Round the World in 365 days: UK

We had a 'window of opportunity' to see a bit of the Cotswold region as we travelled from Wales to London so with just a day and a half available we drove to Stratford Upon Avon. On our way we passed through the village of Hillesley so naturally, had to stop & have a look around, the spelling was close enough for me to think possibly that I had some ancestors who had lived in this village at one time. Unfortunately that was not to be, it was Sunday morning & there was a church service just finishing up as we walked into the graveyard to have a look at some headstones. I spoke with several of the parishoners & the minister but none of them had ever heard of anyone using the village name as their surname, oh well it was worth a try!

View Grant enjoyed during his birthday lunch

It was Grant's 60th birthday so we stopped at a lovely pub high on a hill with magnificent views over Cheltenham to enjoy the Sunday Roast, always been a favourite of Grant's so that was appropriate. Three courses & a couple of ciders later we headed to Stratford Upon Avon arriving in the late afternoon. It was a glorious, balmy evening so we strolled into town (no dinner tonight still too full from lunch) just to get our bearings a little. Luckily Grant has a good sense of direction as I seemed to always be turning the wrong way in this town, is it because there are so many similar buildings?

A lovely example of the buildings in Stratfore Upon Avon

We hadn't expected it but there is a hop on-hop off tour here, the massive number of tourists (500,000 pa) plus the fact that two of the major tourist sites are some distance out of town makes the bus viable during the summer months. We did the full circuit then stayed on the bus to go back to the first out of town venue, Anne Hathaway's cottage, so called because this was her childhood home, she never lived here once she married William Shakespeare. This is a magnificent thatched farmhouse with gardens, arbours, an orchard, a maze & plenty of grasslands for picnicking etc. The structure itself was in excellent condition and although it had been extended by subsequent generations of her family it still had the feel of a family home. There wasn't a square or flat surface in the whole place, every piece of wood was rough hewn or curved & the walls were irregular but it was charming nonetheless.

Anne Hathaway's family home

Back on the bus for the trip to Mary Arden's Farm, this was in a neighbouring village & had been the childhood home of William Shakespeare's mother & the place where his parents had first met. The buildings were again thatched & misshapen, the rooms had low ceilings, the doorways were diabolical but it was wonderful. All the farm out-buildings, including a dovecote, were as they had been 500 years ago, with actors in costume giving talks & demonstrations of farming life to school groups. Pigs, horses, chickens, geese, sheep, goats, cider press driven by a horse, all you would expect to find on a farm in the 1500's.

Farmhouse with its precarious walls, that is the dovecot at the end

While travelling the miles round the countryside the commentary included a bit of filler type information such as:

Doctors in William Shakespeare's day, used to dangle a small frog down your sore throat, the frog secreted a saliva which the patient swallowed (yuk), this is where the saying "having frog in your throat" came from.

Beds in this era were supported by ropes strung across the base. The bed was much more comfortable if these ropes were pulled taut, thus the saying "sleep tight".

The four poster bed was invented because the thatched roofs were unlined and as you slept dead animals (mice & birds), their excrement, dust & general rubbish would fall from the roof, so putting a piece of cloth over the top of the bed on four posts was a logical solution to the problem.

The tradition of the 'June Bride' came about because the first weekend in June was the date, in Elizabethan times, for the 'once a year' bath so at least the bride was clean for the day of her wedding (I guess the same applied to the groom).

Once back in town we went to William Shakespeare's birthplace & family home. This cottage was not thatched, that hasn't been allowed in town since the 1600's to help prevent the spread of fires. It was not white like so many of the others, painting them white with black timbers is a comparatively new decorative addition, mud & wood, that's the correct colour! You are not permitted to take photographs inside any of these Trust properties so sorry you only get to see the outside!

A bite of lunch then a short walk to the Nash House & New Home complex. 'New Home' was the home he & Anne lived in when they moved back to Stratford Upon Avon with the children (3) after becoming rich & famous in London. Unfortunately it was demolished back in the 1700's when the then owner refused to pay taxes on it. They are now doing an archeological dig to find the foundations & any artifacts that may be buried there. The gardens are quite large especially for the times & they are kept beautifully. Nash House is the adjoining property which was there at the time New Home was the family home & it is being used as a museum. There is a very good film introduction that leads you through a bit of history, taking you from room to room with artifacts etc behind glass that light up as the film discusses them until eventually you are lead into the garden area. Outside they had costumed staff giving short recitals of Shakespearean pieces etc.

Nash House & the archeological dig to find the foundations of
Shakespeare's home

Then as we walked back towards our B & B we detoured to Dr Hall's residence. This was the home of Shakespeare's daughter Elizabeth who married Dr Hall. There were many original pieces of furniture in this home.

As we walked & rode through town we saw heaps of fantastic buildings, like the Almshouses which were built by the church to house the deserving poor or elderly. They are still used for that purpose, but I do wonder how they are still standing with those wobbly walls! These were right next door to the school that Shakespeare attended which has of course been extended but the historic section still stands on the street-side.

Another example of the buildings

The next morning we headed off to drive through a section for the Cotswolds, visiting three places that had been recommended:

Morton-in-Marsh, it was market day & the place was 'hoppin'. We had a delicious cream tea at tearooms here.

Some of the beautiful golden limestone buildings in Morton

Stow-on-the-Wold, so busy here we couldn't even get a parking place so the photos are taken from the moving car!

Luckily we were able to drive slowly to get a few snapshots

Bourton-on-the-Water, now this was a picture postcard sort of place with a small stream running through town, bridges galore, quaint pubs, loads of spring flowers, lovely park beside the stream, all the trimmings of a tourist destination including busloads of people!

Just a little snippet of the beautiful homes/pubs etc

Grant crossing one of the numerous bridges over the shallow stream

We returned our hire car to Gatwick Airport then caught the train into London for our short visit, only three nights but long enough to see the main sights. Well, arriving at peak hour wasn't a good idea, talk about sardines on the underground. It was a great relief to get into the open air & after a bit of a search to find our hotel at the new Westfield Plaza which is part of the Olympic Athletes Village area & we had a 'lovely' view of the construction zone from our tenth floor window!

St Paul's Cathedral

Crossing the Tower Bridge on our double decker bus

Off into the city today, the underground was much less busy & we found it quite easy to use, thankfully I had printed up a copy of the underground system before I left home (it was worth carrying that sheet of A4 for five months just to have it available when we needed it). A bus trip round the city was fabulous, the live commentary was really funny & interesting. Although it was a cold day we still sat on the top deck to make the most of the view (what a shame we didn't bring our coats) but a hot chocolate helped us warm up. We walked quite a bit & decided what we wanted to come back to see tomorrow.

Entrance to Westminster Abbey

Proof that I actually rode on the London Eye!

Next day we started with the London Eye, what views, magnificent & we got plenty of classic shots of London. Walking over London Bridge we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, then we continued through the city streets to Buckingham Palace & St James Park. We took the underground to near the Tower Bridge, walked through the streets & along part of the Thames Path, over the Tower Bridge, along the quay in front of the castle then short cut through the streets to the Monument where Grant still had enough leg power left to climb the 311 steps to the top for some panoramic views.