Detours and Joy

Michelle Sisson
Jun 7
5 min read

June 5th

Today was my first full day on my own, and my PLAN was to go to Stratford upon Avon. What I learned on this trip is that I must do sight seeing AFTER my main destination. However, I chose about four places to stop on the way to Shakespeare's town. What ended up happening was I completely ran out of time to make it to Stratford.

One of the fruits of having Ataxia is I have no choice but to listen to my body. Rest is not an option nor is strolling. I'm basically living my life like I do back home, except every day is a Sunday drive day.

With that said, I have to admit that Oxford is not an option for my body. We scouted it out on day two or three (I'm already confused on my days. Good thing I'm writing about them). The traffic is horrendous (people, cars, and bikes). Not gonna lie, this was a sad decision to make. Lewis is one of my all time favorite authors, and I have fostered a new love for Tolkien over the past months and half. But, since I have no choice but to listen to my body, I had to follow her directions. She had an IMMEDIATE reaction to flee.

I did my best to find accessible tours, but that was not fruitful. I even tried to find audio, walking tours that I could listen to and google earth it, but most are tied to GPS, so I had to physically be there to have access. Luckily, I've done my research and have learned so much about Lewis's and Tolkien's careers in Oxford. I was most worried about fulfilling my grant responsibilities and letting people down in general. And, then it hit me: Girl, you've been dealt this hand; you must play what you got! The beauty is that it forced me to research other principal places in their lives.

This is something I've learned over the years. Career doesn't make the person. Their entire story does. Being a teacher for nineteen years, I spent about ten years making teaching my identity. I'm not resentful of my journey, but I'm thankful I made it through that leg more grounded, connected, and curious. I mean, I don't think of my best friends as nurses, analysts, teachers, researchers, realtors, managers, or moms; they're humans who have stories that make up the people I love the most.

So, I will focus on the landscape that made up the life and literary stories of the authors. It just feels better in my bones. Luckily, I, intentionally, did all the heavy lifting prior to my hop across the pond. Now, it's time to rest, enjoy, and write while in England.

With that said, here are the places I planned to "stop by" on the way to Stratford upon Avon:

My first stop was Worcester Woods Country Park. I must have done something incorrectly because I could not find a pretty park anywhere. This is how I travel: if I don't see anything that pulls at my heart, I move along. Really, that's how I move through life. No sense in staying somewhere that doesn't bring me peace. So, I left and headed to my next stop!

Pershore Abbey was lovely. There was a park all around, and the tower with gardens in the foreground was breathtaking. Their website states:

The Abbey Church of the Holy Cross, Pershore has been a centre for Christian Worship for over 1300 years. The present Abbey celebrated its Millennium in 1972.

What remains of the Abbey is the best part: the monk’s Quire (which is now the Nave) with its unique ploughshare vaulting, the combined triforium and clerestory, and the magnificent tower with its lantern and free-standing ringing platform.

Still one of the finest examples of Norman and Early English architecture in the country, Pershore Abbey is very much a broken building: Henry VIII destroyed the nave at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries; the north transept collapsed in the middle 1600s.

https://www.pershoreabbey.org.uk/about/

Next stop was a "nearby" castle. The drive there was, my goodness - I have no words. Although I cannot tell you which castle it was, I loved the sights on the way. I drove through a school zone where all the kiddos were walking home in their little uniforms. It's sweet to see young people enjoying their freedom with laughter. Many were racing each other home. So overcome with excitement and determination, one darted across the road without looking both ways (hopefully his mom didn't see his foolishness). Luckily, I was paying attention, and all was well.

The town leading to the castle was one of the oldest/untouched towns I've experienced. The roads were incredibly tight. Almost every building was made of stone. This made my excitement for the castle bubble even more. When I arrived at the parking lot, I realized you couldn't even see the castle. It was surrounded by dense OLD woods. What I could see was an entrance and café. Upon closer inspection, even that entrance was not accessible for me, so I felt it was a safe assumption that the castle would be even less so.

I may not be physically flexible, but flowing with my intuition comes pretty naturally for me. So, it was not a hard decision to keep it going!

As far as traveling (accessibility-wise), the Brits really honor the disabled. I guess they figure the buildings are so old and already difficult enough to traverse, that we get to park almost anywhere! And, everyone has been so kind. I'm used to being surrounded by understanding and kindness, but it hits differently when you know no one, and you're met with friendliness and compassion.

I decided that my sightseeing made Shakespeare unattainable today, so it was best I moseyed on back to Inga and Malcolm's. Luckily for me, driving is part the blessing for me. I may not be able to travel on foot effortlessly, but driving is a whole different story.

It was time to find an early dinner and loo! I stumbled upon this gorgeous restaurant on a back road, so I stopped in. Turns out, they were closed. Most restaurants here hold hours like Thai Garden! It has taken me a few days to figure it out, but most places are closed from 2-6PM. But, no worries, because a pub is never far away!

Here are some pictures of the place that was closed, so you can clearly see why I stopped.

Not far away, I found a lovely pub open! The waitress/barmaid was so wonderful and helpful. Turns out, ciders over here are my jam! Every evening, I have a pint of cider and large meal. Inga's English breakfasts keep me full until about 5PM (about eight hours!). Since my breakfast is included in my lodging, I have $36.95 ($50) to spend on my suppers!

Y'all, I JUST realized I had my conversions backwards this whole time! Glad I did the conversions for you, because I thought I was spending $50 a day, but I was actually spending $67.65!

Thank goodness I figured that out now! Anything over my grant allotments comes out of my pocket. Lesson learned!

Okay, well, now it makes sense why I felt I was overdoing it with this meal. Ha! This was a meal of firsts:

First Thatchers cider

First fried haloumi

First steak on this trip

Worth it! ;)