February 4, 2008 | 12:00am
Riding through small towns across picturesque English villages, I head to meet a friend in the town of Crawley, a town, which she refers to as “Creepy Crawley.” But it really wasn’t as bad as it was described to me; in fact, I loved the thought of a growing old town nestled within a huge country. I’m also pretty sure that in time, more sparkle will add to this unfamiliar destination.
Walking through town, we visited a church with an attractive looking tower cornered by an old cemetery and to my discovery; it was the St. John the Baptist Church, Crawley’s oldest church. Inside, we spotted objects such as a 15th century font and an 18th century organ, which lay untouched. But in this peaceful part of town, I was surprised to learn that the churches’ style of worship is modern Catholic!
Further into town, we enjoyed other large quantities of diverse entertainment such as the Museum Centre situated in Goffs Park, a charming country house with a display of artefacts from the bronze age to the present day, The Crawley Leisure Centre, which offers state-of-the-art facilities and The Hawth Theatre, where popular events within the community take place. These local attractions have so much importance for the residents of Crawley and it felt terrific to be involved! Mind you, there is still so much more to see, but it really depends on what you’re looking for.
Realizing having done so much in only one day, we decided to slowly head back to the modern side of this historical town, to Crawley’s County Mall to take a break from the cold weather, where we enjoyed dinner with great conversation and watched some passers-by!
I reckon that the town of Crawley, which is located in West Sussex, a few yards from London Gatwick Airport, is great for a day trip. So there you have it, a very old town in England’s countryside, which is ironically around the corner from one of the countries’ biggest and busiest airports!
