Today I found myself in Cranleigh, Surrey for an appointment but with an hour of time to spare. Cranleigh is supposedly the largest classified village in the UK, but the centre is certainly of a scale equivalent to a small town.
However, a vibrant metropolitan community it was not. I walked the length of the High Street - up one side and down the other, also exploring side streets, alleyways and shopfronts, and I have to admit it was all quite uninspirational.
Testimony to the local authority, perhaps, but it all seemed rather clinically clean and tidy.
The pace of life seemed rather sedentary - which is amazing considering the rather excessive abundance of coffee shops in the town. Even the bike shop had a coffee bar in it, just in case you needed to take an espresso on board whilst purchasing a puncture repair kit.
Only a single back-street track emblazoned with CCTV notices and peculiar driving advice gave any indication of a pulse higher than 50bpm.
What was so dangerous about turning round in this (adequately sized) area that warranted monitoring by CCTV?