Amersham

Amersham is two towns: the old one in the valley, all market hall and coaching inn, and the new one up the hill that grew around the station after the local landowners made the railway stop a mile away. The Metropolitan line runs out here, so people commute by Tube and still call it country living with a straight face. The chalk stream through the old town dries up every so often, and that counts as excitement in Old Amersham. The last real drama was in 1521, and it was a burning.