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Town in Warwickshire, England
Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Stratford-upon-Avon is an historic town on the River Avon in the English county of Warwickshire, best known as the home town of the great English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare. Today, it is a major theatre-going destination as the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. As such, it represents one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
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Probably the location of Shakespeare's birth, and definitely the home of his early years. His father was a glove-maker and town magistrate, with a spell as mayor, so this is a fairly prosperous home of the 16th century. Restored with period decor and many authentic items, and small garden.
Substantial mansion built in 1483 and bought by Shakespeare in 1602, but it owes its present appearance (ie totally invisible) to The Rev Francis Gastrell: he so loathed Shakespeare and pesky tourists that in 1759 he demolished it. A good start, but he was run out of town before he could set about the other properties. So the site is nowadays a charming garden in Elizabethan style. The adjoining building, Nash's House, was the home of Shakespeare's grand-daughter Elizabeth, and her first husband Thomas Nash.
Home of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall. In Jacobean style, with exhibition on medical & surgical practice of those times: no wonder so many patients died young.
The church is charming in its own right, but the main attraction is the burial place of Shakespeare and his immediate family within the chancel. So you can only view it when the church is open, and as a working church, services and other functions take precedence over tourism.
Independent museum re-enacting life in Tudor England, set in an authentic Tudor building.
Walk-through tropical rain-forest butterfly habitat. See their life-cycles in the Caterpillar Room. In Insect City find Stick Insects, Beetles, Leaf-cutting ants and many more strange bugs. Arachnoland hosts the world's largest spider, a scorpion colony and other creepy-crawlies.
The MAD museum is a collection of machines incorporating gears, chains, pulleys and whirligig paraphernalia. The exhibits fall into three areas: kinetic art, automata, and steampunk. Lots of rolling balls, clanking and rattling. There are exhibits indoors and in the garden with wind and water powered features and sculptures.
Thatched wattle & daub cottage, home of Anne Hathaway until she married Shakespeare. Restored with many family heirlooms on display (including their famous "second-best bed"), and surrounded with scenic gardens. Nearby car park £2. Stratford city bus tour calls here.
Tudor farmstead, childhood home of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother. Recreates farm life of the era. By bike or on foot, the lane from Stratford is busy and has no pavement; instead follow the canal towpath. Free parking. Stratford city bus tour calls here. Hourly slow trains between Birmingham Moor Street and Stratford-upon-Avon call at nearby Wilmcote station.
Miscellaneous collection of exhibits with a military theme.
Do see a production of Shakespeare, if you possibly can. You may have had boring experiences in the past, at school or with second-rate productions, or reckon you've seen enough of it on TV. But what the Royal Shakespeare Company bring to the plays in live performance is on a whole higher dimension. They perform here and in London but don't tour very much, so this is the place to see them. They do other plays as well and family-friendly versions of Shakespeare, see the RSC programme. And book early! Tickets are in high demand.
Hoaky re-imagining of the "lost years of William Shakespeare" - he was a wizard, apparently - plus lots and lots of merchandising (but thankfully no Harry Potter).
Day membership may be available.
Delicious fish and chips, take-away, cash only.
Fast and friendly café serving traditional English café food. Low prices considering the tourist-trap surroundings. Frantic at lunch-time, but somehow they still manage to serve quickly. Chicken, leek & ham pie recommended.
Pub with inexpensive food and lively thesp atmosphere: try the rhubarb pie. Part of the Greene King franchise. The sign reads "Dirty Duck" as you approach from town, "Black Swan" as you go into town from Holy Trinity Church. Note there was also a "Black Swan" on Ely St, but it's closed down.
Smart Italian restaurant, family-run with good fresh home cooked food.
First rate restaurant, the lamb is excellent.
Reservations not accepted on Friday evenings, or on Saturdays and Sundays; British cuisine with something for everyone. Great for 'brunch,' as well as dinner and drinks.
Splurge at this boutique hotel with large elegant rooms and excellent restaurant. Free parking.
Hotel with 12 rooms in 400-year-old house; great dining. No children under 16 or dogs.
4-star hotel in Victorian manor, often booked out to conferences.
On the banks of the River Avon.
Smart B&B with four rooms a mile west of centre. No children under 12 or dogs.
4-star hotel with 72 bedrooms, in a 16th-century building, on 11 acres of beautiful countryside.
By plane
The closest international airport is Birmingham Airport (BHX), with many flights domestically and across Europe.) Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.
By train
There are frequent direct trains to Birmingham Snow Hill station (around an hour) and Warwick (around 30 minutes).
By bus
Shakespeare Coaches run direct coaches to Stratford from London Paddington (about 2 hr)
By car
From London follow the M40 motorway and exit at Junction 15 for A46 south. Distance 102 miles (164 km), journey time approximately 2 hours. See also the town's Park and Ride website.
By boat
At Stratford, the navigable River Avon meets the Stratford canal, which connects to Grand Union Canal and the entire English waterway network.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Birmingham, West Midlands · International · BHX
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