On the 3rd of January I had taken a spontaneous decision to travel to a random little town in the East of London. With some 25,000 residents, Upminster isn't exactly what you'd call a tourist destination and yet I had thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Turns out there's more to it than meets the eye, as is also the case for many other smaller towns.

After some one and a half hours of travel by train and tube I had arrived at the local station. As my lungs were filled with Upmister air, I headed down Corbets Tey Road to the city center, in search for some local cuisine. With no luck finding anything to eat, a friendly fellow recommeded to go further Southwards, a piece of advice which I took, and found a briliant little bar called Salt's Fish Bar where I satisfied my hunger. An obvious pick from the menu was the Salt's Special Burger, which was a tasty 1/2 pound cheese burger with doner meat and chips for a side.

Thereafter I embarked on a sightseeing voyae around town. First on the list was the Church of St. Lawrence: namesake of the town (being a church on high ground) and right in the center of Upmister. The church played an important role in the first accurate measurement of the speed of sound by William Derham and also is the burial ground of several WW2 personnel from Upminster. Thereafter I took a short walk to the Upminster Windmill, built in 1803, which is now maintained as a public attraction. Additionally I wanted to visit the Clockhouse Gardens and the Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia, however these were closed by the time I tried going around to them.

I then began my journey home all the while thinking of my little adventure: who would have thought that becoming a small town tourist would have been so much fun? I thoroughly recommend visiting Upminster: the people are friendly, interesting local landmarks and scrumptious food. However why not visit some other peripheral town, which is beyond the public eye? The best adventures are the most unpredictable after all.