Spring Has Sprung in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Not to be insensitive but Spring seems to have already sprung in Stratford.

 Sending warm thoughts to everyone.

Enjoy.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

It was a beautiful, sunny day when we set off on a walk to Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  About a mile walk, through a lovely pathway of homes, fields, gardens and thatched roof cottages.

Funny enough, we ran into three Stratford ladies walking their dogs, one of which served us twice in shops downtown.  

Deb loves getting her doggie fix.  

A beautiful home with a brilliant, fire red creeping vine that makes a huge impression on the front of this house.

I loved the sign for this home which is totally covered by the English ivy.  Stratford has numerous thatched roof cottage-like houses.  We are so closed to the Cotwolds which are famous for that very design.

"Those lips that Love's own hand did make

Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate'

To me that languish'd for her sake;

Straight in her heart did mercy come,

Chiding that tongue that ever sweet

Was used in giving gentle doom,

And taught it thus anew to greet;

'I hate' she alter's with an end,

That follow'd it as gentle day

Doth follow night, who like a fiend

From heaven to hell is flown away;

'I hate' from hate away she threw,

And saved my life, saying 'not you.'  Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 145, believed to be written with reference to Anne Hathaway.

The cottage is located in a small hamlet called Shottery.  With stunning gardens and surrounding park land.  Originally they owned 90 acres of land.  Today there are nine acres to explore at your leisure.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage was the family home of William Shakespeare's wife, Anne.  We are walking in the footsteps of where Shakespeare courted his wife!  He was 18 and she was 23.  They married in the year 1582.  Blessed with three children, a daughter, Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith.

The farmhouse was built in the 15th century.  It has twelve rooms but the original home had only two.  Below, Debbie making bread in the kitchen fireplace.  The home was built in the traditional Tudor style architecture, which is evident by the timber framing.  

The Lavender flower maze garden.  You can just make out Debbie sitting in the vine armoury at the top of the heart shape design.

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets dealing with the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality.  He was married to Anne until his death;  she died seven years later.  

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate;

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."  Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII

"Look...Debbie is in Britain!"

The Sculpture Trail is a quiet, peaceful garden filled with Shakespearian characters dotting the pathway.  Daffodils, weeping willow trees, beds of purple flowers, and it goes on.

One of the nymphs in the Sculptured Garden needed to be covered for this blog.

A truly lovely place.

The Famous Swans of Stratford-Upon-Avon

"Sweet Swan of Avon!  What a sight it were

To see thee in our waters yet appear,

And make those flights upon the banks of Thames,

That so did take Eliza and our James!"  Ben Jonson, Shakespeare's Avon

Swans are associated with beauty, fidelity and strength.  Shakespeare refers to swans in many of his plays.  He suggests in Othello that they sing before they die.

"I will play the swan, and die in music."

Swans have been on the Avon for centuries.  Once eaten as delicacies at special feasts, but thankful not anymore.

A bit of trivia:  Henry III decreed all Swans to be Royal in 1246.

This one is trying to scare off the Canada Geese even though it looks so beautiful all puffed up.

The community of Stratford still cares for the birds.  There is a Swan Management Committee to promote the health and welfare of the Stratford swans.  The result of this positive endeavour means there are about 50 adult swans on the river each day and about three pairs breed every year.

They are so cherished that they are on the Coat of Arms of the city of Stratford-Upon-Avon.

"All heaven was one blue background for the grace of Avon's beautiful, slow-moving swan."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, On Avon's Breast I saw a Stately Swan

The swans congregate near and around the Clopton Bridge.  It is a majestic arch bridge with 14 pointed spans over the River Avon, built in 1480 by the Saxons.

"Hey....your not a swan what the heck are you doing in my blog?"

Harry Potter Fans in Stratford-Upon-Avon

This blog is for my daughter, Alexa, who introduced Deb and I to the Harry Potter series.  Which we love.  Interestingly and quite unexpectedly, there is a Magic Alley shop in Stratford-Upon-Avon where you can purchase a 'wand' like Harry Potter?

As everyone knows, the wand choses the sorcerer.  However, since we are on a 'where the heck will we pack that' mode, we didn't purchase the wand that picked us.  Maybe next time.

Mary Arden's Farm....Adorable Animals

Here we are at the farm.  We are jumping right in because I am so excited about these awesome, rare,  animals that we were able to see at Mary Arden's farm.

A pedigree Portland ewe.  In 2012, the very first one was born on Mary Arden's farm....this might be it?  The lambs of this breed would be a red colour and they would only birth one.  Famous for their mutton since the times of King George III.  Very rare but the farm has four that we were able to pet and chat with.

This year they will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the building of Mary Arden's farmhouse.  She was the youngest of 8 daughters.  The actual farm is located in Wilmcote, a bit outside of Stratford-Upon-Avon.  Referred to as a Tudor farm because of the time when it was built.  Tudors were still on the throne.

The Tudor Rose symbolizes the uniting of the two families, the House of York (symbol of a White Rose) and House of Lancaster (symbol of a Red Rose).  Their battles were called the Wars of the Roses beginning from 1455.  After many battles back and forth, King Henry VII (a Lancaster) was crowned.  He married Elizabeth of York joining the families histories forever.

Mary Arden's farm was the home of William Shakespeare's Mother, Mary Shakespeare.  It is a working farm that transported us back to 1570.  You can do 'traditional chores' such as animal caring and bread making, basket weaving and gardening.  We enjoyed a great conversation with the 'Smithy' or Black Smith.

There are cows, pigs, chickens, horses, sheep which many are rare breeds that you can touch.  The farm workers are dressed in period costumes and literally are 'earning their keep' on the land.

Below is a nine day old English Longhorn bull calf that was born on the Arden Farm.  Absolutely adorable.  No longer a rare breed, the English Longhorn breed are a success story of saving a species from extinction.  Their numbers are now plentiful.

Her Mamma's name is 'Kate.'  She is a milking cow and that will be done, the old fashion way, by hand.

These are Mamma and baby Hereford heifers, born around early February.

The Cotswold sheep, also known as the 'Cotswold Lions' sheep because of their incredible manes.   The wool from these sheep is rare to find. It is like a silk it is so fine.  They are descendants from the flocks that grazed in these fields of England during the times of the Romans.   

Many ewes have a splash of paint on their back sides?  We had wondered what that was all about.  When a ram is brought in to 'service the ewes' they are equipped with a rein which is attached to a 'rattle.'  Kind of looks like a paint pack.  It will mark the ewes and then the pairs can be identified when she lambs in the Spring.

When King Richard The Lion heart was returning from the Crusades, he was kidnapped and held for ransom.  Most of the ransom was paid from the wealth of the selling of these beautiful fleece.  He was the one who named them the 'Cotswold Lion.'

Another rare animal found here is this Pedigree Gloucester heifer.  They are used for beef but mostly dairy produce. Almost brought to extinction in the 17th century, they are kept on this farm.  I was amazed by the white stripe on its back and tail....sort of like a skunk.  

These are rare Mangalitza pigs.  Native to Hungary, they are a docile and gorgeous animal.  If you look closely, they have tight ringlets of reddish orange hair covering them.  Very popular with visitors.

My new buddy, a Golden Guernsey goat.  A perfect wee thing to add to my upcoming Hobby Farm.  They are gentle and affectionate.  These beautiful docile goats were nearly wiped out during WW2.  The Germans occupied the island of Guernsey and slaughtered all the livestock there to feed themselves.  A small group were hidden away which saved the breed, but there are very few still today.

These goats will have a wee baby in April.

The milk from these goats makes excellent cheese.

'Izzie' is a pure white Barn Owl.  This young student from France is quite brave to allow Izzie to perch on his arm.

Gorgeous wee lovie.

Below is 'Talia' a twenty year old Eagle Owl.  She is coming in for a landing and it took all my courage to stay still and shoot this photo without running for cover.  She is huge.

An incredible wing span on Talia.  With massive orange eyes.  It appears that she stares but Jan explained that is actually the make up of her eyes.  I did put on my 'big girl panties' and sit and pose with Talia on my arm for a photo.  While I waited for Jan to snap the picture, Talia looked straight at me and freaked me out.  Again....I summoned all my courage to remain calm and hold her, a bit away from me this time, and got a photo of a lifetime!

Jan the Falconer who does the bird demonstrations on the farms loves these birds.  He takes them all home with him at the end of each day. 

Below are photos of some of the other Birds of Prey at the farm.  They are kept in open pens and you can get a real great look at them.

A Lanner Falcon.

A Common Buzzard.

A Golden Eagle.

The Tamworth pigs with a long nose and ginger coat are a bit bigger now than when Shakespeare would have seen in his time.  Very boisterous, active and inquisitive.  They really entertained us.  I want one.  Unfortunately for these wee lads they are famous for their dual production of pork and bacon? 

Well I guess it is feeding time....we are going to head out but we would love to return and spend more time here.  Maybe volunteering to 'earn our keep' would be fun!!

Bye little piggies.