire which is where Keith’s mother grew up and where she eventually met Keith’s dad, Walt, who was stationed in Bovington during World War II. The story goes that Walt was at a local pub that Keith’s maternal grandfather often frequented. They got to talking and Keith’s grandfather invited Walt home for dinner where he met 17 year-old Jean. I guess the rest was history. They were married in England and Keith’s brother, Russell, was born there in 1945.
Chorelywood was a nearby town Keith’s mother used to visit. It is mostly famous for its Quaker community, the most notable Quaker, William Penn, was a resident and he eventually settled the Pennsylvania Colony with Quakers from Chorleywood.
Driving to Watford, our next AirBnb stop, from Oxford, afforded us the opportunity to checkout Chorelywood. We went for a little walk to see what we could see.
Watford
After meandering around Chorleywood, we headed to Watford, which brought us closer to London than we had been since we arrived at Gatwick Airport almost four weeks prior. We chose Watford because of its proximity to where Keith’s mother grew up as that was our main purpose for visiting. We found our AirBnB and quickly got settled.
It was nice to have access to a washing machine. Dedicated parking, on a very busy street, was also welcomed. The bungalow had a wonderful beachy feel, but upon closer inspection, the space has been well-used and could do with a bit of a refresh. However, it would serve its purpose for the next three nights and so we can’t really complain.
Sarratt
Sarratt is the village where Keith’s mother, Jean, also known as Nena, spent her childhood. As Keith remembers it, his grandfather was a farmer and they worked some land near the River Chess.
Keith did some research and found a country walk that led us through pastures and fields along a public footpath. It started and ended at a local pub which I suspected we would welcome after walking over 5 miles. The day was lovely and we so off we went.
We ended our day where we began it … at The Cricketers Pub and tucked into a lovely lunch with beer for Keith and a cider for Reece and I. Sorry … no food photos.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour
We still had another full day in Watford and I had heard the Warner Bros. Studio was nearby. This is the same studio where the Harry Potter movies were filmed. I had also heard you had to book your tickets online as you couldn’t purchase them at the door and they often sold out months in advance. We are HUGE Harry Potter fans in this family (except Keith) but I hadn’t really pursued this plan because I was never completely sure when we would be in Watford. I also figured we would be too busy doing other things.
While we were in Oxford, just prior to coming to Watford, I realized we would have an extra day and the time to take the tour, so I got online to see what I could find. The website indicated there were tours available on one of the days we would be in Watford but when I went to purchase three tickets, I was told that there weren’t three tickets available. I tried several times and in each instance, new times and new days came up but there were never any available. So, I gave up and told Reece what I had been trying to do and since she didn’t seem very disappointed, I didn’t worry about it.
Upon arriving in Watford, I decided to try one last time to see if there had been any changes to ticket availability. You never know! And lo and behold, there were tickets available for our last day. We booked a 12 p.m. tour and we were off!
And we’re in!
We found Platform 9 and 3/4 and the Hogwarts Express!
And some other sets and props from the movies …
And the day isn’t complete without quenching our thirst with some Butterbeer.
The tour was definitely worth it for fans and non-fans alike. We have had a lot of great days on the this trip … this was one of the best.
Cheers!
Tree