Stratford-upon-Avon

Introduction

We visited Stratford-upon-Avon mainly to see a play at the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre (not a Shakespeare play, but similarly old). While there we also visited various tourist attractions.

Saturday

After checking into our accommodation, we went for a short walk along the river.

Boathouse sheds.
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°42′3″W
Barge ‘Cammell’.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′12″N 1°42′22″W
Colin P. Witter Lock in the River Avon, with unusual steel-girder supports.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′8″N 1°42′21″W
Graffiti and reflected sunlight under road bridge.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′1″N 1°42′28″W
Swan.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′1″N 1°42′28″W
Interesting round building in park.
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′19″N 1°42′23″W
Corner of RSC complex.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°42′11″W

Sunday morning

We visited Shakespeare’s House. This was originally several houses, which were knocked together, then later converted into a pub, before being turned into a tourist attraction. There’s also a modern building next door with an exhibition. (All the Shakespeare-related museums are owned by the same charity; you can get a single ticket to see all of them.)

Nice paintwork and pottery.
1/30 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200
Fancy ceiling.
1/30 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200
Less fancy ceiling.
1/30 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200
Even less fancy stairs.
1/30 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO400
View outside (from garden).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200

In the garden there were a couple of actors providing a Shakespeare-on-demand service (we didn’t request anything). We also found, unexpectedly, a sculpture commemorating Rabindranath Tagore, a famous Bengali poet.

Sunday afternoon

We took a walk along the canal to Mary Arden’s Farm, another Shakespeare-related attraction.

Dolphin Fish Bar. (And, presumably, 32B.)
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Cranes by canal.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Cheerful growling monster face in canal piling.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Pink bridge.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Grey-blue and red bridge.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Looking down into one of the locks.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Nice tree (1).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Bridge over lock end, made in two halves so a towing rope can pass between.
1/400 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Blue house.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200

The farm itself is quite fun - they have demos of falconry, archery, Tudor table manners, that sort of thing. We saw a tame owl and had an interesting guided tour of the farmhouse where Mary Arden (Shakespeare’s mum) lived. The best fact is that for decades historians misidentified it, assuming the it was an older-looking building on the site. But dating the timbers showed that the older-looking building isn’t actually old enough.

I think this is part of a cider press.
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°13′17″N 1°45′39″W
Trees, shadows, roof.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°13′16″N 1°45′39″W

We went back by train from the very pretty Wilmcote Station.

View from station footbridge.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°13′21″N 1°45′21″W
Peach-coloured light on the station building.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°13′21″N 1°45′20″W

Sunday evening

A hill nearby has a large obelisk, and we took a short walk up to see it.

Bright blue graffiti tag on gates.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′36″N 1°42′44″W
Barred windows by canal.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′40″N 1°42′13″W
Obelisk (commemorating a 19th century politician named Mark Philips).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°12′42″N 1°41′42″W
Monumental shadow.
1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°12′41″N 1°41′41″W
Sun behind obelisk.
1/2000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°12′41″N 1°41′36″W
Nice tree (2).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°12′38″N 1°42′0″W
Tree, cable, and obelisk.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°12′37″N 1°42′0″W
Steps down under bridge by canal lock.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′45″N 1°42′21″W

We ate at a restaurant, then I took a few more pictures on the way back to our guesthouse.

Postbox and stripey wall.
1/30 at f4, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′30″N 1°42′24″W
Oxfam shop with patterns and reflections.
1/30 at f5.6, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′34″N 1°42′34″W
Market square clock tower.
1/30 at f5.6, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′34″N 1°42′35″W

Monday

We went to see Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, where Shakespeare’s wife lived before she married him. It has a nice garden.

Police station on the way (not really, that’s a more modern building behind).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′30″N 1°42′38″W
Original floor in cottage.
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
Stairs.
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
Red bed.
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO800 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
View onto garden.
1/15 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
Electric light on a wooden chair.
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
Interior woodwork.
1/15 at f4, 23mm, ISO1600 52°11′26″N 1°43′53″W
Circular sculpture in front of cottage.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′25″N 1°43′54″W
Sculpture in sculpture garden.
1/250 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°44′0″W
R sitting in willow seat where you can listen to Shakespeare clips.
1/250 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′24″N 1°43′55″W

We went back into town and visited a non-Shakespeare-related museum: the Mechanical Art and Design museum. It’s a small but fun museum with lots of weird moving sculpture things, many of the sort where ball bearings run down channels.

This rotates - one part rakes the sand smooth while the other part prints a message into it.
1/250 at f4, 23mm, ISO800 52°11′35″N 1°42′25″W

Finally we had a look at a few other buildings around town.

Black and white alleyway.
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′26″N 1°42′15″W
Reflections in the windows of HSBC.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′28″N 1°42′26″W
Corner of the art deco cinema.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 52°11′35″N 1°42′35″W

All images © Samuel Marshall. All rights reserved.