Swanning about in Stratford-upon-Avon

A swan preens its feathers on the River Avon in Shakespeare Country, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Swans gather for food from tourists near the canal lock at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Narrow boats are guided through the lock at the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon. As housing prices in Britain go up, more and more people are opting to trade homes and apartments for boats. Many boat owners continuously sail rivers and canals without a permanent boat berth. According to The Independent in London, waiting times for residential moorings along the River Thames are up to three years, with more than 300 people already on the list.

Sixty-foot narrow boats range in price from £30,000 to £120,000. Additional costs include licenses, moorings and insurance, as well as council tax for a residential mooring. But when the average house price in the UK is nearly £200,000 (about 377,000 dollars or 296,000 euros) - prices in London are considerably higher - one begins to understand the appeal of narrow boats. Some people buy two: one on which to live; the other to store furniture and belongings that don't fit in their primary boat.

A gate starts to close, after a narrow boat moves through the lock on the River Avon.

A hostelerie near William Shakespeare' s and Anne Hathaway's final residence in Stratford-upon-Avon shows the timber and latticed windows popular in Elizabethan times. While the building has been demolished, the foundation of Shakespeare's last house is visible in a landscaped garden open to the public.

Comments

[Mike]

Excellent pictures. I enjoyed this little taste of life where you visited. Cheers :)

[kristen]

I love all of these vacation shots Tara ~ I hope I have some good ones to share as well.

[jennifer]

looks like a wonderful vacation!

[twitches]

Love the pics, as usual.

[rel]

Tara,
Thanks for sharing more beautiful pictures.

I'm interested in the auction, but couldn't
find the site where the items are shown or where to bid. Help me out.
rel

[Rosa]

I don't think I could do a boat 24/7. I've spent time on a boat and it's a bit too damp for my liking! Plus, I just have way too much junk. But, it does sound like great alternative to those who like it.

[miss*R]

stop it! each time I come here, I wanna go to England. it looks just like I dreamed it would. my friends hired a barge once and went down those canals. what a perfectly romantic holiday.
and such history you are showing us.
thankyou dear Tara xo

[tinker]

As they say in the South, Well, I swan :)
Pardon my southern idiom, but there goes my dream of moving to jolly ol' England - real estate inflation is as bad there as it is here.

However, the swans (and these posts from the UK), are simply lovely!

[peggy]

love the photos!!!!!
Yes you can donate to the auction. we have people donating from allover the world. thank you so much!

[deirdre]

This post and the last are fantastic. The pictures make me want to pack my bags and go. I'm sure living on a boat has wonderful moments, but all I can think about is how damp everything must be. Yuck.

[Donna]

Takes me back to our honeymoon when we took a tourist boat trip up the Thames to Hampton Court. The swans are perfect...maybe a little bit too perfect, I doubt it's a coincedence they live in this exact spot.

[Deborah]

Wonderful pictures! There is something so elegant about the swan ... and always reminds me of childhood, reading E.B. White's, The Trumpet of the Swan.

[The Bold Soul]

How neat to see how the locks work there. Last fall I got to see one of the Erie Canal locks while visiting a friend in Upstate NY and was surprised to see how modernized it all is now, and the locks are quite deep with very large doors. Click my name below to see the photos.