Stratford Upon Avon

I know I said that after Edinburgh we were happy that we'd seen the best of the UK, and that that was the last of our little road trips, but old habits die hard I guess.

So with beautiful sunny weather dousing the country in a festive spring atmosphere (the complete opposite in fact to the snow last weekend!) we decided it would be simply sinful to sit at home and not get out there and enjoy it.

Stratford Upon Avon is a wee town only about an hours drive away so it's amazing we haven't yet got there really, but that said - it made it an ideal place to go and visit after church on a sunday afternoon.

Beautiful little town, set on the banks of a sleepy part of the Avon river, with loads and loads of great theatres (not that we got to go to any) owing their existence mainly to the towns most famous son, one William Shakespeare. Really beautiful little place, with loads of really cool OLD tudor style buildings. If I was going to be a fan of any old school british Architecture it would definately be these old tudor style buildings, I think I just marvel at the fact that they can remain standing with beams and key structural bits that are SOOOOO far from being straight! Gracefully unorthodox! We decided against heading in to Shakespeare's Birthplace at £10.50 a head opting instead for taking a picture outside it (the first of the smaller pic's above and left) and a meander through the town. Joelle (my Sister) benefitted from this meander with a belated birthday present, and Mez also with a beautiful skirt for use in Oz, as well as a funky new hoody for the grand total of £7!! Then we wandered along one side of the river, a brief pause to feed Abbey, relax for a bit and take some gorgeous pics of Mez and Abbey (after a realisation last week that we had loads of photo's of Abbey, loads of me and Abbey but very few of Mez and Abbey!) We then meandered laconically back up the other side of the river.


We went inside yet another beautiful wee church, Holy Trinity Stratford, which has as its claim to fame, that it was Shakespeare's church, and of course that it houses his mortal remains. One can view the tombstone too, for a fee! We even had a beaut wee reminder of home, that made me chuckle just thinking about all the bad sheep jokes made at NZers' expense... i'm sure we'll get plenty of such in Australia. Got to embrace that eh? So here's my ode to NZ on a UK street sign. (below)


It would have been an absolutley idyllic afternoon, were it not for the parking attendant we noticed skulking away from our car which stood almost alone in the car park building, it's ticket having expired a mere 15 minutes earlier. One gets a ruefull sense of justice if one gets a ticket after having tried to cheat the system and not pay, but that sense of justice is somehow distorted to righteous indignation when one has paid but through a simple error of timing while out enjoying the sun one has been lumped with a significant fee. Surely this would be more understandable if in the midst of a busy day, but when your car is one of only three on the floor of the building it's riling to say the least. This is clearly a moneymaking scheme on behalf of the local council, and not especially tourist friendly to say the least!! I considered writing a strongly worded letter. I considered simply leaving the country without paying it. Then I thought.... naaaaahhh who cares? And just paid it. Or asked Mez to at least. Such is life! With the sun setting in the rear vision, we put it, and Stratford upon Avon behind us.