The cultured tour started on Friday afternoon, taking in Anne Hathaway’s cottage (she was Shakespeare’s wife …….. you know, William Shakespeare, the author, the greatest ever Englishman) then the house of Mary Arden, William Shakespeare’s mother. Two fine examples of 16th century English houses. The tour continued to the ancient town of Bidford, where the tour party rested by the banks of the river Avon. The evening was spent with the commoners.

The second day started with a walk round the lovely village of Alcester; such picturesque buildings. The culture continued at Ragley Hall, designed by Robert Hooke in 1680, and belatedly completed in the mid 1700s. There was then a quick viewing of Coughton Court, the home of the Throckmorton family for 600 years, followed by experiencing a uniquely English ford. The day’s tour continued at the beautiful town of Evesham and finished back at Alcester to view numerous groups of Morris dancers; you can’t get much more cultured than that. The evening was spent with the commoners again (see their web-page).

The culture brigade won the day as the two groups combined to see Stratford on the third day. This included a boat trip on the river Avon, seeing Shakespeare’s burial place and admiring the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre, currently being refurbished. The commoners were kept happy as they saw a load a rafts.

Any smugness detected in the cultured one disappeared when his car broke down on the way home!

To see the photographs, click here.