This morning woke to a glorious sunny day and decided we'd take the 45 minute train to Stratford upon Avon and have a look around as I had not been there before and Jane wanted to return. So after a healthy bacon, sausage and egg breakfast we ambled down to Moor Street station and caught the 8.46 am West Midlands Railway train.
It was a pleasant trip through green fields and towns with quaint English names. Only a 10 minute walk to the centre of town and time for a coffee. Had a look at Shakespeare's birthplace (from the outside couldn't be bothered going in) and a little wander around town before heading to the canal/river and jumping in a barge for an hour trip through the locks and along the Avon river. Absolutely delightful trip and a different perspective of the town from the water.
After this we had a wander around the church and grounds/graveyard before meandering into town and into the Greene King Rose and Crown for a half pint and lunch. Brilliant timing as the pub had the FIFA Women's World Cup on and we got to watch most of the second half and an emphatic win by the Matilda's. A bit of cheering going on from the few Aussies in the pub.
We then headed off to Anne Hathaway's house via the British Heart Foundation shop for a sun hat for Jane ( who knew you'd need one of these in the UK 😇) and after a leisurely (brisk I was informed) walk we arrived at the picturesque of settings. Was a £14 each entry which was well worth it. Great informative volunteers eager to espouse their knowledge and the cottage and gardens were sensory and beautiful. The orchards which were much later plantings were a bit 'scruffy' but the whole experience was absolutely delightful.
Time to head back to the station to catch the 4.06 back to Birmingham. However luck was not quite with us due to ongoing industrial action and we had to hang around till the 4.43pm all stops Kidderminster via Moor Street local. This was hilarious as not only was it a combination of three trains but the train itself was reduced to only 2 carriages. We were lucky to get a seat opposite a nice couple from Birmingham but it was standing room only for many and the poor half dozen young boys and their bikes at The Lakes station were refused entry.
After the hour trip back, it was a tired walk back to the hotel just in time to make the happy hour and do some laundry. The hotel puts on free wine, beer and nibbles every Monday to Wednesday nights, an excellent idea and a way for people to meet and chat. The laundry was interesting as those without manners or breeding decided to use 3 of the 5 machines for themselves at once and not return to collect for at least an hour after it finished. Etiquette dictates you do not remove others laundry from the machine, but it was getting close to happening when the Spaniards entered and just pulled it all out and dumped on top of the machine, excellent.
After drinks and laundry duties were done we couldn't be bothering with much for dinner so just popped down to Tesco and got a microwave pasta meal that we consumeywith the left bread, biscuits cheese and salami. Another 15km day so it was in bed before 10pm ready for a day of travel tomorrow.
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