Shakespeare’s Way
Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre London
(with an extension to the Thames Barrier!)
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| Shakespeare's birthplace - the start |
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| Globe Theatre - the end |
As we come to the end of 2012 we thought it would be good to recall a
bit of recent history: Shakespeare's Way, which we completed on Friday 18 March
2011.
We started back in February 2010 and split the walk into 15 segments of
roughly 10 miles each time (varying from 7 miles to 14.5 miles). Never thinking
that we would ever achieve the 150 or so miles (officially 146 miles) we
started modestly in Woodstock and worked through to Oxford and then to
Watlington.
Buoyed by that success we moved back to the start at Stratford, by
then it was summer and then longer journeys to start and finish were possible.
Pub name
|
Miles from Stratford
|
Date
|
Rating out of 10
|
Notes
|
Halford Bridge Inn, Halford
|
11.5
|
28/05/2010
|
5
|
Beer alright. Lunchtime food looked OK - not sampled
|
Cherington Arms, Cherington
|
20.5
|
23/07/2010
|
8
|
Good beer. Friendly. Lunchtime food looked good - not sampled
|
Red Lion, Long Compton
|
24.5
|
23/07/2010
|
4
|
Not really for walkers - expensive food. Art?
|
Fox Hotel, Chipping Norton
|
31
|
03/09/2010
|
7
|
Good beer
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Star Inn, The, Woodstock
|
47
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10/09/2010
|
5
|
Beer OK
|
Plough, Wolvercote
|
54
|
05/02/2010
|
6
|
Good beer. N's local
|
White Horse, The, Oxford
|
58
|
12/03/2010
|
9
|
Excellent. Campaign HQ
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Chequers, The, Sandford-on-Thames
|
62.5
|
12/03/2010
|
5
|
Tatty, beer OK, Formica tables
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Lord Nelson, The, Brightwell Baldwin
|
73.5
|
09/04/2010
|
6
|
OK garden. Bit expensive
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Five Horseshoes, Russell's Water
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82.5
|
08/10/2010
|
6
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Beer OK. Good view Expensive food
|
Stag & Huntsman, Hambledon
|
90.5
|
08/10/2010
|
7
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A welcome pub
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Jolly Woodman, Littleworth Common
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104.5
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03/12/2011
|
4
|
Beer OK. Pub was cold. Blackwood Arms now closed
|
Black Horse, The, Fulmer
|
110.5
|
07/01/2011
|
4
|
Expensive beer. Warm pub on a cold day
|
De Burgh Arms, West Drayton
|
118.5
|
07/01/2011
|
2
|
Tatty, no beer on
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Fox, The, Hanwell
|
125.5
|
28/01/2011
|
8
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Unspoilt + Fullers. Friendly. Food looks OK
|
Magpie & Crown, Brentford
|
129
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28/01/2011
|
8
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Great range of micro real ales. Friendly
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Bricklayers, The, Putney
|
136.5
|
18/02/2011
|
9
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Great range of beer, noted Camra pub
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Duchess, The, Battersea
|
142
|
18/03/2011
|
7
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Only Greene King on. Great view of Battersea PS
|
The table above gives our very personal view of pubs found and used on
the way. The table below contains details of the stages and brief details of
public transport used to get to and from each stage.
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| Ettingham Park (10 miles) |
We really enjoyed this walk. Apart from some wonderful countryside and
quiet places there were great contrasts. From the wealthy houses around Fulmer
(TQ005850) hiding behind their security fences and electric gates and the
“Stepford Wives” village of Honington, Warwickshire (SP264425) and (in our
opinion) the insensitive “blot on the landscape” house at Crimscote Hill,
Warwickshire (SP235472) to the “down at heel” areas near the M25.
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| Climbing up from Long Compton (24.5 miles) |
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| Rollright Stones (28 miles) |
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| in the Glyme valley (32 miles) |
The route follows the valley of the River Stour until it reaches the
Cotswolds, crosses into Oxfordshire and then heads south by way of Chipping
Norton and Woodstock to Oxford.
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| Blenheim Palace (46.5 miles) |
After following the Thames for some way the
route heads south-eastwards to the Chilterns and then catches up with the
Thames again at Marlow.
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| Toot Baldon Church (65.5 miles) |
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| Begbroke Oak (50.5 miles) |
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| Steepest climb (82.5 miles) |
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| After the climb |
Leaving the Thames again at Cookham (home of the artist
Stanley Spencer) the route cuts across Burham Beeches to the north of Slough
eventually joining the Grand Union Canal. The canal towpath is really easy way
into the west London suburbs and eventually rejoins the (now tidal) river
Thames at Brentford. The route then follows the south bank of the river all the
way to the Globe Theatre (slight detour around the site of the old Battersea
Power Station.
 |
| Battersea PS (142 miles) |
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| Beech woods (88.5 miles) |
Overall the path was easy to follow and suitably signed. As we have
proved it is possible to use public transport though one has to be prepared to
wait for buses or sometimes hurry along for trains (T nearly breaking into a
run at Bourne End to catch the train.)
Perhaps the low points were crossing the M25 near Iver (TQ041808), the
De Burgh Arms pub (next to West Drayton Station) and skirting Oxford’s sewage
works. Some of the high points were climbing up the Cotswold scarp slope near
Long Compton, crossing the Chilterns from Watlington to Hambledon, discovering
that it is possible to avoid Slough and walking into London via the Grand Union
canal and the Thames.
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| Stonor Park (85 miles) |
Not sure Shakespeare did the route that we did and if he did he did it
in three days! Weather was mostly kind, had snow on the segment Bourne End to
Farnham Common on 3 December 2010. A real sense of achievement, it looks really
impressive on Google Earth.
Stages
|
Distance (miles) + on-off
|
Miles from Stratford
|
Notes
|
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Stratford-upon-Avon to Ettington Park (7 May 2010)
|
8.5
|
8.5
|
Train to Stratford. Stagecoach 50A bus from Ettington to Banbury and
train from Banbury
|
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Ettington Park to Shipston-on-Stour (28 May 2010)
|
8
|
16.5
|
Train to Banbury, Stagecoach 50A bus to Ettington Park. Stagecoach 50A
bus from Shipston to Banbury, train from Banbury
|
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Shipston-on-Stour to Long Compton (23 Jul 2010)
|
8
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24.5
|
First bus S3 from Oxford to Chipping Norton and then Stagecoach 50 to
Shipston. Stagecoach 50 bus from Long Compton to Chipping Norton and First
bus S3 to Oxford
|
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Long Compton to Lidstone Turn (0.5 mile off) (3 Sep 2010)
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10.5
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35
|
First S3 bus from Oxford to Chipping Norton and then Stagecoach 50
Long Compton. First bus S3 from Lidstone Turn to Oxford
|
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Lidstone Turn to Woodstock (0.5 mile on) (10 Sep 2010)
|
13
|
48
|
First bus S3 from Oxford to Lidstone Turn. First bus S3 from Woodstock
to Oxford
|
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Woodstock to Oxford Stn (0.5 mile off) (5 Feb 2010)
|
11.5
|
59.5
|
First bus S3 from Oxford to Woodstock. Ending in Oxford.
|
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Oxford Stn to Stadhampton (0.5 mile off) (12 Mar 2010)
|
11
|
70.5
|
Starting Oxford Stn. Thames Travel 101 bus from Stadhampton to Oxford
|
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Stadhampton to Watlington (1.5 mile off) (9 Apr 2010)
|
10
|
80.5
|
Thames Travel 101 bus from Oxford. Whites Coaches from Wallingford to
Stadhampton failed! Thames Travel 101 Watlington to Stadhampton & Oxford
|
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Watlington to Hambledon Mill (total of 2.5 miles on & off) (8 Oct
2010)
|
14.5
|
95
|
Thames Travel 101 bus from Oxford to Watlington. Arriva Bus 800 / 850
from Hambledon Mill to Reading via Henley
|
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Hambledon Mill to Bourne End (1 mile on) (5 Nov 2010)
|
10
|
105
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Arriva Bus 800/850 from Reading Stn to Hambledon Mill. Train from
Bourne End via Maidenhead to Reading
|
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Bourne End to Farnham Common (3 Dec 2010)
|
7.5
|
112.5
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Train from Maidenhead to Bourne End. First bus X74 from Farnham Royal
to Slough Stn.
|
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Farnham Common to West Drayton Stn (7 Jan 2011)
|
11.5
|
124
|
First bus X74 from Slough Stn to Farnham Royal. Train from West
Drayton
|
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West Drayton Stn to Brentford Thames Locks (28 Jan 2011)
|
10.5
|
134.5
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Train to West Drayton. E2 bus from Brentford to Ealing Broadway and
train from Ealing Broadway
|
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Brentford Thames Locks to Putney Bridge (18 Feb 2011)
|
7.5
|
142
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Train to Ealing Broadway. E2 bus to Brentford. SWT from Putney
|
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Putney Bridge to Globe Theatre (18 Mar 2011)
|
9.5
|
151.5
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SWT from Reading to Putney. Over ground from London Bridge via Charing
X and Bakerloo to Paddington
|
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Total
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151.5
|
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We can
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| Grand Union joins the Thames (129 miles) |
recommend the walk which is well described in the book,
“Shakespeare’s Way – a journey of imagination” published by The Shakespeare’s
Way Association, January 2006 ISBN 0952685167. (Contains plenty of warnings
about crossing roads and gives lots of advice about “welcome benches”.
The
website for the walk is at http://www.shakespearesway.org/index.htm We are not included in the “Completers”
section though we did get our certificate. P also produced a completer’s
certificate when we arrived at the Globe but pointed out that we had missed a
vital section in Chipping Norton and a less than exciting bit across old gravel
pits between Iver and West Drayton!
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| Thames Barrier |
The extension to the Thames Barrier was well worth the effort. On 8
April 2011 (a fine sunny day) we carried on carried on down the Thames from the
Globe Theatre to the Thames Barrier and then travelled back by bus and water
taxi to Embankment, a distance of 10.5 miles.
