A few days in Stratford

I was still limping around when we got to Stratford. Rachael and I have been here several times before, in fact only last year was the last time. We had a small list of things we wanted to see this time.

We headed off across the road from the basin to reacquaint ourselves with Stratford. Rachael likes getting into large shopping areas and besides having strips of shops, Stratford has quite a few nice little arcades to wander through. We wandered up to the mall, which is the main tourist strip, since it contains Shakespeare's house. I have thrown a photo of the cottage in but we didn't go in this time.

We managed to find a nice little tea house for some lunch, mind you they're not too difficult to find in Stratford. Stratford is quite a tourist trap and things are noticeably more expensive here than we have gotten used to. On our walk we came across this pub, the building dates back to 1594. Seems there has been a pub on this site since 1718.

 
We had almost completed a circuit of the main shopping area when we came across Tudor World which seemed interesting. It was housed in an old Tudor cottage hundreds of years old.

It was mainly a lot of reading with scenes depicting various aspects of Tudor life. I think five pounds each was about the right price. Of course, no Tudor World would be complete without a manikin of Henry VIII.

We had several days to wander so we headed off along the Avon River to Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare and his family are buried. We went into the church, paid our one pound each and headed up to the chancel where the family are buried. Lovely windows in the church!

 I asked what denomination the church was in the care of and as expected it is Church of England. Although, like many churches in England, it has swapped around a few times. This bust is erected above the family plot in the church.

 

And finally, the grave of Shakespeare himself.

As we continued our walk we did come across another heritage building, not terribly different to any of the other Tudor buildings except for the ornate storm water pipes and guttering all made of lead. No water recycling here!

Kevin and I managed to check out a few of the local pubs during our stay. The Red Lion and The Pen and Parchment are both on the canal, just outside the basin moorings and you can moor between them. A very handy situation! Handy too, for a stay lasting longer than 48 hours, our stay lasting about five days.

We headed off back up the Stratford canal towards Wilmcote mooring up after the first four locks to restock the cupboards at the large Tesco, five minute walk away. The town centre is really only good for the essentials. Next stop was for water and a haircut for Kevin while we waited to fill both boats.

We moored at Wilmcote, which is four miles from Stratford, with sixteen locks in between. Ten minutes by car, four hours by narrowboat...a nice leisurely trip!