Stratford-on-Avon

We’ve left London and travelled to Oxford, then on to Stratford-on-Avon for our first night. Oxford was very interesting, a place I’ve wanted to see for a while now. There are 37 colleges in the University, we passed quite a few on our walk around, but they weren’t open, unfortunately, so we couldn’t go in for a closer look.

Stratford-on-Avon is a beautiful place, there are a lot of things still here from Shakespeare’s time. We saw Ann Hathaway’s cottage, and went in to Shakespeare’s birthplace – reverently referred to as just The Birthplace. I discovered that the first best bed was usually kept in the parlour, as it was a thing of status to have a four-poster to show off. Guests would usually sleep in the first best bed, while I guess the second best bed was for the parents of the family. Most unusual.

We have a welcome drink with the group tonight, followed by dinner at our hotel, which is a very interesting building, and not modern by any means. The corridor meanders along, up and down a couple of steps now and then, and the room numbering is not what you would call consistent. It has character!