Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 7 Stratford-upon-Avon

Day 7 (Sun 27)

Having run out of time yesterday, we decided to visit Arthur's Seat.  It is only a couple of miles according to Google Maps.  Having said goodbye to our hosts and thanked them for a lovely week, we took our last run up the ramp, and along the narrow roads.   The ninety degree turn proved difficult in the large car.  It took about a dozen turning manoeuvrers, and another similar turn proved even more difficult at the top of the hill.  Still, we made it round.  Onwards and very definitely upwards.  There were no signs, but I'd guess at 1 in 5 or steeper.  The road narrowed.  Now there was no space to open the car doors; the hedge touching the wing mirrors fairly frequently.  The road surface became less road and more farm track. Another 90 degree left turn although wider than the junctions proved difficult. The road got rougher and steeper.  The wheels began to lose grip, and my 'clever' car reduced the engine revs every time it happened.  We came to a house with a wide entrance and plenty of space on the drive.  The quest for Arthur's Seat was abandoned, a U-turn performed, and we descended; returning to the inn by a more direct route.  Perhaps we should have walked, but I doubt my knees would have survived the return (downward) journey.

Then off to Stratford-upon-Avon, which was slightly more out of the way than I thought, but mad for a pleasant day.  We initially parked in a short stay car park that was being actively managed.  Which was good, because the payment machine was out of order.  Further down the street was another, which has seen so much use over so long that all the buttons where dark grey.  Press the green button, the instruction said.  After a coffee and a comfort break, we moved the car to a long stay car park, then found some lunch.

After that, we visited Shakespeare's Birthplace, and were treated to an excerpt from Romeo & Juliet: the balcony scene, of course.  It's always good to see live theatre, even if it's only for 10 minutes.

4 statues around the Gower Monument

 We wandered around Stratford for a bit, enjoying the culture and the easy-going environment, it was a pleasant sunny day. We bought an ice cream from a barge, and ate it on the way back to the car.  All the while noting all the things we didn't have time for.  By now, the daylight was running out.The journey home was relatively uneventful, until we got closer to London, when the driving became mad, and we suffered a couple of near misses.

Stratford-upon-Avon

After our time exploring Coventry Cathedral the weather had brightened up so we decided to go to Stratford. It is a very nice place and certainly tourist friendly, but last time I was there I was just driving through and it took ages. I need not have worried, we found a car park on the edge of town that had spaces on the ground floor. Our guest is somewhat disabled, so stairs are not a good thing, but at least the parking permit was not required.

The town is beautiful and very well looked after. We went on a cruise boat for 45 minutes on the river. There are some lovely new houses near the river, built on stilts to avoid the flooding problems of a few years ago. Some of Stratford can only be seen from the river. The picture shows Jo enjoying the sunshine and the cruise.

After the cruise was over it was a choice between William Shakespeare's birth place, and his grave. Quite randomly I chose his grave. I knew it wasn't too far because we had passed the church on the river boat. Across the town a little, and past a theatre being refurbished, we stopped and bought ice cream, then onwards to a park next to the river. The path lead to the church. In the park there was a stage, and people gathering around it. One of the theatre companies was about to start a production of The Tempest. We decided to stay and watch - better still it was free.


The actors and actresses had their faces painted and wore modern cloths. The scenes took place in various parts of the park. Here they are making noises of a violent storm and being blown about. When a scene changed we were shepherded from the current location to the new one. "Hurry up you'll miss the play - this is my big scene, you mustn't miss it". They also explained to visitors what had just been happening in the scene they had left. Parts of scenes were played amongst the crowd, and one or two of the audience were used as props occasionally.

Miranda	Sycorax

I'm a great fan of this type of theatre - it is so much more engaging than being in a stuffy building with the actors appearing as dots in the distance. I also enjoy the interaction. Its worth noting that not all the crowd were similarly impressed:
It was such a shame that we could not stay to the end, having to be back at our hosts for dinner at 7pm. It was a brilliant afternoon.