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| The County of Surrey |
The River Thames bounds the town from the north.
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| River Thames and the Walton pubs The Angler and The Swan |
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| Many swans inhabit Walton - The Queen owns all the wild swans living in the open water in the UK |
Now, for a quick history lesson detour: Surrey was inhabited by the Romans and it is said that Julius Caesar sailed the Thames through Walton on his second invasion of Britian. The region was eventually conquered by the Saxons. The Vikings sailed up the Thames attempting to take Surrey but were defeated by the Saxons. In the Middle Ages, the Normans invaded. In early modern times, the early Tudor kings constructed magnificent royal palaces in northern Surrey, in convenient proximity to London. Just 10 minutes from our house is the gorgeous Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's homes. Needless to say, there is an incredible amount of history here. OK...now you can wake up.
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| Hampton Court Palace - Anne Boleyn's ghost supposedly resides here |
Famous people born in Walton include Julie Andrews and Nick Lowe (he is the singer of one of my all time favorite songs, Cruel To Be Kind).
The town of Walton has undergone a huge transformation over the last five years. The old town center was built in the 1960s and had become very run down due to poor maintenance. The Heart of Walton is the name given to the re-development of the Walton town center. In 2006, The Heart opened and includes a shopping mall and apartments.
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| The Heart shopping mall and apartments |
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| There are lots of outside dining options in Walton - people eat out side rain or shine, winter or summer |
We really enjoy living in Walton as we like walking to town to shop and eat. There is a movie theater and a wonderful library (Zoe has read about half of their books already!).
For us, Walton is the perfect town for our home away from home in the UK.
Linda
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