Stratford-upon-Avon-William Shakespeare birthplace (26/05/2012)

A hot summer Saturday at 22C , we were driving off to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Stratford-upon-Avon, what a unique town name in Warwickshire, 67 miles away from Nottingham with about an hour driving journey. It was the birthplace of the greatest playwight and poet-William Shakespeare.

We parked our car at a nearby town center carpark at £6 for upto 6 hours. However, our £5 note was being forfeited by theticket  machine when we pressed the "Reject " button on the faulty working machine. To get the refund, we would have to write in to the Stratford-upon-avon council as the machine is not able to dispense our inserted note. Well, this was a trivial matter, and we should just let go and enjoy our sunny day. We first took a slow walk to the beautiful city center which crowded with people who were all out welcoming the amazing sunshine.

Immediately welcoming us was the memorial statues of William Shakespeare and its 4 shakespearean characters-Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff and Prince Hal and symbolise philosophy, tragedy, comedy and history., which were just beside the Clopton Bridge.



Statute of Wiliam Shakespeare



Along the River Avon, there are many boats visit during the River Festival which takes place each Summer. River Avon is river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the midlands of England. The river has a total length of 154 km (96 miles).  There are rich varieties of activities along river Avon, you can choose to stroll along the footpaths and tracks, or enjoy rowing, or board the cruise boat.

 Walking towards the city center brings you to Shakepeares's houses, and of course variety of shops, al fresco cafe.

Having turned into Church Street, we passed by the King Edward VI Grammar School, also known as Shakespeare's School, where he attended the school between ages of 7-14.

On the left of High Street , there was one old fascinating townhouse which captured our eyes. It was in fact known as the "Harvard House" which was built in 1596. The link with Harvard dates from 1605 with the marriage of Katherine, daughter of Thomas Rogers (The builder of Harvard House) and Robert Harvard. It was their son John, born in 1607 and who emigrated to America in 1637, who on his death left half his estate and his library to help found a college at Cambridge, renamed Harvard College after him. It is now the property of Harvard University.

Walking further down from Church Street, we stopped at the place which believed to be last home of Shakespeare. Archaeological experts were brought in to carry out excavations at the site of New Place, Shakespeare’s final home. Visitor to  Nash’s House and New Place can also play a hands-on role in helping the archaeologists to sieve through tons of spoil from the excavations. The dig is a chance to learn and understand more on Shakespeare's social status, how he lived ....

As we walked up further to Old Town, on our left hand side was the Hall's Croft, the home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna. We did not pay the entrance fee to discover the house of the then affluent family.

At the Junction of Waterside and Old Town, we saw the oldest building, the Holy Trinity Church, famed as place of baptism and burial of Wiliam Shakespeare.



2 pound to view the grave and as part of donation to restore the church


We had our lunch at "Henley Street Tea Rooms" . We ordered a set of All Day English breakfast, fish and chips, and cooling ice coffee. The food quality was just ok but we found the price were quite reasonable. After a good rest and lunch, we went diagonally to William Shakespeare's birthplace, the house of Shakespeare. The entrance fee costs £13.50 per pax, and we both decided not worth to go in. So we just took a few pics of the House's exterior, and there was a role play -"Romeo and Juliet" outside the House.

After exploring the town for almost 5 hours, we were to return to Nottingham. My last stop was the "Moo Moo" shop. A shop which sells varieties of special blended milkshake. at £2.70 for a small cup, i ordered halzenut choc chip milk shake. It was just the right drink to quench thrist on a hot summer day.

Stratford-Upon-Avon - A perfect town for short half day Outing.