Driving down the M74 motorway, I was intrigued by the sign for “Abington Services,” I took the turn-off, but instead of the services, I was attracted by a sign to “Abington – 1.5 miles.”

Abington has a population of around 200 (2011 Census). Though the railway station succumbed to the “Beeching cuts” of the 1960s, the name “Station Road” remains. Despite its small size, Abington has amenities: including the Upper Clyde Parish Church, and the Abington General Store. For the locals, there’s the Abington Community Fire Station for emergencies, the Abington Hall for gatherings, and for the next generation there is the Abington Primary School with 39 pupils.

The Abington Hotel would make a good stop next time we’re headed that way. Abington’s appeal for visitors lies in its picturesque setting, close to the River Clyde with a walk and  hills forming a dramatic backdrop.

The road itself after passing through the village runs parallel to the M74 for a while before rejoining it, and so makes a pleasant detour as I speed back to Abingdon (population 37,931 2021 census) to see what has changed for the blog.

When I say I come from Abingdon it often brings back a memory in people. At breakfast yesterday we met a man and his wife from Ontario in Canada. He had once been in the RAF as a parachutist and did some of his training at RAF Abingdon around 1952. During his time there he did some parachuting as part of the making of the film Red Berets, partly filmed at RAF Abingdon.

The film starred Alan Ladd as an American who enlists in the British Parachute Regiment in 1940, claiming to be a Canadian. The RAF Parachute Training School was at RAF Abingdon from 1950 to 1976.

Being some miles from Abingdon, I wondered what to blog about today. There was an old travel guide in an old bookshop that recommended places around the country. Called Signpost by W.B. McMinnies – published in 1964, the guide has an entry for the Crown and Thistle that begins “Salmon coloured walls and blue woodwork attract attention as you enter Abingdon from Dorchester and if you drive in to the cobbled courtyard you will not be disappointed. For this old coaching inn has just that indefinable air of quality, hospitality and comfort that is so much sought after and so seldom found to-day…

The old postcard was found separately.