Date: 30th May 2022
Travelled: 80 kms from Stratford-upon-Avon, The West Midlands.
Visited: Stratford-upon-Avon and Leicester
Stayed: Braunstone Reserve, Leicester, free, N52.61420, W01.17790
Budget: 5 days @ $ very expensive per day.
Our overnight stop was very peaceful, there are about 15 campers from VW Combi to huge American RVs that are scattered over the race course campsite, which must be 50 acres. We have already walked the river into Stratford last night and head back this morning for another look around. Itโs grey and cold as it was yesterday when we arrived.
The author of the most quoted lines in the English language, William Shakespeare was born here in 1564 and returned here to die in 1616. This is Shakespeareโs town and from a tourist perspective thatโs what itโs all about.
Except perhaps this week as there is a huge fair and carnival set up along the eastern banks of the Avon. Somehow we doubt the hundreds perhaps thousands of young people milling about waiting to scare themselves silly are here to celebrate the Bard. We have seen several Joe Dirte look-a-likes today so the cliche lives.
The Avon meanders through Stratford creating a series of small islands making for an interesting walk into town.
Lots of half timber buildings line the Bridge and Guild Streets but there are just as many newer building selling Shakespeare tat and Jubilee memorabilia. We also found the leasure centre which has a 33m pool however it was only open for โlapsโ from 11 to 12 and all lanes were booked ? So we continued onโฆ
The ยฃ15pp entry fee to visit the Shakespeare Museum and Birthplace was too rich for our blood, so we made our way back to the Hymer and set the GPS for a carpark in Leicester some 85 kms to the north.
Mostly up the M69 its an easy drive other than the thousands of trucks we share the road with today. We arrive safely some 90 minutes later we are greeted at the car-park by a traffic warden who makes sure we pay our ยฃ2. Once weโve settled we walk off to explore Leicester for a few hours.
Our first point of interest is the London Road, which we follow to the city centre. Locally called the Golden Mile, not for its jewellery shops but its restaurants. We only walked half of it from our parking spot, but weโve never seen so many eateries in a row, both sides of the road. They are mostly small places with all sorts of specials on offer.
Leicester has huge Indian and Pakistan communities so itโs probably understandable that most places have an eastern theme. It would appear no one in central Leicester has a kitchen in their flat. Truth is there is a huge university here and the students are probably there biggest clientele.
Leicesters most recent claim to fame was the un-earthing of the grave of Richard III in 2012. A museum and information centre has been built over the archeological site. So we continue on to Grey Friars to the Richard III Death and Discovery Centre, we are soon paying ยฃ9 pp and go in for a history lesson.
If Shakespeare had not written his play โRichard IIIโ itโs likely Richard may have slid into history and obscurity as he only ruled for two years. His defeat and death at Bosworth Field brought and end to the War of the Roses and commencement of the Tudor dynasty. Anyway we really enjoyed our visit, our only disappointment was Leicester Cathedral was closed and we could not visit his new place of internment.
Itโs only a short walk up the cobbled Guild Hall Lane from the Cathedral to the perfectly preserved Guild Hall (circa 1390). I know as little of the Guild of Corpus Christi as I do the Masonic Temple, but both appear to be a meeting of businessmen and landholders its just that Guild members are Catholic, rather than Protestant (I had to Google it ? )
So weโre wandering back towards the Hymer when we see battlements in the distance, thinking it must be a castle we walk another two block before realising it wasnโt a castle.
So Leicester is done in our fashion and itโs getting late. The parking lot at Victoria Park is busy and we suspect a bit noisy as it services the tennis courts and basketball courts next door. So we set the GPS for a small park in Braunstone on the outskirts of Leicester. We settle in for a quiet evening as does the drizzle on the roof.
Michael + Pam
One thought on “Stratford-upon-Avon, England ๐ฌ๐ง 2022”
Perhaps it’s the influence of the Bard, but your prose in this post struck me as quite literary…. Enjoyed it.