The Ham Nomads

28 Aug 2014. <GB-ENG> Stratford-upon-Avon, Warw —

Another day in Stratford, with heaps to do.

First up, Warren went into Maccas and spent two hours trying to catch up on the blog — didn't succeed, but caught up a couple of days. When he came back, we went for a walk along the Avon, through parkland, and then crossing on the "Foot Ferry", the original old chain ferry built in 1937, and still being cranked form one side of the Avon to the other, near the Royal Shakespeare Company's buildings.

We then walked a little further westward on the northern side of the river, and came to Trinity Church, where Shakespeare and most of his family are buried. If you haven't heard his epitaph before, it's worth repeating:

Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dust encloased heare.
Blese be the man that spares thes stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

We then walked back towards town, passing on the way Hall's Croft, the home of Shakespeare's daughter Susannah. Another well-kept Elizabethan home, dating back to 1613, with a garden to match. John Hall, her husband, was a well-to-do and well-respected physician in Stratford.

From here, we walked back past the King Edward VI School and the Guild Chapel, buying a couple of fresh bread rolls for lunch in the van. While we were eating, the heavens let loose, as they had been threatening to do all morning.

After lunch, with the weather drying up, we drove out to the farm where Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother, had been brought up.

There's a slightly funny story about this farm, in that when the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust bought the two adjoining farms, they had thought that one of the buildings was Mary's home, and only through research in 2000 did they find that it was actually the farm next door! Good thing they had decided to preserve both! Here we watched a fascinating display of hunting bird behaviour — they don't call it falconry, as no prey is killed in the demonstration — and, moreover, in Shakespeare's time, under penalty of law only trained falconers were allowed to work with falcons, kestrels, even eagles — but owls didn't fall under this edict!

Distance driven — today, 10 miles ( 16 km ); to date, 6,491 miles ( 10,447 km )