Chesham

Chesham is where the Metropolitan line runs out of ambition: one track up a valley so cold it has twice been the coldest place in Britain on the night. The locals say Chess-um, and the river is named after the town rather than the other way round. Newcomers get both facts explained to them with the weary patience of people who have done it many times. The old goods yard where the trains once unloaded is now the Waitrose car park, and that is the last century of the town in one tarmac rectangle. Commuters board at the end of the line, so they always get a seat, and then they sit through the longest ride on the Underground.