Saturday 20th
April 2019
The moorings in Bancroft Basin were for 48 hours, we had been there
for 3 days and the basin was full last night so we decided to move. We moved
first thing to avoid the crowds. Passing through Avon Lock onto the river was a
real buzz. We cruised for just a 100 yards or so before winding and headed
upriver before mooring just across from the lock itself with Bancroft Gardens
and the RSC on one side, Tramway Bridge in front and the greenery of the
recreational grounds beside us.
After a cooked breakfast we went for a walk around Stratford with
Sarah, a Shakespearian, who regularly visits the town, acting as our guide,
very interesting. Although we never actually went inside any of the properties,
apart from the church, we visited Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare and
his family are buried, Hall’s Croft, New Place and Shakespeare’s birthplace in
Henly Street.
New Place, built in 1483, was the home of Shakespeare from 1597 until his
death there in 1616. One Rev. Francis Gastrell, owned the house in 1756 but,
having become tired of visitors, attacked and destroyed a mulberry bush in the
garden said to have been planted by Shakespeare. In retaliation, the
townsfolk destroyed New Place's windows. Gastrell later applied for local
permission to extend the garden. His application was rejected and his tax was
increased, so Gastrell retaliated by demolishing the house in 1759. This
greatly outraged the inhabitants, Gastrell was eventually forced to leave town
and apparently today, it is still forbidden for anybody with the surname
Gastrell to purchase property in Stratford.
Of course, Stratford owes its place as a tourist destination to
its association with William Shakespeare, but it is a lovely town in its own
right with lots of terraces of very old buildings interspersed with more modern.
There were hordes of people enjoying a hot and sunny Bank Holiday.
Upon return the boat Aaron gave me a blast out in his new car,
scary at 80mph, before they left us. In the afternoon we went to the Attic
Theatre so see a performance of King Lear. We had wanted to see a show while in
Stratford, it has to be done, but tickets in the RSC were £45 each. The Attic
is considered a fringe theatre but people were telling us they preferred the
Attic because it is more intimate and close up with the actors. The performance
was 3 hours long and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. It was brilliant.
Back on the boat we sat in the front cratch watching all those
people enjoying themselves and all the activity on the river.
A great day. We are really enjoying Stratford and feel as though
we are on holiday.
Weather: hot.
Day Total: 14 locks; 0 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift
Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 4.9
(including running for hot water etc)
Overall Total: 457 locks; 823 miles; 42 tunnels; 11 Swing Bridges; 3
Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 545.5
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