Bard watching in Stratford

Today is the last day of the Christmas holidays and just a few hours before my thoughts must ferry back to all thing work-like.

Nic decided a cultural trip to Stratford upon Avon would be a nice way to finish it. So, with clear skies and clear roads, we motored our way around the M25 and off up the M40 or the Raptor Road as I like to call it. I love this motorway. I. it’s fast 2. it’s very fast and 3. it‘s full of Red Kites and Buzzards. I have forgotten how many times I have nearly crashed because I get hypnotised by the grace and beauty of these reintroduced birds of prey. One of these days, I will make a special trip to Christmas Common and try to photograph them.

But alas, poor Braunie, today wasn’t to be a birding day but a Barding day. I’m not a massive fan of Bill – don’t really understand what he‘s saying and the Plain English lot would have a field day with him I suspect. However, history can be cool and the curators and presenters were interesting and terribly professional. For instance, his dad John made leather gloves for a living but the business went bust in a credit crunch, hence the reason for Bill deciding to leave Stratford and hitching a lift with some actor types who inspired the boy and the rest is history.



This is William Shakespeare’s birthplace in the centre of Stratford. It was quite expensive at £50 for four tickets but as my kids aren’t kids anymore, I couldn’t squeeze a family concession out of the job’s worth on the ticket desk. These tickets did give us entry into other sites including Nash’s House and Anne Hathaway’s cottage.


Nash’s House left. This was owned by Bill’s Granddaughter, Elizabeth, who remained childless and ultimately ended his bloodline. On the right, is Anne Hathaway’s cottage which is about a mile out of Stratford at Shottery. Nice but not a lot of use if you are over 5 feet in height.














Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digiscoping DIY Adaptor

Image
Thought I would take this opportunity to explain and illustrate the way I digiscope. I have never bothered to invest in a purpose-made adaptor because I’m never sure which one would be best and I suppose I’m a bit stingy. Instead, I have experimented with different joining mechanisms which have include fruit juice bottle tops, paint roller tubes and plumbing joints. Over the five or so years I have digiscoped, the results have been unpredictable. This has been caused by the light conditions, the mobility of the subject and invariably, the distances between my camera and the bird. probably worth noting here that I also tend to focus through the scope before attaching the camera. The most successful adaptor for me has been the paint roller tube. I discovered if I strip off the furry bit, I’m left with a perfect basis for an adaptor. Depending on the camera lens width and the telescope eyepiece diameter, I wrap insulation tape inside the tube. Measure the depth and width of the ca...
Read more

Scotland day 6: Look out. Look up and look where you’re going!

Image
Oh my days! Is it Friday already? This was our last full day with Heatherlea and it was destined to be a big one. Correction: The big one. Do these birding tour operators plan this? Do they always save the best for last? I don’t know. Some would say the Capercaillie caper would have done it and it did in many ways but this day would match it or in some eyes surpass it. You be the judge. Another full fat breakfast! My only thoughts during this now routine ceremony was whether I would still fit in the minibus. To be honest, I thought we would be doing a bit more walking on this trip but apart from the odd amble up a hill, we were never far from the transport. The birding day began with an excursion to Roseisle and initially around some of the farmland minor roads where we picked up a couple of corn buntings just sitting on fence wires. Looking out from a viewpointon the Moray Firth at Burghead Bay there were velvet and common scoters, eider and a few red-breasted merganser. Telescope out...
Read more

Scotland Day 1: A few 'grouses' about the weather

Image
We woke in the morning to discover the beautiful sunny evening that met our arrival had turning into a cold, grey dreich. We caught up with our guides and fellow adventurers early so that we could could visit a black grouse lek before breakfast. The visibility was poor and the air damp. When we arrived at the site, it was very difficult to see the birds. A few bobbing backsides – the white of the male tail feathers was about all I could see.  Black grouse, what Black Grouse? Lesser redpoll called as they went over and the inevitable willow warblers sang from various trees. Everyone got poor views to be fair but at that stage, we were all happy. A bit later at breakfast we discussed the weather, as you do and Dave and Chris, our guides for the tour laid out plans for local birding in Abernethy forest, primarily for crested tit and the magnificent capercaillie. The excitement was clearly audible. We arrived and parked up near Loch Mallachie and made our way down through the incredibl...
Read more