Last weekend I maintained my 100% record of a walk every weekend since the start of the year. This wasn’t particularly an aim at the start of all this but somehow it has become compulsive. I planned this weekends walk around Stratford-upon-Avon and it seemed appropriate as it had been Shakespeare’s birthday on 23rd April when he would have been 449 years old. Looking forward to a good bash next year!
We’d also spent Saturday afternoon at the RSC seeing a really excellent play – The Empress. This obviously is not Shakespeare but is a play about the experiences of two Indian people when they arrive in Victorian London. Typically of the RSC it was fantastically atmospheric and towards the end, as the story developed, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I’d highly recommend it.
So after the play we met up with our friends Sue and Neal, went out for a meal and then all made our way back to our house for the night. A cheese and wine party followed and we watched Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. The next morning we weren’t in any particular hurry to get on our way……
After a slow start we made our way back to Stratford for our walk. I based the walk on two separate walks. Firstly, through the town looking at the old stuff and then a stride out along the banks of the River Avon. It turned out to be a good combination and perfect for Sue and Neal who don’t really do walking and don’t have walking boots. Having said that Sue does regularly walk to work so actually she’d already walked 10 miles that week.
Stratford was really busy and we found out that this was because we’d chosen a day when they were hosting the Shakespeare marathon and half marathon. So there were hundreds of terribly fit types of all ages making me feel very inadequate! Maybe next year eh? The town part of the walk starts at the Tourist Information office and we actually used the £1 guide from there which gives various POIs (points of interest) around the town. Good tip Janet- thanks.
I was the guide for the day and we visited Shakey’s birthplace and Harvard House (it was the builders grandson who emigrated to the US in 1637 and who on his death left half his estate and his library to help found the Harvard university). I think our particular favourite, however, was the Holy Trinity Church where we discovered that Shakespeare had been baptised, married and buried. This was doorstep tourism at its best. The number of times Jane and I have been to Stratford but NEVER visited here. It turns out that this is the most visited parish church in the country with 200,000 visitors a year. It’s right next door to the RSC which looks impressive after its £112.8m refurb.
Next we walked down to the river and started the walk along the banks. It was a fairly bright day but sadly the temperatures had dropped again and it was quite blowy. It soon became clear that I had made a bit of a mistake not wearing a coat. I was cold but no use moaning- just needed to keep the pace up! To be fair the path was much less muddy than the last time Jane and I were down by a river (Pershore) and it was an easy stroll as far as Stannal’s Bridge. It was nice to see the heron taking off but other than that the best interest came from seeing all the marathon runners. By the time they got to Stannal’s Bridge they were at 25 miles and had the end in sight. We gave them all an encouraging round of applause. It seemed the least we could do.
We crossed the river here and turned back along the other bank. The path on this side was a little higher up and it was quite green and more wooded on this side with some lovely blossom. We walked back into town, past the chain ferry and had great views of the church and theatre.
We’d had some good ‘talky’ along the way. Jane told us about how they’ve introduced a new concept in her workplace. They don’t just work in teams now- oh no- now they work in villages and Jane had recently won the competition for naming her village- Paradise. Well done.
Neal also updated us on his work happenings. He is a Facilities Manager and he has been told to be ‘more fluffy’. I am not sure he is comfortable with this concept! For most of the walk Jane and Neal chatted avidly about their shared passion of Fantasy Football and films- they’re off to see Ironman 3 together!! Sue and I meanwhile talked about our shared interests of art and the countryside.
By the time we got back into town we’d done 4.5 miles and decided not to go to the Butterfly Farm today. Instead we went into the Pen and Parchment pub for a drop of the local Poets Ink brew and to warm up! And as Prospero said:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, we’re all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air
We are such stuff as dreams are made on
Goodnight and happy belated birthday Will
Walky Talky 