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Cotswolds Weekend

1/1/2015

11 Comments

 
We spent the past weekend in the Cotswolds and area, learning about Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon and exploring charming English villages in the countryside!
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Blockley - a village in the Cotswolds
We spent Christmas and Boxing Day in Bath, and on Saturday morning we woke up early to head to the Cotwolds. The Cotwolds are a series of picturesque old English Villages in South Central England. Our drive there was enjoyable, with only a couple of wrong turns on the books.

We arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon in time to grab a nice pub lunch before seeing the sites. The weather was chilly (even for the Canadian) but we took the time to wander around Stratford and take in the historic houses associated with William Shakespeare. 
There were five places that were open while we were in the area - Shakespeare's Birthplace (his childhood home), Hall's Croft (his daughter's house), Anne Hathway's Cottage (his wife's childhood home), the church where he was buried, and Harvard House (a house associated with John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University). There are a few other houses associated with Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust but they were either under renovation or closed for the winter.  

We started off at his childhood home where we learned some basic, but interesting facts about Shakespeare - his father was a glover, he had 4 siblings that survived past infanthood, and he married his 26 year old lover at the age of 18 while she was pregnant with their first child... kind of a scandal in the 1500s. We also learned that after Shakespeare inherited the house from his father, he converted part of it into an inn, and another part of it was rented out and used as a pub, the Swan and Maidenhead. 
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As we explored the rest of the houses, we were constantly surprised by the lack of concrete details available on the life of Shakespeare. There are assumptions about the school he went to, the people he may have socialized with, and there is even speculation on how often he visited/lived in Stratford after he made it big in London, although his three children did grow up there. Some of the uncertainties may be due to his lack of descendants; his only granddaughter bore no children. Despite all of the uncertainties regarding the details of his life, he was quite the intriguing character and we're glad that we took the time to see the sites in Stratford. 
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As the sun started to set, we hopped in the car and drove to the quaint little village of Blockley to check into our accommodations for the night. Driving around the community at night was a bit nerve-racking as the two way streets were only wide enough for one lane of traffic - this was actually a common problem in the Cotwolds - and the darkness made it more difficult. We checked into the B&B and walked to the only pub in town where we enjoyed a tasty dinner and drinks before calling it a night.
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The next day, we wandered around Blockley in the frosty morning sunshine and then decided to check out some of the other villages in the Cotwolds. We weren't far outside of Blockley when we saw our first roadkill of many, a partridge. A few minutes later we had a face-off with 20+ partridges on the road and it was obvious how the first guy was killed. We also saw some squirrels and a fox on the road, plus pheasants.

Our next stop was Broadway - no, not that one. We were met by construction works along the way but managed to find a way to the High Street anyway. We wandered around, found random shops called Luke's and Elizabeth's, took photos of the countryside, and enjoyed some tea and sandwiches. We enjoyed the quietness of the village in the off-season, and it turns out that by the time we were ready to leave, the streets had gotten busier and the main parking lot was full.
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Our final stop was the village of Winchcombe. There were a few attractions in the town that we thought we may take in, such as Sudeley Castle and the Hailes Abbey ruins, but unfortunately they were all closed. That's a common problem with travelling in the off-season. Regardless, we walked around the streets of the village, and it felt much different than Broadway. Not many shops were open and the streets were narrower. We also walked on the Cotswold Way Trail through a nearby field, and then wandered on another path in the direction of Sudeley Castle. We turned around before the castle was in sight, but enjoyed our walks nonetheless.
Our drive back to Bath took about an hour and a half, including a slight misdirection and a dying iPhone that we were using for maps. We then spent another day and a half in Bath before going to London where we'll be hanging out until we fly back to St. John's on Saturday. 

In case you missed it, here is the link to our first blog post about this trip:
Bristol Monday

And here is our next post from the trip:
Greenwich Wednesday

AND the travel video we made of our trip to England can be found here!

Here are some more photos from our weekend in the picturesque Cotwolds:
11 Comments
Katie
6/1/2015 08:01:32 am

As I was reading, I was wondering about places being closed for Christmas... It's great that you guys try to see so much history on your travels. And fun finding shops with your names along the way! Your camcorder sounds interesting hehe moving up to vlogs now ;)

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Elizabeth link
8/1/2015 02:22:32 am

Yeah there were a few other things in Bath that I would have liked to check out, but since it's the off-season they were closed. We'll just have to go back in the summer sometime!

You know it, girl! ;) - Stay tuned for the video!

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Liz link
31/8/2015 02:01:35 am

Beautiful post! It conjured up memories of highschool English and reading Shakespeare's works. This trip would be ideal for literature lovers. :) Thanks for sharing!

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Elizabeth link
31/8/2015 10:37:14 am

During our visit, I definitely thought about all of the Shakespeare plays we read in high school. Walking around Stratford-upon-Avon and learning more about Shakespeare's history really put everything in context!

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Kat link
31/8/2015 03:36:56 am

Cotswolds, so picturesque, even during winter. Not many details about Shakespeare's life..interesting..though his works are so renowned. Thanks for sharing :-) #MondayEscapes

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Elizabeth link
31/8/2015 10:40:36 am

It was very picturesque and we were lucky to have some bright, sunny (but chilly) days to do our exploring in the area!

We were also fairly surprised about the lack of details about his life since he is one of the few people whose work had truly stood the test of time. That certainly wouldn't happen in this day and age! It was fascinating.

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Pinay Flying High link
31/8/2015 09:34:28 pm

I absolutely love the Cotswolds! I did a day trip there from London and I immediately regret that I didn't plan at least a night in that area. What you said about the lack of specific details about Shakespeare is true, I too was surprised by it.

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Elizabeth link
4/9/2015 06:19:41 pm

The communities are so picturesque, aren't they?! We spent a night there and could have easily stayed for longer!

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Kendra link
1/9/2015 05:40:20 am

I've been to England a few times but for some very odd reason, haven't made it to the Cotswold yet! Your pics are lovely! And yes, for such a famous guy, amazing how so little is known about him...

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Elizabeth link
3/9/2015 06:51:21 pm

Ah, you'll have to add it to your list for next time! Definitely worth the visit.

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Packing my Suitcase link
3/9/2015 04:21:23 am

That's amazing, so many famous people for one place! I would love to visit it someday :D

Thank you so much for joining #MondayEscapes

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