moonvoice | [Photos] UK 06 - Stratford-Upon-Avon 01 (Reply)

We've been to Stratford-Upon-Avon before. We stop here for a night (as we did this time as well), en route to Chester and Leeds, where we have more family.

I really liked Stratford-Upon-Avon, and the drive was lovely. This trip was Glen's first time driving in the UK and he actually found it fine. There were some things that were more difficult than others (narrow roads, greater London, hairpins in Wales and Scotland), but ultimately given all the horror stories Australians seemed to want to tell us, it was just...driving...on roads.

I really like Stratford-Upon-Avon. It's touristy as all hell, being so focused on Shakespeare (being the birthplace of William Shakespeare). But there's something about it which I find easier to embrace. I was surprised at how many shops were just closed or foreclosed on side streets, but this was to be a recurring theme throughout the entirety of the UK, and a sign of the times, I think.

Glen standing before Shakespeare's birthplace. What I loved about this is that it looks deserted. It was packed with hundreds of people. I just waited for the right moment.

The Old Bank (now a HSBC from memory)

More of the brick and plasterwork on the sides of the Old Bank. This building was stunning.

One of the churches.

Elizabeth House (almost no one was walking down this far, and I sat down here for a while due to exhaustion/pain and played a Pokemon Go raid lmao)

And without Glen:

I loved this random sculpture, honestly.

So this was an area of community housing, and the sign said it may very well have been one of the first instances of state provided / community housing in the world. Glen took a photo, because he works in this area himself and he finds it interesting. So to this day, these places have been maintained as state housing.

Many of the little flats had sculptures, toys or knick knacks in the window. I liked this one.

Part of a small structure gifted to Stratford-Upon-Avon by the USA.

Little gems popping up everywhere. One of the things that surprised me was that...I'd remembered being really quite active on my last English trip, but I did WAY more walking/exploring this time. And I was stunned by...how my memory had tricked me. I think I remember myself as being more active than I am, and then when I go somewhere and can't do much, I criticise myself for it, forgetting I've been this way for years.

Anyway, doing so much here pretty much shafted my entire Leeds experience (I was bedridden essentially for three days and didn't go anywhere), which is why there will be no photos of Leeds.