Great North Road

They had penetrated far up the river when King Alfred diverted the waters from beneath their vessels and left them stranded in a wilderness of marsh and forest.

Another pleasant afternoon trip was to Monken Hadley, 25 miles out on the Great North Road.

Hadley Church is intimately associated with a number of distinguished literary men, among them Thackeray, whose grandfather preached there and is buried in the churchyard.

The sexton was soon found, and he was delighted to point out the interesting objects in the church and vicinity.

Not only the size of the shire but its position midway between London and the Scottish border and extending almost from coast to coast made it a bulwark, as it were, against the incursions of the Scots and their numerous sympathizers in the extreme north of England.

No part of England is more thickly strewn with attractions for the American tourist, and in no other section do conditions for motor travel average better.

From London to York, the capital city of the shire, runs the Great North Road, undoubtedly the finest highway in all Britain.

It is laid out on a liberal scale, magnificently surfaced, and bordered much of the way by wide and beautifully kept lawns, and at times skirted with majestic trees.