Unfortunately, the rain did not go away. And it nearly spoiled my first trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. I know it's hard to believe but it's true. After almost a year here, this is only my first trip there.
On Tuesday morning, I left for the town early in the morning (well, probably not that early but still earlier than my friends). The journey was supposed to be almost an hour ride but having to change bus in Leamington Spa managed to lengthen the trip by half an hour. As I got onto the bus, I realised that even though I know my stop is Bridge Street, I had no idea where the stop is! So, I sat in the bus quietly, hoping someone will stop at the same place. Luckily, it was not hard to spot. Once we pass the river Avon, we arrived on the main road, bustling with activites. I knew then that that was my stop.
I arrived in Stratford around noon. The first thing I did was to stop at the tourist information centre, before heading to High Street for some shopping. This marked the beginning of my guilt trip down the retail therapy lane. I am really not sure what had gotten into me. Anyway, enough said on this matter. Having made some quick satisfactory purchases, my friends finally arrived. Good timing I must say.
We began our trip by touring Shakespeare's birthplace. It was just a very old house in its original form. Still interesting to note the tininess of the one-bedroom house to fit the family, their apprentices and servants. When we left the house, it was pouring cats and dogs. We had no choice but to stop for lunch. Soon, the rain was reduced to drizzles and we were able to continue to our next destination - Anne Hathaway's cottage, 1 1/2 miles away from town. We walked and walked and walked. It felt neverending but it did. The thatched-roof cottage was set in the middle of a pretty, little garden. We were only allowed to take photos of the exterior but not the interior. What a pity!
While I think that Stratford is a beautiful town, the main reason for its attraction is Shakespeare. Without him, it will not be as popular as it is now. More effort needs to be poured into making the visit a memorable one.
The following day, my friends and i caught a train to Windermere, Lake District. We had to change train 3 times (Cov-Birmingham-Crewe-Windermere)! With the delay of our first train, the whole journey ended up being delayed by two hours. Two whole hours were wasted in the train stations. I began to question the efficiency of the UK's train system.
Upon arrival, we began to find a way to reach town. There were limited information available. Hence, we had to call the hotel to ask for direction. At that point, I realised my second mistake. I knew the name of the road we had to find but I did not know the direction! Luckily, the map navigator did a good job and we found the hotel even as we had to walk under the rain. Seriously bad weather. The owner of the hotel was a very friendly man. He chatted with us for awhile before taking us to our room. There were a double bed with two single beds in the room. The so-called ensuite bathroom was situated outside our room. The reason it is ensuite was because we were the only ones with the key to enter. Brilliant! We spent some time in the room waiting for the rain to subside while drying our jeans with the dryer. It didn't take that long though. Phew.
The walk to Bowness was about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on our pace. The plan was to catch a ferry to Ambleside. The journey took 30 minutes, during which we moved up and down to the open top of the ferry whenever the rain stopped. The view was breathtaking (If Botw is the epitome of sugar sweet beauty, then LD is the wild beauty) especially when we arrived at the pier of Ambleside. We spent so much time there that we were left with little time to reach the town. In the end, we never made it to the town centre and we were only two blocks away.
Dinner was at a restaurant recommended by the hotel owner - Carvery at GBP3.95, a good deal for students like us. Due to the wet weather condition, we were unable to get any sunset photos. I can only imagine how it will look like.
On the following day, we woke up early to take a walk around Windermere. The town was so small that it took us probably half an hour to finish the tour. So, we headed back to the hotel to take breakfast which was only ready at 8.30am. After that, we checked out and asked for permission to leave our bags at the guest living room as we wanted to head back to Bowness.
This time, our mission was to visit Beatix Potter's World of Peter Rabbit. It was the time to reignite any childhood dreams or perhaps to bring out the child in a person. Admission cost GBP6 but it was worth the price. We were able to snap loads of photos of the adventures of Peter Rabbit and his friends. It was a truly wonderful experience. Of course, the trip will not be complete without a purchase from the Peter Rabbit's shop. More time was spent around the pier, both to enjoy the wilderness and to take more photos.
And then it was time to leave. The trip was really too short. I didn't have enough time to digest the beauty of the place. We boarded the train at 1.24pm. While the trip began smoothly, soon we encountered some obstacles. At the stop in Lancaster, we were informed that the track between Lancaster and Preston was flooded, halting all train services using that track. The train we were on had to head back to Scotland. We waited and waited before a train finally arrived to bring us to Preston. Initially, we were informed of the possibility to stay overnight in Lancaster as the tickets remained valid for the next day travelling. Luckily the train came. From Preston, we had to figure another way to get back to Coventry. After awhile, bright light shone upon my friends as they were able to switch to the London Euston train with an additional GBP6.
I decided against following them to London due to my tight schedule in the next few days. With their departure, I found myself waiting hopefully for the Birmingham train alone. It was not a long wait. 10 minutes later, I found myself on my way to Birmingham New Street. The rest of the journey went smoothly. I was back in my room by 9pm.
Interestingly, a commotion caused by a drunkard in the London Euston train led the train to detour to Coventry. I believed both my friends' and my train stopped in Coventry at almost the same time. What a coincidence! It was a blessing that everything worked out fine for us in the end.
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