Return to Medieval times in Warwick & Stratford

It was raining on Saturday, when we left the Lake District, and drove down the motorway towards Stratford. Howard was much happier driving on the high speed roads especially the toll road going around a major city. At one point, there was an overpass going over all lanes of the motorway. The only difference between this overpass and those in America was that this one was for cows. We looked up and there were cows, ambling gently across the bridge. They were not bothered at all by the cars whizzing by them underneath. It was quite a sight to see. The British are very considerate to the farmers who may have had lands on both sides of the motorway. They built special cow bridges for the cows to easily move from one pasture to the other.

We stopped in the city of Warwick just outside of Stratford to visit the very popular Warwick castle. Fortunately, the weather had cleared as we went into the castle. We have a couple of different David Winter cottages of this castle. The Earl of Warwick sold the family castle in the early 1980’s when it became too expensive to keep up. He sold it to Madame Toursards (Same Company as the Wax Museum). They have done an excellent job of restoration, but at the same time have made it a little too attraction like. However, the history which is imparted, as you go through the various parts of the castle, made it very interesting. The weather held off for the most part as we toured the various castle rooms. We had just finished when the heavens opened up as we went to view the outdoor field exhibit. We prevailed, whipping out our umbrellas and putting up our slicker hoods.

Stratford on Avon was only about 15 minutes away from Warwick. The directions to the B&B were right on. We only made one slight wrong turn before finding the place. The B&B is on a street where only permit holders can park. Fortunately, they lease spaces from someone on the next alleyway. It was actually a enclosed garage where we were able to leave the car parked. Parking in the town of Stratford is impossible. Everyone just walks. Fortunately, the B&B is just about 6 blocks away from the main street. Walking down the streets is like walking through a David Winter village with the timber structures all askew. Most of the businesses are in buildings that were built in the 1500’s. If the timbers were off of horizontal, that just was the way it was. What struck us so funny was seeing these very historic buildings playing host to new businesses like Pizza Hut or Woolworths.

Today, Sunday, we drove just a couple of miles away to Anne Hathaway’s cottage (birth home of William Shakespeare wife). The cottage and gardens were charming. It was a shame that the gardens were not in their summer glory. There were still blooms, but the full brilliance had long past. We left there and went to view Arden farm (birth place of William Shakespeare’s mother). They were having an apple harvest and festival. It reminded us Medial Market at Laurie’s middle school. It was interesting to see all of the different crafts used in daily living on the farm.

Our final stop for the day was at William Shakespeare’s birthplace. The original timbered house is in the center of town. The Shakespeare’s history center was next to the house in a newer building. By the time we finished we felt that we had done a credible job of investigating the life and times of William Shakespeare.

The library was nearby, also housed in an old original timbered building. Even though it was Sunday, the library was open and had free Internet service. It was unfortunate that we found this place so late in the day. We only had about 20 minutes before the library closed to get our mail and upload our blog. Pictures take a lot of time so will have to wait.

We are off again tomorrow, Monday, on the last legs of our journey. It doesn’t seem possible that we only have three more nights after tonight before we return home.

On the road again, T&T