UK Places with "Up" or "Down" in Their Names Quiz

Answer: Charles Darwin

Darwin lived at Down House for 40 years, leaving an indelible stamp upon the house. You can see a lot of Darwin's scientific apparatus, books and specimens in his huge study, and you can walk on his "sandwalk", a gravel path that he walked for his daily constitutional as an aid to thinking.

As a professional biologist myself, I found my visit there to be massively interesting, thrilling and also quite moving. It's well worth a visit. The three incorrect answers options are all contemporary followers of Darwin.

Answer: Upminster

I was born and raised just a couple of miles from Upminster, and a lot of my school friends lived there. It was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, but its main claim to fame is that in 1709 the local Rector, Rev William Derham, was the first person to make an accurate determination of the speed of sound. Upminster Underground Station is the eastern terminus of the District Line, and Upminster Bridge is the next station on the route to London. Close by is a lovely Grade 2* listed windmill.

Answer: A battle in the Civil War

The Battle of Roundway Down was a engagement during the First Civil War between Royalist and Parliamentarian cavalry detachments. The Royalists inflicted a crushing defeat on their foes, who fled. Unfortunately the Parliamentarian cavalrymen were unaware of the geography of the area and consequently galloped over the 300-foot drop at the edge of the Down, sustaining many casualties - about 600 killed and 1,000 taken prisoner.

Answer: Upper Slaughter

Upper Slaughter was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086; the name comes from the Old English word "slough", meaning wetland. Because it's so photogenic it's always packed during the tourist season, like Bourton-on-the-Tourist. In 1906 the architect Sir Edward Lutyens reconstructed the buildings in the village square, and houses there now cost a fortune. No men from the village were killed during World War I, making it a "Thankful Village" (one of only 53 in England and Wales), and when World War II finished with a similar lack of local fatalities it became a "Doubly Thankful" village - one of only 14 in England and Wales. Strangely, two of these 14 are within a few miles of where I live in North Lancashire.

Answer: The Chancellor of the Exchequer

Originally built in 1682, since 1828 Number 11 Downing Street has been the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, the whole set of buildings along that side of Downing Street are an inter-connected warren of corridors and offices, and usage has changed over the years. Recent Prime Ministers have moved into the residential apartments on the upper floors of Number 11 as they're larger than those at Number 10.

The Government Chief Whip used to be based at Number 12 Downing Street, but they've since been moved to Number 9.

Answer: Upton Park

The district of Upton Park in East London was the home of West Ham United FC; their ground was actually called the Boleyn Ground (there are local connections with the Boleyn family), but it was always generally referred to as Upton Park. Sadly this wonderful old-fashioned stadium has now been demolished and the club have moved to sunny Stratford - with precious little success. My Dad was a Hamster; he must be spinning in his grave now. I have to say, though, that I saw Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters play there in their prime - wonderful!

Answer: Downham Market

Downham Market is a nice, sleepy Norfolk town, dating back to Saxon times. History has mainly passed it by, apart from the fact that King Charles I hid there after being defeated at the Battle of Naseby in 1645. One nice thing to see is the lovely decorated black and white clock tower in the old Market Place.

Answer: Cupar

Cupar is a nice little town, with lots of impressive local architecture. Cupar Golf Club, founded in 1855, is probably the world's oldest nine-hole golf course. The surrounding Fife countryside is also lovely; the Scottish Deer Centre is worth a visit, as is the fine 20th Century house at Hill of Tarvit. Cupar should not be confused with Coupar Angus, a small town in Perthshire (no, it's not in Angus!) that's notable for its Abbey and for being the birthplace of the very wonderful Alan Gilzean who played for Dundee, Spurs and Scotland.

Answer: Downpatrick

Downpatrick in County Down is ancient; the geographer Ptolemy listed it as a town in Ireland in about AD 130. St Patrick is reputed to have lived there and to have been buried there in AD 461. The surrounding countryside - known as Lecale - is lovely, with drumlin swarms creating what's called a "basket of eggs" landscape.

Inch Abbey, a few miles outside the town, is well worth a visit. It's also close to Castle Ward, which was used as a filming location for Winterfell in "Game of Thrones".

Answer: Upnor Castle

Near the villages of Upper Upnor and Lower Upnor, Upnor Castle is remarkably well preserved although very different to how it originally looked. It saw action in 1667 when a Dutch fleet under de Ruyter sailed up the Medway and burnt some British ships at anchor; while the Castle's guns did some damage to the Dutch vessels they were unable to prevent the raid.

As a consequence of this action a considerable amount of arms and ammunition were stored there, and in fact it became for a time the largest magazine in England. Strictly speaking, being on the west bank of the Medway makes it a "Kentish Castle" rather than a "Castle of Kent"! It's now owned by English heritage and is open to the public.