A change of plans...

I had originally wanted to go to see the Olympic Park in East London today, as a birthday outing, but I have to be honest and say that the recent spate of violence in the capital made me a bit wary of visiting at the moment.

I know that we would have been OK, but I didn't want to go somewhere and feel on edge all the time so we decided to go to Stratford upon Avon instead as we always enjoy the town and I'd booked a table at a riverside pub for the afternoon. I did joke to Keith that we'd gone from Stratford (East London) to Stratford (upon Avon)!

We had a leisurely start to the day and I watched the skies anxiously as I didn't want any rain! We drove to the town via the scenic route - over to Daventry, Southam, Leamington, Warwick and then Stratford, where we parked easily on the Recreation Ground by the river.

First up was coffee and we headed to the usual place we visit. The town was looking busy with tourists mingling by the river and looking at the narrow boats moored up near the locks. We took almost the last table in the cafe and enjoyed coffees and cakes before venturing back outside and deciding to do a riverside walk.

The walk took us along the river bank, past the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre and along to a small bridge. Plenty of people (and birds) were out enjoying the fresh air and views. It was so lovely to get out and stretch our legs for a change!

The Dirty Duck (or Black Swan) from across the river - our venue for a late lunch

Several men were out fishing (including a dog who looked highly excited at the prospect of catching something!) and there was a lovely atmosphere. The sun did peep its face between the clouds at times!

We went past some dangerous looking weirs and discovered that the Avon river rises near the Northamptonshire village of Naseby, not at all far from where we live! I didn't know that! It then goes off to Tewkesbury and merges with the Severn.

We crossed a narrow bridge and came across the Holy Trinity church, where we found out Shakespeare is buried! Oh, and Anne Hathaway too! It cost about £3 to go and see where he's buried, but we decided to skip that and just look at the beautiful stained glass windows instead.

When we emerged from the church the sun was out and we had lovely views over the river. We stopped to take some photos before walking back towards the theatre.

Interesting tree with lots of carvings on the trunk and branches

Back on the path we came across a memorial stone to Vivien Leigh, the gorgeous actress who starred in Gone With The Wind and who was married to Lawrence Olivier.

We had a quick walk through the theatre and a performance was just about to start. It was heaving with people and we were tempted to go up to the rooftop bar and restaurant, but we headed back across the locks to The Bear pub instead.

Keith and Mike were delighted to find some good beers on offer in the bar. They had two pints of Hook Norton's Twelve Days, a strong, dark winter beer. I tried a chocolate and vanilla Stout which was delicious.

We had a couple of drinks in the bar and talked about the possibility of going vegan for February. We would have to do it as a family and we all agreed that February was the best month as it was the shortest! There is a vegan food fair on in Northampton on the 26 January so we decided to go to that and get some inspiration!

We'd booked a table for 3.45pm but it was ready early for us. As it was a Greene King pub it served one of Keith's favourite beers, Abbot.

The pub is very old (1738) and is quite famous, apparently! I am sure lots of actors visit when they are appearing at the theatre nearby.

We had a table overlooking the river and we settled down with our drinks to study the extensive menu. For starters we decided upon the sharing platter, consisting of garlic bread, skinny chips, breaded mushrooms and prawns and battered chicken bites. We also ordered another order of garlic bread as we were hungry!

Sophie and Mike had chicken burgers for their main course, Keith wanted the mixed grill but was told it was off, as they only had ribeye steak, which he chose instead. This was served with mac 'n' cheese and crispy shallots, which bemused him slightly!

I made a mistake and opted for the chicken breast stuffed with smoky bacon and leek and thyme, wrapped in streaky bacon and served with roast potatoes, vegetables and a giant cardboard Yorkshire pudding. The overwhelming flavour was the thyme, which I have decided I'm not that keen on! I hate to admit to leaving half of it, but Keith, Sophie and Mike enjoyed their meals.

We left at about 4.30pm and meandered back to the car. I took a panoramic shot of the theatre...

The drive home was easy and took us about an hour and a half. They have finished the A45 extension near Flore and Weedon and this was a joy to drive as it bypassed the two villages quickly and easily.

We were home by 6.30pm and it had just started to rain. I thoroughly enjoyed our day out and the plan is to try and go out once a month, to a place we all pick. Let's hope we keep up with it!