Tamworth is located in the South East of Staffordshire, around 15 miles North East(ish) of Birmingham, where the River Tame meets the River Anker. It's primary route is off junction 10 of the M42, but some of the country routes are more interesting. The name probably comes from the river Tame and a fortification ("Worth") which was redeveloped into the castle in Norman times. The town today covers just 12 square miles and has a population of 76,000, give or take a few monthly births, deaths and new residents escaping from Birmingham. Believe it or not people have lived in the area since Roman times around 1500 years ago but it wasn't until the Saxons took over management of the country that Tamworth had any real consequence (around 6AD more or less). Tamworth was capital of Mercia - no honestly it was - and the home of King Offa, who had a large mound of earth surrounding the place, creating of course Offa's Dyke.

As the years progressed Tamworth had other little niches carved out for it, including being the home of Robert Peel and having one of Guy Fawkes' conspirators amongst its MPs. Perhaps of less significance is the fact that Tamworth was the home of Reliant 3-wheelers, but hey, nowhere is perfect!

So much for the potted history, if you want to know more I'd suggest visiting the Tamworth Heritage Trust site at: www.tamworthheritagetrust.co.uk.

So what about today? Well the town has a population between of around 75000 and is growing at 8000 people per year at the moment, what with births and people moving in. The features of the town most people will be familiar with are the Snowdome, Drayton Manor, Stryker's Bowling Alley, the Castle and Ventura Park. Surprisingly - even to some residents - is that life outside these fine establishments is not only available but thriving as well.

Tamworth on the whole retains its 'towny' feel, the atmosphere in the centre on a sunny weekend is laid back and unhurried, the parks are full of families and the litter is on the whole- remarkably - stuck in bins. The canal's and river walks are well kept, if not exactly modernised like Birmingham and Manchester's, but perhaps retain more charm because of this.

The markets are busy but seldom hectic and even the skateboarders apologise when they knock the grannies over.

What more could you want?