July 30 The Bard and The Borders

Stratford on Avon,  Hidcote Manor.  

I was a wake at 5am and it was well daylight so I decided to go for a waddle round the lanes.  When driving I hadn't realised how hilly they were!  It was a very pleasant start to the day especially at the top of the hill out of Bouldon where there was a great view (if one is into irregularly shaped paddocks with grain at various stages of ripeness giving a very variable palette.  (I was also going to fit the word 'texture' in there somewhere, but my gag reflex cut in.)

We left quite promptly on a trip aimed to get to Hidgrove garden.  This is a fair way from Tugford and we had wondered about calling in there on our way from Brum to Selsey.  I had felt that it was better to come back since we wouldn't be able to spend much time at the garden in the middle of a long drive.  Although I realised it was still going to be a longish day in the saddle doing it this way at least we weren't faced with setting up a place at the end.

It was also a chance to check out most of the route back to Birmingham Airport and it didn't seem too bad.  (Subsequently checking out Google Maps suggests this wasn't as good a route as I had thought.  We shall decide later!)  The major problem on the way out was a tractor dragging a trailer load of wheat up a very steep hill: it was so underpowered it was down to 5mph – and belching black smoke – at one point.  We had to follow it for about 2 miles which seemed to take for ever. 

On the other hand we found Clee Hill which gave stunning views over a huge area.  There were a number of signs saying “Don't feed the sheep”.  The woolies were evident in fair numbers grazing beside the road, but I felt no need to stop and vary their diet.  On the way back we did stop for a photograph.

Kidderminster was transited with no problems as was Bromsgrove.  Our intermediate target was Startford on Avon, mainly because I'd never been there and it is a big ticket tourist item.  This is of course to do with William Shakespeare and as we approach the town saw a sign to Ann Hathaway's Cottage so followed the signs into the parking lot for that edifice.   We parked – at £1 for 3 hours it was good value – and walked up the road to the cottage itself.  We swiftly decided that at £9 a head this was not good value and walked back towards the car, taking a couple of snaps of the place as we went. 

It was pleasant looking, just not £18 worth!

Knowing as we do that most places in the UK are very short of parking (and charge like wounded bulls for the privilege) we left the car where it was a walked the mile into the centre along a signed footpath, getting a good look at non-Shakespearean Stratford as we did.  The most intriguing bit of this was an intersection with another path where the alternate route was blocked off by police tape, with Mr Plod X 4 standing just a little bit down the path.  No idea what was going on, but the other punters on our path were all muttering about it: obviously no-one was game to ask Mr Plod for fear of spending some time assisting them with their enquiries or having to buy tickets to the Policeman's Ball.  (For similar reasons I decided taking a snap was Not a Good Idea.)

The town centre was quite attractive with a bunch of old buildings with a couple announcing tenuous connections to the Bard.  

Passing by the Garden of Rememberance – noting the soldiers prayer

- we carried on to Trinity Church and Shakespeare's grave.  The grave is actually in the church and to really look at it one had to throw £2 to a guy handing out leaflets.  Or, if you were taller than the coachload of ragazzi (Italian schoolkids) in the area, you could take a distant photo. 

The church was very good to look at and seemed to be reasonably similar to a 17^th century painting (except for the added organ).  The organ was being played very well, but the organist didn't take requests.  Some interesting War Memorials were snapped and are included in the relevant post.

We strolled back to the car noting that Mr Plod was still evident, although only 2 rather than 4.  As they might still have a few tickets to issue or sell I still didn't pursue my interest in their activities.   We fired up the car and headed off towards Hidcote which seemed to involve going though the centre of Stratford.  It appeared that the main street had a function of car park rather than thoroughfare but it gave us a good look at some parts we hasn't been to.  We ended getting a double look at one area as the people responsible for traffic signs had stuffed up a crucial one, burying the phrase “All other routes” in the middle of directions to car parks.  Whatever: we found our way out.  As we drove down the road I marveled yet again at the ability of British 'drivers' to go down a small road at trivial velocity and then, once overtaken, turn off.  They get a walk down the red carpet in the awards section of this post.

With a little fiddling around we got to Hidcote Garden.  The car park was pretty full with volunteers directing visitors.  As a guide I spoke to later reckoned the place was 'very quiet' we wondered where people parked when it got busy.  We had a look round part of the garden before attending a talk about the history of the garden.  Here are a few of my images.

This cedar is one of Johnstone's originals in the 'room' (yecch: for some reason I hate that word in this context) now called the Old Garden.

A first border!

The developer was Lawrence Johnstone and rather than B S Johnstone (referred to earlier) I would rate him as Bloody Clever Johnstone.  His mother was a wealthy American who had bought him this place to indulge his interest in gardening.  It is possible she hoped it might also interest him in starting a family.  (She also gave him some procreational encouragement with her will, in which he was to get to income from her estate – about $900,000 per year – but he only got the (very serious) principal if he had an heir.)  Alas, he seems to not have been interested in the basic strategy for breeding humans, and on his death a bunch of US based nephews and nieces got lucky.

It really was an excellent garden.  Quite possibly the best we have ever seen anywhere.  Since Johnstone was in financial difficulty by the time of his death he had clearly been putting a lot of the $900k into the place every year.  He left the garden to the NT (who took some persuading to accept it as at that time, but not now, they only took houses, some of which had gardens).

The vegetable garden had particular interest as it was surrounded by a solar powered electric fence. We wondered what was being kept out, and it turned out to be rabbits (in the past) and badgers.  

The rabbits are no longer an issue as myxomatosis wiped them out two years ago and they haven't repopulated.  Also of interest was a photograph of some pigs which had been used to stir the soil up and fertilise it.  They had been kept on the area for too long and rather than loosening the soil had compacted it.

A few more pictures of aspects of the garden.  There were many forms of dipterid (flies to you) around the garden.  Here is one.

We were pretty certain this is a form of Eryngium, another species of which, E. ovinum, grows in our paddocks, being known as Blue Devil.

I thought this Delphinium got my prize for stunning flower head of the day.

 It is not often that one is able to get a snap showing a bumble bee coexisting with a European wasp.

On a personal note the guide who spoke mention that Johnstone had corresponded and exchanges plants, with many other plant collectors.  I asked if that had included E A 'Gussie' Bowles for whom my Dad had worked in the 1930s.  It turned out that he had particularly with the rockery plants .

I spoke with several of the workers and guides around the gardens and the were all both charming and knowledgeable.  We concluded that we had definitely made the correct decision in not coming here on our way to Selsey.  We spent somewhat over 3 hours in the place which would not have happened under the alternate strategy.

After getting home including a stop on Clee Hill to check the view ...

...  we went for tea at the Tally-Ho pub in Bouldon.

A really nice pub which was doing good trade.  I had an excellent steak and kidney pie

while Frances had fish and chips, which she rated as OK (because the fish component was good on batter but a trifle thin in the matter of cod).  Beers consumed were:

•                     Ludlow Gold - a bit fuller bodied than many of the beers I have tried on this trip but definitely potable) and

•                     Woods Wonderful – somewhat stronger than many I have tried at 4.8% but an excellent sample.

As might be expected the décor was somewhat hunting oriented.

Bird of the Day:  Pelican: refer discussion of British drivers around Stratford.

Building of the day: Ann Hathaway's cottage

Garden of the Day: Hidcote, Hidcote, Hidcote

Bad taste of the Day: The plastic lion outside a safari park at Kidderminster.

View of the Day: from Clee Hill.

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