Solo Adventure: Part 7 - Stratford Upon Avon

Situated in the county of Warwickshire; a merely 45minutes train ride from Warwick Train Station...is a historic town called Stratford-upon-Avon. A hometown to the infamous poet & playwright; Mr. William Shakespeare. Ok siapa ndak kenal Shakespeare; sila google. 

Visit to this place was indeed impromptu. It was Ernie *who else could it be* whom suggested me to go here after 'conquering' the Warwick Castle. Thus I had to forego my return Warwick to Birm ticket, nasib baik burned £3.50 jak because I decided to follow Ernie's suggestion. Bought a new ticket from Warwick to Stratford...and later went back to Birm straight from there. Journey to Birm takes about an hour. 

And yes; I did not regret my decision on the last minute plan. Stratford is a beautiful town. Old buildings are well maintained, just like in Oxford. Minus the carvings though. Centre of the town is quaint & attractive. It is built on the river Avon. The name 'straet-ford' indicated that it was a river crossing. 

Paid an extra of £11 for the Warwick-Stratford-Birm ticket. It's not like everyday I could go to Stratford. 

Main attraction of this town; in which it benefits the most. The very house where Shakespeare had spent his childhood. It took me less than 10mins to reach this house from the train station. By foot it was. Once u're out from the station, walk along the road...leaving the station behind. On the 2^nd traffic light, take the first junction on ur left. Walk ahead until u see the sign, the house is on the right side & it's impossible to miss the house. 

Upon entering the entrance hall, we were entertained with some of the movie inspired from Shakespeare.

A restored 16^th-century half timbered house located in Henley Street. Typical of house at that time, it was constructed in wattle & daub around a wooden frame.

Traditional door knob. Antic habis.

Glass windows inscribed with signatures of visitors to the house over centuries. 

View to Henley Street from the upper level of the house. 

The desk where I was told Shakespeare used to write his 'arts'.

Birthroom.

Ignore the fire extinguisher. Kacau gambar betul. Ngek.

Shakespeare Visitors Centre is the one with the modern glass & concrete building. It is the headquarters of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. And also the gift shop.

Because the town benefits lots from the tourism & cultural activity, they strive to preserve those buildings that have survived since Shakespeare's time. I couldn't find any skyscrapers in this town. Semua pun bangunan renek² belaka. And like any other towns I've visited since I arrived the UK, the people preferred walking. Berjangkit sama aku memang ketagih lah...tapi sampai Malaysia terus poyo memanjang naik kereta kan.

Combination of old & new. Phone cum ATM booth. Creative & save ruang. 

Relax gila jalan sini...

Out from the historic house, turned left. Walk straight until u find a roundabout & these tudor houses. Take the 2^nd exit, walk again until u see a bridge. Take right & voila...arrive at the Bancroft Gardens. 

Canal Basin formed the terminus of the Stratford-to-Birmingham canal. 

Sungai tenang, ndak tau lah ada buaya ka ndak.

Itik segar bugar pun bersantai. Sun-bathing perhaps? 

Little & big figures are scattered around in this garden. I didn't get to 'meet' all of them as I was already worn out from too much walking. Serius, tapak kaki aku melecet ndak hengat yet I didn't feel the pain maybe because of the weather. It was rather windy & kaki aku pun ala-beku gitu. 

William Shakespeare seated at the acme overlooking figures of his literature characters featured in some of his plays. 

Bubble drink shop...pink ok! I passed sebab cuaca sudah sejuk, nostrils filled with blood clots...jangan kau ada hati mau beli yang berais sana.

Sampai Stratford pun around 2p...leka wandering around I didn't realized the clock had already strike to 430p. Shops closes at 5p...and it started to drizzle already. Maka niat untuk visit Shakespeare's wife's cottage adalah ke laut. Sorry Anne Hathaway Cottage I can't make it this time...insya Allah one day I will be back.

Kenapa perlu sweet gila building ni? Saw it on my way to Shakespeare Birthplace... memang planned to snap this picture on my way back. 

Savior of the day. Before leaving the town, I stopped by at the 99pence store where all the items sold at 99pence. Like, perlukah itu pun mau dibagitau kan. Bought this plaster to cover my blisters. Huduh sudah tapak kaki ku namun pengalaman yang dikutip ndak tertanding. Sungguh manis!

p/s Kalau takut sesat or unsure with the route, always...always bring along a printed route map to ur destination. Like I did. Just in case kau jadi malas mau jadi friendly to ask around. Or at least google it through the live street view app. Dapat imagine how the surrounding is so once u're there, ndak lah kau blur habis. Oh yeah, aku selalu berangan ndak hengat so aku selalu ja main app tu. Kunun pasang impian mau jejak the real place.

eryantierdabdulkarim