Shakespeare in England

The day started early enough with a tour of the Tor in Glastonbury. Holly and many others opted to sleep in, but the 9 of us willing to brave the 6 am wake up call to squeeze in the 2 ½ mile round trip hike did it. Although a bit foggy, the morning was spectacular and the payoff was waiting for us at the top of the ‘mountain’. Once we huffed, puffed and sweated our way to the top, we were rewarded with the satisfaction of having made the trek and knowing that we possibly were standing on the site that the Holy Grail was originally stashed…legend has it, anyway! Although the view on the horizon was shrouded in fog, we still snapped pictures (password england) with the authority of hikers and pilgrims who trudged up the steep hillside.

A quick and tasty bite from a local bakery and then we were off in our coach once again…first to pick up our laundry in Bristol and then off to Stratford-on –Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare! We did a quickie tour of William Shakespeare’s family home, as well as the home and garden of his wife, Anne Hathway. For those of you who aren’t up on your Elizabethan playwright gossip; 18-year old William married Anne when she was 26 and 3-months pregnant…quite a scandal in those times, no doubt! We enjoyed a great late lunch in Stratford-on-Avon, a city rich in history is dating all the way back to medieval times – their Farmer’s Market has been held on Fridays continuously since the 1100’s.

The remainder of our day was primarily spent on the coach as we made our way out to Oakham, located near Rutland Waters, the largest man made lake in Britain. The hotel and view are spectacular, making our evening prayer time together outside especially breathtaking. We had a few tears from a person or two (who could that possibly be??) as we acknowledged that we will be sending Holly, Bettina, David and Rachel home tomorrow, but we continue to celebrate the time that we have had together. No wireless capacity in this hotel means that the blog is assembled off line and is waiting for some internet access to get back up to speed. Here’s hoping that in addition to a beautiful sunset across the lake, tomorrow’s travels will also bring us to an internet café or T-mobile hot spot!