W

hen I heard that the Greenway walk followed a disused railway line, I instantly imagined myself recreating those famous scenes from the movie Stand By Me. Alas, I soon discovered that there were no tracks on the route. But the country air and glorious scenery soon made up for my disappointment.

Having had my fill of Shakespeare in Stratford - there are only so many universal truths one man can take – I decided that fresh air would be the perfect antidote. It wasn’t long before I heard the shrill sounds of the nesting skylarks and spotted the bright yellow of the cowslips. Now this was definitely more like it.

About halfway along the five-mile trail, I hit Carriages 5344 café and, once seated in a restored 1967 GWR Railway carriage, wolfed down a delicious fry-up, knowing that I would burn off the calories on the way to the village of Long Marston, the turnaround point.

Of course you can’t successfully turnaround without a pint at the Masons Arms pub. Revived by my pint and fry-up, maybe I’d have to run back to Stratford. But as I headed back onto the path, I let that silly idea go. As Shakespeare once wrote, “I would give all my fame for a pot of ale.”