Sniggs Alley & the Oldest Pub in England

“Every town on the multiverse has a part that is something like Ankh-Morpork’s Shades. It’s usually the oldest part, its lanes faithfully following the original tracks of medieval cows going down to the river, and they have names like Shambles, the Rookery, Sniggs Alley …”
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

A walk to find a location from best-selling author Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series of books nestled in the Chilterns countryside close to where Pratchett grew up – and also my childhood home. Sniggs Alley is a place in Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld. It’s also an ancient footpath that runs from Loudwater to the village of Penn in Buckinghamshire. Our quest to find Sniggs Alley starts in High Wycombe and we walk along the A40 London Road to Loudwater before walking into the Chiltern Hills. We then turn towards Forty Green, near Beaconsfield, where Terry Pratchett grew up. At Lude Farm we pass the field where a B17 bomber crashed on 12 August 1944.

Sniggs Alley, Loudwater Buckinghamshire
Royal Standard of England, Forty Green

At Forty Green we stop for a pint on the Royal Standard of England, which is the oldest free house in England and has existed for over 900 years. The final part of the walk takes to Beaconsfield Library where Terry Pratchett spent much time reading and studying.

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