Mary Beard? In Tunbridge Wells?
Was that Mary Beard in Tunbridge Wells? Yes it was! Find out more about her visit and listen to what she has to say about Royal Tunbridge Wells in a new podcast series...
On a very wet, grey day in November, Mary Beard, classicist, professor and familiar face on TV, hopped off the train to visit Royal Tunbridge Wells!
Mary Beard was in the town to record an episode of the Hop On Board podcast series for Southeastern Railway. The Council’s Economic Development team and Visit Tunbridge Wells assisted Southeastern in planning the trip and arranged for Alison Finlay, a local Blue Badge guide, to help with the facts and the history of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
During her flying visit, Mary walked with Alison through the Pantiles and Chapel Place. Despite the torrential rain that day…Mary seemed fascinated by the stories and rich layers of history on offer: "my first stop isn’t just somewhere special it’s downright Royal […] it’s like going back in time more than 300 years to this wonderful Georgian colonnade".
The visit was brief, and Mary was soon off to Hastings to continue her historical journey through the south east, but you can listen to what she has to say about Royal Tunbridge Wells in Hop On Board here.
