An English education - Stratford-Upon-Avon to Oxford.

Once we had driven around Stratford-Upon-Avon a couple of times trying to work out the one-way streets we found our hotel was another delightful quirky building (modernised enough to have modern facilities).  We stayed at The White Swan, parts of which dated back to 1450.

Having learned from bitter experience that it could be hard to find anywhere interesting to eat on Sunday nights (and yes, I know many restaurants are closed on Sunday/Monday back home, it's just more inconvenient when I'm on holidays) we decided to use the discount voucher they gave us to encourage us to eat in the restaurant and while enjoying our salad discovered a wall fresco that dated back to the 1600s.

Sorry about the flash glare, it's understandably behind glass these days!

We could have done with the fire being lit but despite a chilly evening we woke to see the sun.  After a late breakfast we set out for a visit to the tourist information and a pleasant and easy walk along the river to Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was buried just two days after his death.

 

We decided to stop for lunch as we strolled back through the pretty streets and decided we couldn't miss a pizza cooked by Marco Pierre White.  I don't think he was actually in the kitchen - but it was while we were enjoying our meal we had a message from our niece Alice giving us the very exciting news that she and her lovely partner Marco were engaged!  Congratulations to  you both and wishing you much love and happiness.

Visits to a few old houses as a change from old castles were next on the agenda!  As always, I'm a sucker for a multi-pass ticket but knowing we had time constraints I stuck to the three sites within the town.  Hall's Croft was the first one we passed.  It was the home of Susanna Shakespeare and her husband, John Hall.  Hall was a doctor and the displays included a medicinal herb garden and some of the tools he might have used.

 Next up was Shakespeare's New Place which I didn't find as interesting.  Only because I really wanted to see old houses and how the Elizabethan's lived, not modern artworks and interpretations.  I still enjoyed it, just not in quite the same mindset.

The last of the Shakespeare family homes I visited was Shakespeare's birthplace.  When he became rich and famous he rented it out and it was turned into a pub - it was still operating as such when it was bought by the Shakespeare Trust.

Old pub sign.  Interesting name.

The glass in the bedroom has been replaced as you can see - once there was a fashion
for visitors to scratch their names into it

We spent the remainder of the afternoon prowling the tourist shops in Henley St but saved our pennies for dinner instead of tat!  

Mmmm, Thai food with plenty of chilli!

We were due to return our car in Oxford so set off the next morning just as the rain returned.  We spent the afternoon wandering around the town and following directions from the tourist information centre ended up at the Turf Tavern.  I can't imagine why they sent us there.

The Bridge of Sighs. 
We sighed as we got wetter.

Outside The Bodleian.

We had received an invitation to dine at Keble College with my friend Ann so we set off for a university experience of the type neither of us ever experienced in our student days.  We had a lovely (three course!) meal on plates which bore the college crest and enjoyed both the general conversation around the table and our pre and post dinner personal conversations with Ann. The conversational subjects were certainly wide ranging!  We really enjoyed experiencing this little taste of Oxford University life.  

I had always wanted to try out another quintessential Oxford experience and go punting on the river but we nearly drowned just walking there so decided to leave that for another trip. 

view from the tower

I also wanted to tour the Bodleian. Alas, the tickets were sold out.  I did manage to take a leaf out of Nicola Marlow's book and climb all the stairs of Carfax Tower to see the view of the "dreaming spires".

This part of our trip being a bit of a literary experience we couldn't miss a stop at the "Bird and Baby" - AKA The Eagle and Child, the pub where the Inkings met.

We also made a stop at the pub over the road, the Lamb and Flag.  We urge everyone to patronise it as it is owned by St John's College and profits go to providing PHD scholarships!  (Also it's got a great beer list.  Ed.)

The next morning saw us heading off by train to the final destination of this trip, London, which is, according to Oscar Wilde, a city of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics.  Not to mention the museums...