58 C O N T E X T 1 7 2 : J U N E 2 0 2 2 by CS Forester in the 1920s, are now somewhat neglected. But among the fans of this romantic adventurer are Martin Andrew, the author of Two Men in a Boat and his fellow oarsman Richard Robinson. Their inspiration for the two river journeys that form the essence of the book was the escape by Hornblower from capture by the Napoleonic troops by rowing a small boat down the River Loire from Nevers to the sea at Nantes, as featured in Forester’s book Flying Colours. Not content with rowing down one river, our modern-day escapees made a trial run on the River Severn, rowing from the Welsh border to Tewkesbury before launching their boat on the Loire. As well as a prolific author on medieval history and architecture, Andrew is a conservationist and a member of the IHBC. The focus of the book is not so much the heroics of Hornblower as the fine historic buildings, bridges and towns they explored on route. There are also accounts of their woes – falling overboard at Atcham and an involuntary dip at Ousson-sur-Loire, and losing the boat altogether in Gien – as well as the varied hostelries they visit and some of the people they meet on route. Their preferred guidebooks are Severn Tide (1939) by Brian Waters and John Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in France (1844), although they are willing to consult the 2nd edition Pevsners. Their architectural passion is the Norman style (UK)/Romanesque (France). They also describe the natural landscape, waterfowl and wildlife as seen from the rivers. What comes as a surprise is how treacherous the two rivers are, with sharp rocks just below the surface, shifting sandbanks, sunken trees and rapids. If you were thinking of following in their wake, beware the pitfalls.Yet the genial banter between our two adventurers and Andrew’s eye for oddities draw the reader along as if a third passenger on board this small boat. For me the book made a splendid epilogue to Context 170 (December 2021), with its River Severn theme. Peter de Figueiredo, reviews editor of Context Stars for survivors Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations Simon Jenkins, Penguin, 2017 (re-published 2021), 326 pages, ISBN 978 0 241978 98 6, hardback, £25 The steam railway was Britain’s gift to the world, and railways have shaped modern Britain in a way that canals and roads never could. From Rain, Steam and Speed to Harry Potter, trains have become part of our minds. This well-written, nicelyproduced book celebrates our railway stations, where journeys start and end, in 100 personal best examples (of a possible 2,560) chosen for ‘qualities of architectural beauty, eccentricity or setting’. Simon Jenkins is a respected author and columnist, among whose achievements has been his membership of the British Railways Board in 1979–1990. He founded the Railway Heritage Trust in 1984. His book is essentially a wellillustrated list of stations, preceded by an introduction that provides a potted history of British railway developments. This is followed by a chapter on The Station in the British Imagination, which takes the reader on a delightful tour through the cultural landscape of railways. Turner, Ruskin, Betjeman, Auden, Larkin, Forster, JK Rowling are all here, along with Thomas the Tank Engine. The list of 100 stations (each rated between one and five stars) follows. The stations are grouped into regions, with a good geographical spread, although London (not surprisingly) predominates. The chapter on London termini rejoices in nuggets of detail.Who knew that the Paddington-based Great Western Railway produced its own radishes, watercress and whisky, or that in 1970 a sleeper service was planned fromVictoria to Moscow? Barlow’s great train shed at St Pancras (five stars) still impresses,Waterloo is still as busy as ever. London suburban stations follow, with the theatrical Battersea Park and the little-known Gants Hill (‘wow’, writes Jenkins) giving way to Peckham Rye with stern warnings against venereal disease in its Gents. Jenkins’ descriptions are crisp and never boring. He includes the moderne Surbiton and the modern Southwark Underground, which gets four stars. Leaving the metropolis behind, the list heads south east, to French renaissance Slough with its Station Jim (a stuffed dog) and then south west, where Bath Spa’s Jacobean sits oddly with the Georgian city. The cottage style of Eggesford Station is aptly described as ‘mudstone picturesque’. East Anglia comes with an eclectic mix of station architecture. Norwich is ‘France meets Russian princess’, Bury St Edmunds is ‘Wrennish baroque’. The list speeds on into the midlands, to the 2008 bling of Birmingham New Street’s concourse and away to the celebrated iron leaves of Great Malvern, the red-stoned Vanbrughian Nottingham and the sedate gothic of Shrewsbury, with its 180-lever signal-box. The north west and north east follow. Carlisle, a town that was the scene of (literal) battles
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