Roaming Towards Myself

Which is the best thing to do in your city?

Which is the best thing to do in your city?
That’s a tricky question for me at the moment because I don’t really have a city.

I have a backpack, a small suitcase, a very confused sense of direction, and a growing collection of temporary homes across the UK.
Right now, “my city” changes every few weeks. Sometimes it is Teddington in Greater London. Sometimes it is Reigate in Surrey. Right now it is Royston in Hertfordshire. After that, who knows. I am basically a human postcode in transit.
So the best thing to do in my city is probably this:
Go for a walk and pay attention.
Not the big tourist brochure walk. Not the “must-see top ten attractions” walk. Just the ordinary one.
And one of the first things I do anywhere new is go into the graveyard.
Not in a creepy way. Well, maybe a little bit.
But mostly because graveyards tell you things.
They show you the old names of a place. The families who stayed for generations. The people who lived ordinary lives, difficult lives, long lives, short lives. You see dates, patterns, weathered stone, forgotten corners, and sometimes little details that make you stop for a minute.
A graveyard is history without the polished museum voice.
So for me, one of the best things to do in Royston, Hertfordshire, is wander through the old churchyard, read the stones, look at the church, and let the place introduce itself properly.
Then find the local park. Notice the old buildings. Wander past the strange little lane with no obvious purpose. Sit near the water if there is water. Buy a coffee somewhere you have never been before. Read the plaques. Follow the footpath. Get mildly lost, but not so lost that you need rescuing by Google Maps and a concerned stranger.
That is the best thing to do in any city, I think.
Because when you don’t belong to one place, every place becomes a little bit yours for a while.
And honestly, nothing says “balanced day out” quite like a graveyard followed by caffeine.