Read the article below and answer the questions at the end of the text. Clues to the answers can be found within the text:

What do I look for on a day out? Scenery, history, architecture (churches, abbeys, castles), famous people, literary links, quirkiness, good food... Yes, I know: railways.

A soupçon of sunshine helps.

So, this cloudless day is a good start. And I quite like the fact that this compact town has an old castle and a new castle. I have found the former — still impressive, sitting ruined amid its earthworks. The new castle, dating from 1750, was the home of a statesman ("I will back the masses against the classes"). Back at the car, I plot my onward course to the outskirts of a second small town, five miles west-southwest — the site, marked by an obelisk, of a bloodless battle. Tradition says that here, circa AD430, Christians drove off marauding invaders merely by banging their shields and chorusing "alleluia". Impressive.

Battles, castles... a good start, I muse, as I motor southeast to a large town. It was the birthplace, in 1884, of a man who, in 1926, became the first person to break two world land speed records on consecutive days. I, in less of a hurry, take time to explore, then plan my next move. Four miles southeast, a riverside village (possibly Roman), literally "woodland enclosure" — the site of a monastery, founded by a 6th-century saint (his day: September 11). It was destroyed, with the loss of 1,200 lives, by a king (father: Aethelric). There is nothing to see now, so I drive nine miles south-southwest to find two things that definitely remain. One, a 570yd, 21-arch viaduct, claimed, when built in 1848, to be Britain’s longest. And two, a mile to its northwest, a scheduled ancient monument dating from 1795. Amazing what you can do with ox blood, lime, lead, flannel and liquid sugar.

Only later, four miles west-northwest, as I conclude my travels at the ruins of a 13th-century Cistercian abbey, do I reflect, beneath the setting sun, on a day approaching perfection. A day of castles, towns, heritage, battlefields, architecture, abbeys... And railways. Did I mention railways?

The questions

1 What is the name of the ‘compact town’?

2 What is the name of the viaduct?

ENTER THE COMPETITION

Enter by clicking on the link above by Wednesday. The winner will be announced in next week’s Directions. Only one entry per person. Normal Times Newspapers rules apply. No correspondence will be entered into

The prize: The winners will spend a week, on a chalet-board basis, in a Snowline chalet in Val d’Isère. The resort hosted this year’s Alpine World Ski Championships, and shares one of the most exciting and varied ski areas in the world with its neighbour Tignes. It offers nearly 190 miles of pistes and more than 24,000 acres of off-piste terrain, as well as fine mountain restaurants and bars such as La Folie Douce. Snowline’s chalets are well located and provide spacious and comfortable accommodation.

The prize includes return flights from London or Manchester and transfers, and must be taken between January 3 and March 28, 2010, excluding February 14-21. It is subject to availability.

The established chalet specialist Snowline also offers smart chalets in La Plagne, Méribel, La Tania, Morzine and, new for this winter, Alpe d’Huez. For more details, call 0844 557 3118 or visit snowline.co.uk.

LAST WEEK

The answers to last week’s competition are Bat & Ball and William Sevenoke. The winner is Sheila Walsh of Nottinghamshire, who wins a luxurious long weekend in Paris, as a guest of Le Méridien Etoile and Eurostar.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

This competition is open only to registered Times Online members.

If you are already a Times Online member, please ensure that you are logged in. If you are not logged in, then you will be required to enter your username and password before you can proceed through to the competition entry form. Click the "ENTER THIS WEEK'S COMPETITION" link above to proceed.

If you are not a member, and this is the first time you've entered the Where Was I? competition online, you will need to register your details with us. Online registration is free, should only take a few minutes to complete and you will not be required to register for future competitions. Click the "ENTER THE COMPETITION" link above to proceed.

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