Bardland

Left our mooring a bit of a grey morning but later turned into a nice day, we encounter another trough aqueduct at Wotton Wawen this  one goes over the A34 and was subjected to lorries hitting the underside a damaging the aqueduct till a sign was erected. Next our first lock one of sixteen we were only going to do eight today but where we intended to moor was next to a motorbike scrambling track so what with the noise and dust we carried on.

Unfortunately most of these locks were against us so we had to empty them before using them, the canal is flanked with trees and bushes with the occasional glimpse of open farm land as it meanders towards Stratford Upon Avon.We then cross Edstone aqueduct a major aqueduct at two hundred yards consisting of a cast iron trough carried on brick towers as it spans the valley and railway line.

We then pass the village of Wilmcote and Mary Arden's house, thought to be William Shakespears mother home but it has now be discovered that in fact she lived thirty yards away at Glebe farm, but is still  a place to visit.

Back to open countryside as we descend towards Stratford which can occasionally be glimpsed in the distance, then the canal drifts through light industrial surrounds before drifting through a residential are and then we are in the middle of one of the U.K. tourists hot spots .

We moor right in they middle of the town in the basin where tourist in their hundreds a milling around, eating ice creams or baguette bought from floating narrowboat stores. Shakespeare Memorial Theatre is a across the basin where the Bards famous plays are acted out to the paying audience every night, from Macbeth to Romeo and Juliet.

We moor up and then do a bit of food shopping and return to the boat to. Sitting on the stern and people watching,, we then have a welcome visit from my eldest sister Carol, her son James,his wife Sam and there two children Callum and Findlay, we have drink and chat before they leave and we settle down for the night.

 

 

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