Images from the Stratford-upon-Avon visit, 2012

On the 6th of August my brother, aunt and uncle from Nottingham, two cousins from Nottingham, two cousins from the East of England, and I all travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Initially, we were worried that this new trip to the town would be marred by rain, but fortunately the weather ameliorated over the course of the day and we had a marvellous time.

As with last year, the first location we went to in Stratford-upon-Avon was the leisure centre, where we had a small meal before venturing out towards the river. At this point we were concerned about the weather so the decision was made to go on a boat ride first and save any indoor activities for later. Coincidentally, the boat and navigator we had during our previous visit were the same for this ride.

A random shot containing the front segment of our boat in the foreground, the Royal Shakespeare Company on the left, the Avon in the centre, and the dock from where our boat was launched in the back. While the overall length of the ride was around half an hour, the route was changed somewhat, possibly owing to the higher water level compared to last: we did not travel as far as the Colin P. Witter Lock, although when going in the opposite direction we did go past some houses and a car park, both of which we didn't see last time.

Easily the most surprising object I observed when on the boat ride was this flag of the Confederate States of America. Seeing the occasional Star and Stripes isn't unusual here in the United Kingdom, but a Confederate flag is bizarre, especially in Stratford-upon-Avon! This is, at a minimum, the second Confederate flag I have seen in this country.

Almost as odd as the Confederate flag were these "Manga Shakespeare" books inside the Royal Shakespeare Company's gift shop. I have no idea if Shakespeare in comic book form has any effect in attracting unlikely readers of his works, but it's certainly an imaginative approach! (I should note, however, that I have observed something similar to this idea before: there is an episode of the science fiction/comedy television show Red Dwarf where one of main characters is reading the "comic book version" of the Greeks versus the Trojans.)

Among the 350+ pictures I took during our visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, the ones I consider my best are those of the observation tower of the Royal Shakespeare Company obstructing the Sun. The camera was mostly still, allowing the tower to be as straight as possible in this picture; and the Sun being blocked while its light shone from behind gave deeper hue to the sky and the clouds. Perhaps the only part of the image that spoils it a little is a segment of the non-tower area of the RSC shown in the bottom-left, but as it is not possible to take a picture of a tower (at least for this angle with the Sun at that point in the sky) without at least some portion of the rest of the building in, one can't complain too much about an otherwise perfect capture.

Remember the "Milkshake Lady" from Stratford-upon-Avon Moo-Moo's? Sadly, she wasn't anywhere to be seen this time, but I did get this shot of the milkshake bar itself. We were down Henley Street at this point and were visiting a few of the stores (such as the Stratford Sweet Shop); one of my cousins and I went into a "souvenir shop" expecting to find items to do with Stratford-upon-Avon, but we left after less than five minutes when we noted that all the products were London-oriented.

This is Quickly's, where we had our lunch; I had a delicious ham, egg, and chip main meal with a chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

After Quickly's we left Henley Street and walked to the Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm. We noticed the above statue on one of the arches, and those of us who had visited last year agreed that she was a new addition to the farm's front garden. So far I haven't been able to find out what her significance or name is.

My aunt, uncle, one of my cousins, and I decided to forgo entering the butterfly enclosure, citing the now-beautiful weather outside and the heat of the building's interior as our reasons.

Once those who had entered the butterfly farm had finished, we slowly made our way back to the leisure centre. On the way we noticed a machine generating bubbles like these ones; getting a decent shot of the bubbles was immensely difficult given their speed and distance from me.

A closing shot of the Stratford Leisure & Visitor Centre just prior to our departure. We had a lovely day in Stratford-upon-Avon, equalling the fantastic time we had there last year; the town is one of the best and most beautiful places I've visited so far in the United Kingdom, and providing it's a decent day I will always be delighted to go there.