Wednesday 2 June 1993 – Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of poet and writer William Shakespeare (c 1564-1616), is a mecca for visiting tourists.

Sightseeing bus operators Guide Friday was established in the town and gradually became a countrywide sightseeing operation employing secondhand buses converted to open top. Typical of the buses in the fleet was OTO 578M, an East Lancs bodied Leyland Atlantean new to Nottingham City Transport (578) in May 1974, which was seen in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon.

I was standing in the gardens of New Place the site of Shakespeare’s final Stratford residence and where he died in 1616.

The bus was turning from Chapel Street to Chapel Lane. The backcloth features the Guild Chapel of the Holy Cross founded by the Guild of the Holy Cross in the 13th century a medieval foundation and (on the right) is the Falcon Hotel which had origins in the 16th century and completed in the 17th century.