Stratford on Avon by bicycle, tour bus and foot.

William & Anne's Day Guest
Stratford on Avon by bicycle, tour bus and foot.

Yesterday I arrived in Stratford from London by train.

As we passengers were getting up I asked the fellow
across from me if he was taking a cartooning class or
was a cartoonist. Turned out he is an extablished
editorial cartoonist and was going to Stratford to
give a cartooning workshop for children in a tent in
front of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

We talked briefly. I shared the cartoons I have done
during the trip and then asked to buy a copy of one of
his books. Coincidentally he happened to have a copy
or two for sale with him. Ha ha.

Off with my bags to find a B&B.

My first time in 1977 I found one quickly. 

Both times Merry I came in 1978 we found B&Bs quickly within a
couple blocks of the train station. I walked by where
my previous ones had been back then and are gone now.
I turned right down a lane of continuous row houses
looking for a B&B hanging sign. Made a complete loop
stopping a couple getting into their Jaguar to ask
where I might find one. They were only visiting a
friend.

Back to the main road where I had seen an Inn with
rooms starting at 89 lbs ($120+), not to my liking or
chosen budget. Just as I turned to the right my eyes
saw B&B signs hanging from houses across the street.

First one became mine...35lbs with complete, I do mean
COMPLETE English Breakfast with items of my choice.

They carried my bags up to my room, THE YORK and then
off I went to rent a bicycle to use for the next 24
hours for traveling around Stratford.

First goal...buy a ticket for the Shakespeare
Play...Twelfth Night.

As I was locking up my transportation, my trusty
stead, someone said "going to the theatre?"

I turned to see Tayo, the cartoonist from the train.
Begin him was the tent and cafe that I learned later
was the site of his cartooning class.

Off to wander by bicycyle along the vast array of
trails, paths, streets and roads, parks, picnic
grounds, waterways, tourist spots.

William's birth home. Anne Hathaway's home. Wm's
son-in-law...John--the doctor. Wm's mother's
home...etc., etc., etc.

With this being my 4th visit to Stratford, coasting by
them on my bicycle was enough. I love the street
scale and the medieval architecture. The brown wood
and white stucco was from Wm's time. The black and
white image came in the 1700's as the style of the
time.

Every building: window, door, baywindow; is different.

Zipped around visiting my favorite spots on the Avon:

the theatre
the locks
the pedestrian bridges
the parks that surround the theatre completely on both
sides of the Avon
the trails

Yesterday the town was filled nearly to capacity by
about 2:00 pm with visitors and tourists.

In one of the shops I stopped in, a shop with
beautiful ceramics, I asked the owner a man a little
older than me (dirt that is), what is it like to live
in a such a famous tourist town. He said he lived in
the country and only came into town to open and run
his shop.

Then I had an ice cream and jumped on an open top,
double decker bus to tour Stratford from 10 or so feet
in the air, above the ocean of tourists. We toured
past all the favorites and then the special part I
didn't expect...we drove out into the countryside.
Constable never gave the countryside enough justice
even in his beautiful paintings.

So beautiful. So peaceful.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. Warm not hot.
Blue, blue, blue skies with an occasional puffy pure
white cloud. Light to mild breezes all day long.

Off the bus and back to my bicycle to see more
streets. Found a Thai restaurant and headed to my B&B
to change for dinner and to cycle to the theatre.

12th Night was fun.

I was apparently pretty tired because I kept dosing
off during the play throughout the first act. After
the break: loving the night view of the Avon with a
cold Pepsi (sorry Atlanta) it was back in to stay
awake during the second act. The actors were great.
12th is very funny and the director and actors were
very creative in how they blended the original script
with the era they chose to represent with the
clothing..1800s early 1900s...electric lamps on tables
with Rennie Macintosh chairs on stage.

Hoping on my bicycle I wandered through town in the
dark in search of a dessert place and ended up
stopping at a grocer near my B&B and crashed.

Up again before 7 this morning to walk around before
breakfast in search of special gift shoppes. Back at
7:58 for my scheduled 8:00 breakfast of

English bacon (large pieces of ham)#
sausage
wheat toast
grapefruit (pink and white) and orange slices
tomatoes
mushrooms
two lightly fried eggs
and lots of orange juice.

My London hotel could learn from my Stratford B&B.
Acutally they could learn from any B&B I have ever
stayed in.

Then it was off to Warwick Castle by bicycle, 8 miles
away. It was raining slightly...English rain...a
slight drizzle. Put on my jacket and sweater and off
I went.

Got out about 3 or 4 miles discovering that I had to
cycle on a 50+ k narrow road and that Warwick was more
like 10 to 12 miles away and up hill much of the way.

The rain was not a problem.
The coolness was not a problem.
The distance was not a problem.
The time (90 minutes) was not a problem.

I simply don't have the strength to maintain hills
right now. Flat land? No sweat, well some sweat.

So I turned around and headed back with a new plan to
return to the other side of the Avon and bicycle out a
couple, very, very flat miles along the river and
canal.

In a few minutes I leave for Salisbury to meet a new
Cyberspace Creativity friend, John Thomas, and to
visit Stones, Stonehenge for the 4th time.

Have a wonderful day.

Wandering Alan