Lowsonford 3 - Stratford on Avon

More views of the garden at Shakespeare's House
 

 

Actors performing in the garden
 

Lowsonford 2 - Stratford on Avon

While we were at the cottage we went to Stratford on Avon to Shakespeare's house
 

 

 

 

Lowsonford

Last summer we spent a week in this lock keeper's cottage on the Stratford canal at Lowsonford
 

Inside the cottage we found this jigsaw. I later bought one on Ebay
 

The front room overlooking the lock
 

Another cottage along the canal. The bridge over the lock is in two halves with a gap between the two for the horse's tow rope to pass through without having to un-hitch
 

Bit bigger than the one we are staying in!
 

Stockwood Park Discovery Centre - 2

Beautiful gardens - very well tended...
 

 

 

 

Bit noisy though, with planes landing at Luton airport.
 

Stockwood Park Discovery Centre

This is the Stockwood Park Discovery Centre in Luton.
It's home to the Mossman Collection of horse drawn vehicles.
 

Many of them had these amusing signs on...
 

 

Redbourn Village Museum - Medieval Revels 2

Our wood-turner
 

"Hautbois" on the left, with other "characters"
 

Hog Roast at The Cricketers next door
 

One very shiny Routemaster bus which gave rides around the village
 

Redbourn Village Museum - Medieval Revels

Way back in July(!) the museum held its Medieval Revels day.
Our main performers were "Hautbois" from Yorkshire.
Proceedings began with a procession from the High Street, across the common, to the museum.
 

They were a great attraction.
 

Willow weaving class.
 

Performing from their covered wagon.
 

 

Wrest Park 2

View from the terrace
 

Wedding venue in the grounds
 

The canal
 

Croquet matches or lessons taking place
 

View from the far end of the canal
 

Wrest Park

OK folks...now we are back from Canada, we need to do some serious catching up from last year

Way back in the summer we went to Wrest Park on the A6 just north of Luton.
The Times newspaper had a voucher for free entry to English Heritage properties so we couldn't refuse!
 

Very nice interior - often used for filming - and for weddings
 

 

Really well maintained gardens - mostly by volunteers
 

 

Bourton on the Water - & Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY VALUED READERS

Please post lots of comments in 2013...

We spent Christmas at The Old Manse Hotel in Bourton on the Water where all the staff were excellent and gave us a great stay. It was the first time we had been to a hotel for Christmas.
Let's just say it was different - not sure if we would do it again.
 

This was the River Windrush outside the hotel. It's normally quite quiet, but it was a raging torrent through this narrow section. Another couple of inches higher and the hotel would have been flooded.
 

The very well anchored Christmas tree in the middle of the river.
 

Good effort by this shopkeeper.