One of the buildings that was completely accurate (and only moved a 100 metres or so to the left!) was The Boatman, which became The Boathouse in the book. It's an old pub, built in 1595, and I spent a good part of my late teens there.
I am feeling sad, because the new owners have modernised it. I peered in through the windows a couple of nights ago, and the beams, stonework and olde worlde atmosphere has been stripped - replaced by plastered walls painted pale colours and brighter lighting,
It's no longer the place where a weary ghost would sit on a stormy summer evening waiting for Rona to notice him, or where candles would lure Sally towards the sexy stranger in town. It's no longer special.
Have there been changes in your town you've hated?
Do you like old buildings, or is modernisation a good thing?
