Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
one of the oldest in England. It also boasts an 11th century sanctuary, a Norman nave, a su-
perb 14th century east window and a lady chapel like a barn.
Up the hill, Austy Manor can be seen and, further beyond it, Austy Wood, the largest re-
maining section of the Forest of Arden that at one point covered the whole area.
Wilmcote is visited by tourists seeking what was incorrectly believed to have been the Tu-
dor house of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother, and its attendant farming museum and cider
mill.
Stratford is approached the back way, past industrial estates. Narrowboats are moored at
Valley Cruises. A cafe stands on the A3400.
To most people Stratford is Shakespeare. His birthplace lies just beyond. Stratford has
more historic buildings than any other town of comparable size in the country and simply
must be visited.
Bollards carry the names of benefactors of the canal in the area that is now residential,
some of it recent, as the canal wanders near the back of the bus station and the Red Lion be-
fore bursting out into the splendour of the Bancroft Gardens, set around the canal basin. On
one side, the Bard sits on a pedestal, surrounded by flowerbeds and statues of his characters.
Opposite is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, built in 1926 in dubious cinema architecture to
replace the 1879 one destroyed by fire. The Royal Shakespeare Company are in residence
from April to December. The tourists are always in residence, especially in the summer, and
all the facilities here face the gardens, from McDonalds to a venue that offers visitors the
chance to sample life in Shakespeare's day.
Significant tourist dates are April 23rd, Shakespeare's birthday, and October 12th, Mop
Fair, the time when farm workers were traditionally hired and which is still celebrated.
The final lock down to the River Avon is a broad-beam one. Originally, the whole canal
was to have been broad gauge but when the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and Warwick-
shire canals were constructed as narrow canals this idea was abandoned.
Downstream the 15th century Holy Trinity church in which Shakespeare is buried can be
seen.
