Our journey up the few remaining locks of the Hatton Flight were without incident, and soon we were on the Stratford On Avon Canal, with 13 miles and 32 locks between us and an evening at the theatre. A public omnibus from Warwick to Stratford-Upon-Avon will complete the journey in less than 25 minutes. A fast trip by narrowboat would take about a day and a half!!! We dawdled, and took almost three days.
A unique feature of this waterway is to be seen on the - still standing, and very charming - lock-keepers' cottages. Once the canal had been constructed - nearly 200 years ago - the arched supports; used when building the proliferation of bridges; were recycled to become the roof structures of the aforesaid cottages, viz:
and
On the way we stopped in at Wootton Wawen - no, I haven't developed a lithp - and a lovely old (17th. century) pub: The Bull's Head.
The ales were more than'acceptable' and here are some images of that establishment:
These were just outside ...
Kudos for whomever identifies their purpose???
There was also a lovely old (13th. century) church; (many such abound in the English countryside) with sadly weathered gargoyles.
Anyway ... when, eventually, we arrived in Stratford-Upon-Avon; we moored in the handy, purpose-built, canal boat basin, only a hundred and 50 yards from the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. On the Monday evening we availed ourselves of this proximity and purchased tickets for Marlowe's: Doctor Faustus; which was being staged in the lovely, bijou, Swan Theatre ... at the rear of the main playhouse.
We sat in the two seats seen on the extreme bottom right of the above image.
I have always been intrigued by Christopher Marlowe because of his personal history. Apart from having been suspected of being the actual writer of of some of Shakespeare's works (they were contemporaries), he was reputed to be an agent of Sir Francis Walsingham: Elizabeth's spymaster; and died in a knife-fight in a pub in Deptford. The staging of the play was arresting, almost anarchic, and riveting ... then we strolled home for a glass of wine! We love this boating life! More soon. Tom.
When I was in Cambridge in early '14 (mostly work trip, with some lovely side visits to Portsmouth, partly thanks to you, Tom!) I found the "dorm" where Kit Marlowe lived while he was a student there. There was a lovely (worn but serviceable) plaque on the wall honoring him, although it left out many of the more interesting aspects of his life!
ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteGlad you & Lyn are enjoining yourselves and are off on your adventures again. Re you question about the mysterious “mushrooms” They are in fact supports for a grain barn. The floor joists are set on them so the structure sits proud of the ground and the shape prevents mice climbing up and getting into the barn. So now you know! Look forward to following your progress
Best wishes Phil & Pat