Howden

I’d never heard of Howden. However, lured from the main road by a sign claiming an old market town just a minute or two away, and with coffee fairly urgently required, that is where chance took us.

Some fine old buildings cluster around the market square, including a splendid minster, with an extra add-on ruined bit for dramatic effect. The coffee shop was conveniently just next door. The Press Association has a “Limited Operations Centre” here, which sounds very mysterious. It seemed a little out of place in this sleepy, attractive little town, but there is no doubt a very good reason for its choice of location.

The railway station is out of town - quite a long way out of town, in fact. It was opened by the Hull and Selby Railway in 1840. Today, you can also catch direct trains to York, Leeds, Manchester and London King’s Cross. The station building, Grade II listed, is now a private residence. It is on ground - rather than platform - level, as the platforms are not opposite each other, but either side of the level crossing and the now disused signalbox.

That’s one of the truly great things about Britain. There’s a whole lifetime’s worth of places to explore, even when you sometimes stumble upon them by accident. Little gems like Howden just have a habit of popping up when en route from A to B.