October's photostream activity has seen Exploration Extra continuing its national tour of duty. Join us on a journey from the South Coast to North Yorkshire via Merseyside, the East Midlands and a Trent Bridge cricketing call...
We'll work our way up the country for this monthly appraisal, so I'll pick our Portland as our starting point. The Spirit of Portland sculpture made quite an impression on me in January 2024 with its dramatic hilltop depictions of stoneworkers and fishermen, and I was similarly beguiled by the Royal Portland Arms as a quirky free house in Fortuneswell. From Portland we move to Portsmouth for the nautical harbour-end delights of the Spice Island Inn (complete with tiled facade for the defunct Brickwoods Brewery) and hints of the city's sailing club.
Inching east along the South Coast, we reach the seaside town of Littlehampton for glimpses of beachfront pebbles, round chapel windows and riverboat berths - the Arun View being our principal pub offering here. The Menu restaurant and a disused MOT garage plump out my Littlehampton local items before Brighton nudges in some North Laine arrows, just in case anybody wasn't sure how to reach this trendily bohemian district with its independent range of shops and bars.
October's East Midlands extractions meanwhile build on the Leicester haul that we'd begun in September. The Newarke supplies its own brand of street signage and I like a mural montage remembering the former Savoy Theatre. Northampton nibbles on Norvil nuggets courtesy of a former motorcycling shopfront, although you might prefer the Irish twang of the Swan & Helmet. Nottingham then tempts us with Trent Bridge for a variety of player portraits (Luke Fletcher, Olly Stone), general cricket ground livery and two date extracts from the riverside War Memorial. I must also mention Matlock matters, delivering the Derbyshire Dales council offices and a closed Ford car dealership amongst other morsels.
Macclesfield moves us closer to the North West, supplying pub content from the Nags Head and the Castle (the latter being one of my absolute favourite finds of 2023, I love its timeless interior). The historic 108 Steps needed to be represented while fans of carved typefaces might like the Police Station marker, or perhaps a little nod to Waters Green. Liverpool and Southport cover our Merseyside angle, whether this be with Globe Inn beer-bellied ornaments or Singer sewing centres. My nostalgic side likes the Southport Pier Pavilion with its vintage penny arcade games, such as a Ring A Ding slider featuring Norman Vaughan catchphrases.
Our nationwide roaming remit culminates in Yorkshire, where a visit to the National Railway Museum is on the cards. Dairy tankers, Cheltenham Flyers and cleaning warnings were my chief spottings there on a wet June 2019 morning. Elsewhere in the vicinity of York, we populate my Poppleton archives with the local branch library and village green parking enforcement notices, then land up in Scarborough's Craft Bar by way of Richmond. River Swale scenery mingles with railway station reminders to complete our October arrivals. Until next time, enjoy the photos...
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