Warwick, Stratford and Oxford

September 21, 2012

We took a trip to Warwick Castle, Stratford-on-Avon, and Oxford today.  I booked the trip online through Viatour.  We needed to go to Victoria Coach Station on Buckingham Palace Road.  We took the Circle and District subway line to Victoria underground station.  This is different from the train station, which is different from the coach station.  People are very helpful when you ask directions, but “just turn left at the corner” means turn left and go for 5 or 6 blocks, which is hard when you don’t know that or know what the building looks like!  We gave ourselves plenty of time and after a couple of “can you help me?” requests, we arrived at the bus terminal.  Oodles of tour buses, probably 10 across and several deep, all ultimately filled.

Unbeknownst to us, Friday’s trips are bilingual – English and Spanish.  At first I couldn’t place the tour guide’s accent and thought she had a lisp, but when she went on to explain she would be telling each story in the two languages, I realized it was the Spanish lisp I was hearing.

Our first stop of the day was Warwick castle.  Originally built in 1068 by William the Conqueror,  Richard Neville played a key role in the War of the Roses, helping to depose two kings, Henry VI and Edward IV. There was significant reconstruction around 1700, with gardens done by Capability Brown.  Later on Daisy, Countess of Warwick was the long-time mistress of Edward VII. The Earldom is the only one which specifically includes the right of inheritance through the female line. The castle and its grounds were bought in 1978 by the Tussaud Foundation.

Next we went to Stratford-on-Avon. We toured Shakespeare’s home and garden.  There were actors there who explained life in 1575.  For example, children would sleep in a trundle bed beside their parent’s bed until they were old enough to be trusted to walk around the house with a lit candle, which was considered to be about 5. Due to fear of fires, all houses had to put their fires out at 8 PM, and the houses became very cold within a couple of hours. Children older than 5 slept in either the boys’ room or the girls’ room, with all siblings sharing a bed.  Servants slept on the floor in the parents’ room.

The beds were wood frames with ropes tied across, covered with rushing and then with a linen bag filled with wool.  As long as the ropes were tightly tied, it is a very comfortable sleep.  That’s why people still say “Good night, sleep tight.” 

These were plague years and people were sure plague and sickness were brought by evil spirits.  You could not sleep lying down – that suggested you were dead. The parents would sleep with pillows rising them up. Servants would put a log to hold up their bedding.  Babies were blanketed in red as everyone believed evil spirits avoided the colour red. Finally, it was thought that girls didn’t need protection as they usually survived sickness; therefore parents dressed their sons as girls when they went to bed!

Next we went to Oxford. It started to pour, but when we did the walking tour, the rains stopped.  We visited Christ Church College, one of the 38 colleges that make up Oxford University. Christ Church College was founded by Cardinal Wolsey and has 750 students, making it the largest of the colleges.  It is the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwort’s school.  The only area of the school that was used in the films was the staircase, where Professor Mcgonagall (Maggie Smith) greets the new students.  Tuition is 9,000£ per year for students from the British Isles, 13,000£ for foreign students .

After a 10 hour day, we were dropped back at Victoria underground station.  Driving through the streets of London, the guide told us to always take black cabs as they are the official cabs of London.  The drivers still have to pass the “Knowledge”. They are tested on their knowledge of the 320 routes, 25,000 streets, and 10,000 landmarks within a six mile radius of Charing Cross. Seems a bit over the top in the day of GPS! We also learned that the reason black cabs’ roofs are so high is that they were designed at the beginning of the 20^th century when gentlemen still wore top hats, so they were made high to accommodate them. They’ve never seen reason to change the design.

We took the tube back to Gloucester Road and went looking for supper.  There were countless restaurants along the street, but I was not in the mood for something fast.  We then found the Wildwood restaurant.  It was an Italian restaurant, so we both ordered a glass of the house wine, and bruschetta to start. April had lasagna and I had spaghetti with oak roasted salmon.  The meal was fantastic, with April telling the waitress and owners that she had never had more delicious bruschetta or a better lasagna!  We ended the meal with a cappuccino  for me and an Americano for her, tired but very pleased with ourselves!

Tomorrow, we are off to Paris on the Eurostar.