Stratford and Broadway
Wednesday, 6th December, 1989
Postcard Anne Hathaway's Cottage
tratford-on-Avon and Broadway. A fairy tale day spoiled by the nightmare trip home when the fog came down so thickly that we could not see the turnoffs. However, the rest of the day was great. We drove through country roads to Stratford, passing old half timbered cottages and picturesque inns. What knocks me out so much is that these incredibly old places, occupied for about 400 years, are still being lived in by ordinary people! They aren't museums, they are homes and the English take it so much for granted! We passed through Droitwich Spa, very attractive in black and white, and arrived at Anne Hathaway's Cottage at Shottery, just outside Stratford, just before 11.30.
Shakespeare's Birthplace
e went over the cottage (the good thing about it being winter, as we found in London, is that there are not very many tourists, it would be overrun in summer). It is quite incredible to think that Shakespeare sat on the settle by the fireplace and walked the floors. We took a lot of photos and bought some postcards, just in case they didn't turn out. Then we went into Stratford.
Stratford on Avon Street
hakespeare's Birthplace is in a pedestrian mall and you go in through the Shakespeare Trust's Visitors Centre, passing on the way a lovely display of costumes and sets used in the BBC production of the complete works. The Birthplace is a museum (of course) and is very interesting. We signed the Visitors' Book, bought some cards and souvenirs, then went off down the road to Broadway, in the Cotswolds.
Broadway Street
roadway is known as the prettiest Georgian village in England and it certainly was lovely, with old sandstone buildings lining the main street all decorated with lights and wreaths of holly. I keep saying it looked like a Christmas card but it is hard to avoid the cliche, in a wintry December in this kind of atmosphere. We had afternoon tea in a specialist tea shop with the most incredible range of teas, with caddies, pots, strainers - everything. We bought a quarter of their English Breakfast blend and a pretty miniature caddy for my box collection and a tea strainer, which we needed anyway, the parents having provided leaf tea rather than teabags.
t was dark when we started back and the fog came down. We couldn't find the turnoffs and I was really scared because we literally could not see anything through the windscreen! Mac didn't care for it either, especially with me wittering on in the background. However, we got home safely, eventually. Whew!
