Cirencester is one of the oldest Roman towns in England and was one of the biggest and most prosperous. Today, townsfolk have built a lovely museum of p
re-Roman, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon history of the town and area. That made for an interesting hour (I especially liked the Roman tile work extracted from ancient local homes) and afterwards we dawdled in the little stores in town of which there are many. Rather than tolerating generic, multinational stores like the Gap, etc,. Cirencester nurtures little craft shops owned and operated locally, many selling objects made from local materials. I thought it had similarities to Granville Island. After a light lunch it was back on the road.
Feeling more confident that loss of life was diminishing as a risk, the trip to Stratford was pleasantly uneventful. The landscape became flatter and a little less quaint. After finding our B&B, Larkrise Cottage, in Wilmcote, we walked the 3 mile tow path along the Avon canal into town. Canal boats ply this canal carrying travellers on slow and relaxed vacations.
We met a couple who had to retrace their canal journey back to the Avon River as they found their boat was too wide for one of the locks. They got stuck and narrowly avoided an elaborate extraction of their 1 day old boat. Stratford itself is obsessed with Shakespeare, leading to painful shop names like Much Ado About Toys. We know now that we're not really thrilled about wandering around towns without an aim. Had supper at a very nice restaurant and discovered the joys of Pimm's. Long walk back home and to sleep. Overall, as Jayme said of Stratford, "it's not Bisley but it's very nice." The south Cotswolds have set a very high standard for us.
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