Our “reason for coming” became a fantastic time in Ulverston, and we squeezed in a couple of nights in Stratford-Upon-Avon en route to the Cotswolds. We had had to cancel a family trip to Stratford when we lived in Ulverston due to being transferred, so it was good to finally get the visit in!
Ulverston
Our “home-away-from-home” Ulverston did not disappoint. It was difficult to believe that it was nearly twelve years since we had left this market town on the edge of the Lake District, the birthplace of Stan Laurel. Time progresses slower here, in a good way, and the town is thriving with post-Covid staycations while not becoming overcrowded.
We stayed in a perfect small two-up, two-down Airbnb, less than half a mile from the town Centre. We could see Hoad Hill out of the back window and were drawn to its John Barrow monument each morning, followed by a bacon bap or sausage roll on our return. It’s blackberry season so foraging accompanied the walk, and we picked enough for Janet to make a yummy cobbler for our final night.
Here is a relive video of a Hoad Hill walk: https://www.relive.cc/view/vDqgKXYLEVq
Peter and Grace’s wedding in Ulverston Parish Church was lovely and the reception at the golf club was very well done with fantastic views over Morecambe Bay. We were not ready to dance the night away, but Peter and Grace had an amazing evening which is what matters, and it was fun watching them with friends and family.
We had a lot of fun catching up with the Callaghans, Wyatts, and others, and being shocked by how much kids had grown.
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Part two of the trip started by dropping the car off and catching the train. One of this trip’s goals is to experiment combining public transport with our exploring. While horror stories abound and rail strikes straddle our travel days, the train has worked well so far, albeit with multiple changes as our destinations are not mainline stations.
While planning, the mile from the station to our B&B did not seem far, but it is longer when pulling a suitcase through the tourist crowds. The hoards of people signaled our arrival in tourism land, so it was time to join them. The lady in the Visitor Information Centre was extremely helpful, and we followed her suggestion that evening by walking the River Heritage Trail, a two mile loop that took us past swans and rowers on the river and to the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried. A geocache led us to the overgrown platform remains of Stratford’s former third train station. By the time we got back into the town centre at about 7pm, all of the crowds had evaporated and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll to Shakespeare’s birthplace.
A hearty full-English breakfast prepared us for a day of exploring. Today’s mission was “the spine,” streets that best reflect Stratford’s history, about which there was a great little pamphlet. To get to its beginning at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, we followed the canal which was so tranquil. I was surprised by how much the canal dominates Stratford.
We pursued a few geocaches along the canal, but what is a geocache you might ask? It is a small container placed at GPS coordinates with a logbook to sign. They are placed by local geocachers at interesting places that we would otherwise not find. You find them with the Geocaching app. They drew us to a beautiful canal walk and the back side of The Birthplace, allowing us to see the gardens and the back of the house.
While the crowds were formed, we walked the spine. Our little guide explained the history of buildings from Shakespeare’s time around 1600, with various fires and buildings being covered up and subsequently restored.
The walk ended at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and its free exhibit “The Play’s The Thing,” which showcases costumes and props and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)’s copy of Shakespeare’s first folio from 400 years ago. It was a fun little exhibit that was not well advertised, but the visitor information centre lady mentioned it.
For lunch, we fancied a cream tea indulgence, and we were not disappointed.
In my web searching, I had stumbled across RSC backstage tours, and there was availability at 2pm. A matinee performance and a dress rehearsal prevented the usual itinerary of the two main stages, so the tour visited the new Costume Workshop, which suited us fine. Unfortunately, we could not take photos in their new workshop, which was only three years old, but they have pictures and videos on line at https://www.rsc.org.uk/news/new-costume-workshop-unveiled. It was an amazing place We also visited “The Other Place” which houses the Royal Shakespeare Company’s rehearsal room and costume store. The latter includes approximately 60,000 items from previous shows which anyone can hire at https://www.rsc.org.uk/costume-hire. About half of the costumes for new RSC shows comes from this inventory. It was very well organized. Before renovations about fifteen years previously, the building had been a leaky old tin hut, which reminded us or our theatre warehouse! This costume tour was an unexpected highlight.
We had time for an afternoon nap at our B&B before the expected highlight of the visit – dinner on Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s rooftop followed by Macbeth. The dinner was most enjoyable, overlooking the town as the crowds dispersed. The theatre underwent a major renovation between 2007 and 2010, though they had to keep its 1932 facade. While the old theatre had focused on fitting more people in. The new theatre is a bit smaller fitting 1000 people with a thrust-stage design such that no seat is more than 50 feet from the stage, with the majority about 30 feet. This is important as the actors don’t use microphones.
As neither of us have been into English Literature, we did our background reading so we might understand Macbeth. The prospect of a 3.5 hour show was a bit daunting, but we were excited with our seat in the fourth row. However, we must admit we were rather underwhelmed. While this was a preview performance in the run up to the main opening in a few days, we were not impressed. As often seems to be the case, the Director was presenting an interesting interpretation that we did not think worked. The costumes were from a while range of different eras which we did not understand. The actors were Scottish with strong accents, which might be authentic but it did not help our understanding of them. Janet liked the witches the most and I liked the way the musicians were part of the cast on stage, making eerie sound effects with their traditional instruments like a trombone, while also playing a saw! We agreed the play confirmed our lack of appreciation of Shakespeare!
A good night’s sleep rounded off our visit. Our traditional B&B had probably been in business for fifty years, but we welcomed its modern bathroom. It was time to pack our bags and head back to the station.
We would certainly recommend visiting Stratford. The dominance of waterways and the morning and evening tranquility were pleasant surprises. We loved the behind-the-scenes looks at the theatre and the self-guided walks around the town. I hope other visitors find the plays more appealing! I hesitate to recommend visiting Ulverston as it is our little hidden jewel in the Lake District’s crown, but I think this blog’s reach minimizes that risk! Next stop: Cheltenham… The weather has been very kind to us so far, and may it continue to be so!
Read about the rest of our Cotswolds adventure at https://cajunlimeys.com/the-cotswold-way/.
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 