Wet, wet wet - Blogabond

A leisurely start to the day before leaving for Stratford, arriving just after midday. After a nice picnic by the river, we made for the Green Room, a fashion shop with an eclectic mix of items that are intended to be surprising. Although I would not exactly describe myself as a fashionista, it made for an interesting few minutes. We then made for the tourist information office, getting the lowdown on what's around. We chose not to take the boat tour and although the 1hour guided walk around the lake sounded quite interesting decided not to wait and to do it ourselves, ending with a visit to the Japenese Gardens.

Shakespeare Gardens

The first stop on this tour was the Shakespeare Gardens, which were a tiny but perfectly formed set of gardens on the banks of the Avon connected by a footbridge to a little island with big ants. It was very warm, sticky and close, so we decided to get a nice 'ice cap' at Tim Horton's and literally chill for a while.

Leaving Tim Horton's, we set off on our tour of the lake. The side away from the town centre had lovely looking houses backing down to the footpath running by the waterside and it was a nice and interesting walk. The lake is only about 1Km long and is really a widened part of the Avon between 2 bridges. We were approaching the half-way point when we felt the first spots of rain. There was no shelter so we quickened our pace; it was no good – within seconds the heavens decided to dump the huge excess of moisture they had built up and it was raining hard.

Avon by Shakespeare Gardens

Taking shelter under a tree, it rapidly became clear that this was not going to ease quickly and the tree was providing a reducing amount of protection, so Ollie took off for the car and brought it round to the aged and by now bedraggled parents. Of course by now, the rain was easing a bit. So I wrung about one reservoir's worth of water out of my shirt before getting into the car and Sue passed her dress out to be given the same treatment! In the circumstances we decided to leave the Japanese gardens to another visit.

Back at the flat, we did some washing and drying before enjoying one of Ollie's marvellous meals.

written by

rickandsuejohnson on July 28, 2010 from Stratford, Canada

from the travel blog: Go west, then go west some more.

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