“We are time's subjects, and time bids be gone.”

Today our plan was to go back in time and I think it was a great success. We said good bye to our wonderful hostess in Duxford and headed to Stratford-on-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare in the 16th Century. Yes, that is 5 centuries ago. It was a bit of a culture shock because Google Maps took us most of the 100 miles on a “Motorway.” A 4 lane divided highway here in England. Within a few miles after exiting we hit the "time warp" taking us back to Shakespeare's time.

The town is completely entrenched in everything Shakespeare but really not in a bad way. Other than very confusing streets which got us off to a slow start we found everything to be very iconic Elizabethan. We strolled along the Avon with Swans gliding along beside us. Flowing river on one side and timbered 14th century buildings on the other. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, yes I said beautiful, on our walk to Holy Trinity Church. Shakespeare was Baptized and buried here along with his wife and daughters. There are parts of the church that date back to 1210 with the newer parts being completed in the 1400's.

That is really hard to wrap your heads around sometimes. Seeing these magnificent buildings that were built by human hands so long ago with very few tools. We spent several hours wandering the town and enjoying the many sights that have been preserved because of this famous poet and playwright. We also saw his school, birthplace and the homes of his daughters. It was also fun seeing the many street performers depicting characters in the plays or William himself.

After Stratford we grabbed a snack at the car and headed for our next destination, The Cotswolds. This is designated as an AONB (area of natural beauty.) It is a hilly area that is notable for picturesque old villages and rolling hills. It did not disappoint. Initially we were a bit taken aback by the traffic but realized that this is a Friday afternoon on somewhat of a holiday weekend since the much anticipated Royal Wedding is tomorrow. Once we turned off of the larger roads it became the quaint, beautiful landscape that we had anticipated.

Fields full of brilliant yellow flowers dominated the landscape and we were only nearly run off of the 1 lane road once which I think is a record so far on this trip. Our primary stop was Bibury, a town that I had read much about and was listed on a photographers blog as a must do. Again we were not disappointed. The parking fairy was along so we found a perfect spot at the end of town next to a beautiful church and were able to walk to all of the highlight spots from there.

It was really beautiful in a Hobbit sort of way and quite photogenic before the buses stared pulling in with Japanese tourists. By then we had seen the town and were headed back to the car so all was good. Our last few minutes were capped off by watching some locals fly fish on the river and a Momma Swan with 3 babies gracing us with their presence.
After a satisfying afternoon we made our way for our stop over for the night in Old Sodsbury, part of the Cotswolds. The Cross Hands Hotel has been here for 500+ years. I had read a story about Queen Elizabeth II staying here during a severe storm in 1981.

Well guess what? We're in her room!!! We are obviously not Royal worshipers otherwise we would be taking the day off tomorrow to watch the wedding, but it is really cool to be staying in the same room she was in. We had a great dinner in the pub and are soon off to bed. More adventures await.

"The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of tomorrow."
William Shakespeare