A trip to William Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon is a real eye-opener and highly recommended
It is the 400th anniversary of the great poet's death but the town he made famous is a beautiful place to visit
A PARTY to celebrate a death in a small town in Warwickshire.
The omens didn’t sound great, especially in a county I know only for its rain, second-rate football clubs and, well, rain.
But how can you turn down a 400th anniversary?
Stratford-upon-Avon — birthplace of William Shakespeare in 1564 and where he died in 1616 — turned out to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.
A kind of theme park with brains.
The town has all kinds of places to stay, from homely B&Bs to historic houses and luxurious country estates.
My wife Fiona and I began our 48-hour visit at the stunning Shakespeare Hotel in the town centre.
This creaking, leaning mass of oak beams simply oozed history.
Built in 1637 as three houses, they were combined to form The Shakespeare Inn in 1764.
And as we staggered to our room down the leaning corridors and past tiny doorways, we got a real feel for the era.
After dinner in the hotel’s Marco Pierre White restaurant, what better way to pay our respects to the birthday boy than by watching a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
I’ll admit I was one of those kids who glazed over whenever the Bard was mentioned at school, but this production by the Royal Shakespeare Company showed me once and for all that the man had some talent. And a wicked sense of humour.
We broke up the bardolatry with visits to Butterfly Farm on Swan’s Nest Lane and a 40-minute river cruise with Avon-Boating, both antidotes to the stress of modern life (£6.25,, £6 ).
Afternoon tea at Arden Hotel (£20, ) was refreshing — an indulgent treat in suitably historic surroundings.
We dived back into the past with a visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace.
If your knowledge about him is a bit sketchy, this is the place to answer all your questions.
Clever films and displays build you up perfectly for a walk around the home in which he was born.
Continue the history lesson at Shakespeare’s New Place — a £6million “re-imagination” of his last family home.
Sadly, the original building was demolished in 1759, but this ambitious new project recreates parts of it in the grounds where it sat.
It has just re-opened after a renovation. We ended our experience with a night at the glorious Welcombe Hotel.
There cannot be a more beautiful hotel in England and the facilities inside match the stunning views outside.
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Not to mention the spa, with its luxurious pool, sauna, steam room, water jets, ice chutes . . . it’s a good job this was our last stop rather than our first. It’s highly unlikely we would ever have made it into town.
If I was to have one complaint about our stay, it would be that I had to go home without seeing Tudor World, Shakespeare’s School, Mary Arden’s Farm, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Hall’s Croft – owned by the Bard’s daughter and husband.
Yes, you get the idea — you cannot do it justice in a weekend.
Lonely Planet named Warwickshire as one of its top ten places to visit and I humbly take back everything I said — even about the rain.
Stratford is beautiful, green, steeped in history and somewhere we will definitely be revisiting. Anniversary or no anniversary.
GO: Stratford
STAYING THERE: B&B at the Mercure Stratford upon Avon Shakespeare Hotel is from £105 per night ( or call 02477 092 802).
The Grade 2-listed Welcombe Hotel is from £139 per night (seeor call 0330 028 3442).
OUT AND ABOUT: The Royal Shakespeare Company runs different productions throughout the year with tickets from £10 (01789 403 493). Shakespeare’s Birthplace is part of the Shakespeare Centre in Henley Street.
A Town Houses Pass gets you entry to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Hall’s Croft and Shakespeare’s New Place; (adults £17.50; children £11.50).
- FIND OUT MORE: see .