Thursday, August 10, 2017

Trip to Ireland, Scotland, Britain: The Cotswolds, and Stratford Upon Avon

We left York via rental car and arrived within a short time in The Cotswolds, a lovely area in the countryside dotted with small villages with honey colored stone cottages.  The surrounding areas are mostly farmland, with fields of brilliant yellow safflower and grazing sheep.  The area became wealthy at one time because of the wool trade, and farming is still a big industry here, but the sheep no longer come through the town on market day.  Below is the sheep market in Chipping Campden.

The small market towns in the Cotswolds have a few shops and hotels, but they still look very much as they did hundreds of years ago.  The primary activities to do in the area are hike the many trails or visit a few attractions nearby, like Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford Upon Avon, below.


A short drive away is the thatched roof cottage, home of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, and it is not only beautiful, it is surrounded by stunning gardens.


We also visited Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried right  in front of the altar.  Apparently, Shakespeare was afraid that the notorious grave robbers of the day might disturb his grave and those of his family members, so he paid a great deal to secure those grave sites for himself, his wife, daughter and son in law.  



Before moving on to our next destination, Bath, we took a short trip to see the nearby Warwick Castle.


 

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