Bartimaeus

Our previous visit to Stratford was in the winter and flooding prevented us from travelling on the River Avon.  The weather has changed significantly towards winter in the last few days, but there is currently no risk of flooding.

The basin in Stratford is a popular destination, so the mooring is restricted to two days.  We've been treading the tourist trail in the town.  It's clear that making money out of the connection to Shakespeare has been a significant part of the local economy for centuries.

After two days, we still had more to see, including the play we have tickets for, so we needed to find a new mooring.  The River Avon is not managed by the Canal and River Trust, so we needed to buy a separate licence from the Avon Navigation Trust (ANT).  The forecast for Sunday afternoon was very wet, so we chose to move the boat in the morning.

A running event finished in the riverside park, with the last mile crossing over the bridge at the end of the river lock.  While Clare operated the lock we chose the order in which she opened and closed paddles and gate so that she didn't have to cross the bridge against the flow.

The flow on the river was almost indiscernible, but I chose to treat the river with respect and turn to face upstream - there is no shortage of space to turn.  Our new moorings are closer to the theatre as the swan flies, but a longer walk.

One way of shortening the walk back in to town is to use the chain ferry when it is running.  The ferry is not part of the essential infrastructure for locals as it is only a short walk in either direction to a bridge.  I figured we might not get another chance to ride on it if we didn't go in to town on this busy Sunday morning.

We wandered around the inside of the two adjacent theatres, which have a number of free exhibits.  On one of the walls inside the Swan Theatre is a sculpture of Romeo made out of stars.

Juliet reckoned that after seeing Romeo thus, we would pay no worship to the garish sun.  I'm still keen to see it shine on our solar panels, but that was pretty academic for the afternoon when the rain arrived, just as forecast.

The river is heavily populated with birds: mainly swans, geese and gulls.  There are signs on the bank where we are moored.  I expected them to give information to boaters, but instead they advise on the feeding of the birds: "do not feed the geese" and "white bread harms all waterfowl".  There is no warning about the occasional appearance of a black swan.

Today there is a yellow warning of strong winds and we are finding the boat is being buffeted a bit.  The nearby trees look strong and sturdy, but the canal behind us has been blocked by a fallen tree.  We're glad that we had no plans to travel in the windy conditions.  Instead we found a pleasant walk to the outskirts of town for a visit to another Victorian tourist trap, Anne Hathaway's Cottage.