The Shakespeare's Avon Way - Stratford Upon Avon (14)

It's great to be out walking again following a knee injury. The old knee is still far from perfect but should be good enough as they say.
Today has got to  be one of the highlights of 'The Shakespeare's  Avon Way. Walking the birthplace and burial place of the great Bard himself. 

Our journey today starts at Bishopton. A low key start I think it would be fair to say. Not much to see really , mainly new build housing estates interspersed with the odd field. We are walking in a clockwise direction though today. We have a little bit of road walking along the A46 before veering off towards Lower Clopton Farm. The Farmer is very protective of his sheep with signs everywhere about keeping dogs on leads.

There is also an interesting sign about disposing of your litter appropriately. The views have improved and there are lots of sheep in evidence.

 

My poor old knee soon gets tested out on a bit of a climb. Glad that I put a strapping on now. Mission accomplished!

Things then look more familiar as the Obelisk in the Welcombe Hills Country Park comes into view. We reach the path that we turned off on last time. We are now heading towards Stratford Upon Avon. In the far distance a Ferris Wheel can be seen. The views are really spectacular in all directions. So much so that we veer of in the wrong direction.

If there is one thing I really love to see it is a folly (and a Motte and Bailey of course).Clopton Tower is an architectural folly which dates from the Imperial period.It is an architectural folly which dates from the Imperial period. It is believed to date back to around 1840 and was built originally as a Folly/Belvedere for Clopton House. It is a Grade II listed building.

Clopton House is a 17th-century country mansion also Grade II listed. It is now converted into residential apartments. In 1605 Ambrose Rookwood, a Gunpowder Plot conspirator lived in the house.   

We drop down on to the Stratford- Upon-Avon canal heading towards Bancroft Basin. 

We are entering the historic heart of Stratford It is a busy place indeed!

Stratford really is a haven for tourists from all over the world. There is so much going on and so much to see. The Bancroft Gardens are located on the River Avon close to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RSC).The Bancroft was originally an area of land where the townspeople grazed their animals, and the Canal Basin formed the terminus of the Stratford-to-Birmingham canal, completed in 1816.

The statue of Shakespeare is the work of Lord Ronald Sutherland Gower, and was presented to the town in 1888. There are also smaller figures of Shakespearean characters: of Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff and Prince Hal; symbolising philosophy, tragedy, comedy an; history.

 

 

The RSC celebrated its fiftieth birthday season from April–December 2011.There have been theatrical performances in Stratford-upon-Avon since at least Shakespeare's day, though the first recorded performance of a play written by Shakespeare himself was in 1746.Very little is known for certain about William Shakespeare. baptised on 26 April 1564 at Holy Trinity in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Traditionally his birthday is celebrated three days earlier, on 23 April, St George's Day.Most of what we do know comes from registrar records, court records, wills, marriage certificates and his tombstone in Holy Trinity Church (pictured above). In 1582, when he was 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was 26.On 23 April, his presumed birthday, he died, aged 52. On 25 April, he was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

 

We continue walking alongside the River Avon.It's a lovely stretch of the walk. We pass a rusty old railway bridge that we cross. The Racecourse at Stratford Upon Avon comes into view. We walk down the edge of it. You can in fact walk right across the racecourse as it is a public footpath. We are heading in the direction of Ann Hathaways's Cottage today though.  

Leaving the racecourse behind we make an uphill treck for the last part of the walk. There are some lovely views looking back towards Stratford. It is just possible to pick out the Ferris Wheel in the distance. It turns out that we don't actually walk past Ann Hathaway's Cottage after all. It would involve a mile or so detour  , there and back. We decide to give it a miss anyway. It has been a great walk, and the knee is starting  to ache a little bit. A lot of history too. The walk in total has been 11.85 miles.