June 17 - Stratford and Avon

This was one of my favorite days! First stop was the home of Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, near Stratford upon Avon. We didn’t go inside, just took quick photos of the thatched-roof house and the beautiful gardens.

We did tour Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford, also with a lovely garden, and spent an hour or so there in the shops.

Just a few miles from Stratford is a beautiful area called the Cotswolds - an important sheep-raising and wool selling area until the Industrial Revolution. The world passed them by and it still looks a lot like it did 200 years ago - lots of thatched-roof cottages and little English gardens. We had tea and scones with jam and Devon cream in a 15^th century tavern and then explored the area.

 

 

Look at the detail in this thatching!