I was visiting Denbies vineyard near Dorking, 21 miles from London, (about 34 km), when I saw a picture of a quaint historic pedestrian precinct. That prompted my group to take a drive through Dorking on our way back to London. As we drove through Dorking we passed this bronze statue, which looks life size although I've read it's slightly smaller. It shows composer Ralph Vaughan Williams who lived and worked in the area.
Vaughan Williams composed The Lark ascending whilst working in this area. You can hear it on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR2JlDnT2l8
The statue is outside the Dorking Halls, a complex containing a cinema, theatre and swimming pool.
Dorking has delightful architecture from all eras and so many eating places we were shouting each other down as we passed them and called out the names. The area has about twenty pubs and as many restaurants. I haven't yet tried them because we'd already had elevenses at Denbies, then a tour of the outside of the vineyard, then a tour of the inside of the vineyard, then lunch in their upstairs restaurant with panoramic view. (Which I shall show in my next post.)
Other interesting monuments, in addition to the memorial to Vaughan William (12 Oct 1872-26 Aug 1958) include the metal Dorking Cockerel on the A 24 roundabout.
I also spotted another roundabout whose centre was adorned with two metal Cyclists.
http://www.dorkingandleatherheadadvertiser.co.uk/Steel-cyclists-sculpture-chosen-Dorking/story-15040491-detail/story.html
Dorking is definitely worth a drive through, a stop or a stay.
More information and photos of Dorking on Wikipedia, also article on Ralph Vaughan Williams.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Vaughan_Williams
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, author and speaker. See more about Angela Lansbury author and poet and English teacher, on YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. Books by Angela Lansbury are on Lulu.com
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