A mere two hours by train from London lies Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of one of England’s most revered personalities, Mr. William Shakespeare. Now, I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare’s work (gasp!) but still found it imperative to hop on a train and suss out the bearded bard’s humble beginnings. I mean, you can’t live in London and not go, right? Hoping to soak up a bit of history, I spent a weekend there in June, accompanied by the lovely Fned.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a small town that is cheap and convenient to get to, which makes it an ideal weekend trip from London. We secured return train tickets for only 25 GBP each online and trains leave from London’s Marylebone and Euston stations every two hours.
The weather wasn’t particularly inspiring (grey British skies and intermittent drizzle wereomnipresent the whole weekend, le sigh), but we didn’t let that put a damper on our sojourn. Early Saturday we walked the short distance from our hotel to the town centre, and onward to Willie’s abode.
The house is a shrine, decorated to reflect the life and times of one of England’s most famous exports. It was fun, though a tad eerie, to walk through what was once Shakespeare’s bedroom.
Of particular interest to me, however, was the gift shop we stumbled upon as we exited. For, did you know that Shakespeare is not only an incredible writer, but also an action hero?
On weekends he also doubles as a kiddies’ plush toy. Busy guy!
Tips for visiting the town of Stratford-upon-Avon:
-Entrance to Shakespeare’s House is 14.00 GBP, but if you have time, getting a 5-house ticket for 21.00 GBP (allowing entrance to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Hall’s Croft, Mary Arden’s Farm, Nash’s House & New Place, and Shakespeare’s Birthplace) is better value.
–See a show. Where better to see a Shakespearean play than in the home of Shakespeare? A wide variety of plays from Shakespeare’s repetoire are performed every day (start times are typically 1:15pm and 7:15pm). See Royal Shakespeare Company for details.
-Stratford-upon-Avon itself is tiny, quaint, and the centre is perfectly walkable. If you have time and cash to spare, however, take an open air sightseeing bus and visit some of the other well-known sights in the area (Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Holy Trinity Church, etc). It costs 11.50 GBP and, depending on the time of year, leaves every 20, 30, or 60 minutes from the first stop, Avon Boating.
– Get a flexible/open return train ticket between London and Stratford-upon-Avon. Book tickets online at National Rail for the best deals.
– The shopping is FANTASTIC in Stratford-upon-Avon (at least for the ladies) and less busy than in London. Something to think about if you have a couple of hours to kill and don’t want to deal with the crowds in London!
–Be sure to book a table early if you want to go to dinner! Fned and I got turned away from a few restaurants because they were full- people going out to the theatre in the evening take all the seats. Reserve to avoid disappointment and a hungry stomach.
Are you a fan of Shakespeare? What’s your favourite play?
Many thanks to Visit England and Visit Stratford for hosting my stay in Stratford-upon-Avon. As always, opinions are my own.
73 Comments
Not a HUGE fan of Shakespeare? Gasp indeed! 🙂
Looks like a fun, short trip.
removable quill pen?! En garde 😉
This looks like so much fun! This is why I want to go back to England and venture beyond London.
I’m not what I’d call a fan, but I quite appreciate his plays (granted he was the one who actually wrote them :p). My favourite is “Midsummer Night’s Dream”. I also visited Startford-upon-Avon during my first trip to the UK when I was 12. It was a school trip but the town was definitely among my favourite places.
A bit envious here! I’m not so much a fan of his works, but him as the historical figure. In general anything to do with that time period of British history is cool. Perhaps on my third visit to the UK I’ll finally get to see Stratford-Upon-Avon. Thank you for the tips!
No worries! Hope they are useful!
To tell you off or not to tell you off, what shall it be?. Shakespeare was required reading for us islanders (West Indians) but I wasn’t a fan until we immigrated to the US whereby I could use my knowledge to impress my teachers who thusly favoured us and our usage of the English language.
Just one question though: Was that the bed that Shakespeare shared with his wife?. Pray tell, because, tis smallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!.
Haha, well, people were smaller back in the day… LOL! Not sure if he shared it with his wife or not!
Oneika, I have a question being that you are all over and you have become a experienced UK traveler. A bunch of girls and myself are going to Britain in 2 weeks for the Jane Austen Festival. We will be staying the entire week in Bath, but venturing out to London for one day. We would like to know what is the cheapest way to travel around England? For example-Bath to Cardiff, Bath to Stratford-Upon-Avon, etc. We are taking the coach RT from Bath to Heathrow so that is all set, but trying to figure cheapest way to get around England also from Bath to Lonon. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. If anyone wants to chime in, please do. 🙂
You can try megabus.co.uk or nationalexpress.com
narionalrail.com is useful too
Thank dami. I will probably be taking advantage of national express and megabus while there.
Darn, just seeing this!! Dami handled the question though… Thanks lady!!
I too took inside pics, although I believe you aren’t suppose to. It was a quicker trip for me, I left from Brum.
Oops! 😉
I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare, but as someone with a degree in English Literature, this is a trip I must do one day! My favorite Shakespeare play? I enjoyed Macbeth, Othello, and As You Like It.
I’m actually teaching Othello right now and loving it! Shakespeare is growing on me… 🙂
Shakespeare:
1. Had knowledge of Latin, Italian, and French, based on his plays, but couldn’t spell his name the same way three times in a row.
2. Received only a grammar school education, never left England, but was privy to knowledge of other countries and court intrigue.
3. Was England’s greatest playwright, but is described in all legal documents from his time as being a grain and wool merchant.
4. His passing wasn’t mentioned or lamented by a single fellow poet or author at the time of his death.
5. Not a single hand written poem or manuscript by him has been found.
6. His children were uneducated, and he left no books or manuscripts in his will.
7. His funerary monument in his parish church at first showed him holding a bag of grain. This was removed later, and replaced with a quill pen and parchment.
Hmmm……….
Right on my man!
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