a secret motorway

Summary

There is one British motorway that appears on no maps. We unravel the tale of the M96.

hidden europe 12 / Routes / By Nicky Gardner

We know our way round the Cotswolds area of England pretty well. For many travellers in this area, the A44 road from Oxford's northern outskirts through Woodstock to Evesham provides easy access to one of England's most serenely comfortable rural landscapes - a region of gently rolling hills, villages built of golden Cotswold stone and an improbably large number of enticing pubs. For those who take the time to explore, there are intimate valleys lined with ancient beech woods, textured barns with heavy slate roofs and... the M96 motorway.

Curiously, the great majority of folk who live in the Cotswolds simply don't know of the existence of the M96.

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Editorial hidden europe 12
Editorial

By hidden europe

Welcome to hidden europe 12. The issue features articles on Potsdam's hidden history, the hofjes of Haarlem, the Polish port of Frombork, European night trains and communal living in beguinages.

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Potsdam's hidden history
Feature

By Nicky Gardner

Amid the parks and palaces of Potsdam (near Berlin) is an area known as the Neuer Garten ('New Garden'). For almost fifty years, part of it was an extraordinary 'forbidden city' - a place reserved for the Russian military and the KGB. hidden europe explores this area through the eyes of one woman.

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The hofjes of Haarlem
Feature

By Richard Tulloch

The city of Haarlem is just twenty minutes from Amsterdam. Guest contributor Richard Tulloch shows how Haarlem offers insights into a Holland beyond the big cities of the Netherlands.

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A Polish port: Frombork
Feature

By Nicky Gardner

In Frombork, a tiny port on Poland's Baltic coast, the ferry terminal has closed down for the winter. A lone fisherman sits at the end of the pier and looks out over the lagoon to Russia. But the town where Nicolaus Copernicus lived and worked turns out to have a rare off-season appeal.

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On the night train
Railscan

By Nicky Gardner

After the last of the daytime express trains have left, Europe's mainline railway stations play host to night trains. These are the trains which are the stuff of poetry. We explore some of the very best which the continent has to offer.

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In praise of good planning
Perspective

By Nicky Gardner

The finest cities are an appeal to order. We survey some of the highpoints of European city planning - from ecclesiastical cities to Utopian communities.

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Communal living: béguinages
Hidden histories

By Nicky Gardner

In Belgium, as elsewhere in northern Europe, there are some remarkable béguinages - reminders of an important social movement dating back to the 13th century. Today, these courtyards are havens of quiet that attest to the capacity of women in the mediaeval period to take control of their own lives.

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An edible Eden: Piemonte
Consuming matters

By Peter Wortsman

Not for the first time, hidden europe salivates over north Italian food. Guest writer Peter Wortsman takes a few Piemonte byways in search of truffles, the perfect ravioli and a tongue tingling grappa.

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On the edge: Rezovo (Bulgaria)
Borderpost

By Nicky Gardner

With Bulgaria joining the European Union on 1 January 2007, hidden europe drops in one of the countries more unusual communities - the tiny village of Rezovo that lies right on the Turkish border.

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More than just dots
Money matters

By Nicky Gardner

Why do the Faroe Islands feature on the map of Europe shown on the euro banknotes even though the archipelago is not part of the EU? And yet Malta, a fully paid-up member, is not shown on the map. We ponder one of Europe's great cartographic curiosities.

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Found in translation: Romania
Words

By Nicky Gardner

Marin Sorescu died ten years ago. He was a poet who laughed in the face of adversity. It is something that Romanians do rather well.

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A secret motorway
Routes

By Nicky Gardner

There is one British motorway that appears on no maps. We unravel the tale of the M96.

Read on
Arrivals
Moments

By Nicky Gardner

The finest arrivals are moments to savour. hidden europe recalls a few memorable arrivals: by train in Istanbul, by boat in Venice, by plane in L'viv (Ukraine) and by car in Newmarket (England).

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Unsung Brussels
Snippet

By hidden europe

Les Marolles is a place of smoky bars, tiny shops and rich dialects. hidden europe alights from the train at Brussels' Gare La Chapelle to explore the city's most intriguing district.

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An Azeri national symbol
Snippet

By hidden europe

The Maiden Tower in Baku is a powerful national symbol for all Azeris. But remarkably little is known about this enigmatic structure.

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The Kaliningrad puzzle
Snippet

By hidden europe

There is a part of Russia that finds itself curiously isolated from the Motherland. hidden europe reflects on the Kaliningrad puzzle.

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Autobahn affairs
Snippet

By hidden europe

Motorways come and motorways go! Yes, some routes really do disappear - like the A862 in Germany. And there are rumours that the days of the M10 in southern England are numbered.

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Preview hidden europe 13
Preview

By hidden europe

A look ahead to the next issue of hidden europe.

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hidden europe 12

A secret motorway

Summary

Editorial

Feature

Feature

Feature

Railscan

Perspective

Hidden histories

Consuming matters

Borderpost

Money matters

Words

Routes

Moments

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Preview

At the harbour wall: port cities and the ties that bind

Rites of Passage: Hoek van Holland and the Nieuwe Waterweg

An English Eden: Tresco