Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Stratford-upon-Avon is situated about 25 miles from Birmingham in the UK. It is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and well worth a trip. Should your business travel take you to Birmingham, take an extra day to see the town. I was lucky enough to visit Stratford during the annual Shakespeare festival in April. The festivities included acts in the park, plays, workshops and a fireworks display. I spent the day walking around town watching the street performances and seeing the sites. I would not recommend the bus tour, unless you just like to spend money. The town is small will well marked signs and is easily walkable. Get yourself a good guidebook and hit the pavement. With the exception of the Shakespeare Memorial Garden adjacent to New Place, the properties are pretty expensive to enter. You can get a reduced cost pass to enter ALL of the sites at the tourist information center near Shakespeare’s brithplace. You even have to pay to see the Baird’s grave at the Holy Trinity Church, but entrance to the church grounds is gratis.

Stratford.co.uk offers information on the different sites of the area. The most interesting piece of information I found is that of the Reverend Francis Gastrell. Gastrell owned New Place several generations after the death of Shakespeare. Tiring of the pilgrims visiting the last home of the author, “Gastrell took his fury out on a mulberry tree in the garden, said to be planted by Shakespeare himself. By morning all that remained was a pile of logs and the infuriated Stratford inhabitants retaliated by smashing Gastrell’s windows. In a tragic final act of madness, this time annoyed at Land Tax demands, Gastrell razed New Place to the ground. Gastrell was driven out of Stratford by murderous Stratfordians, and anyone of the same name was banned from living in Stratford forever.” Wow, banned FOREVER.

Sites to check out include: Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Hall’s Croft, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Nash’s House/New Place, Mary Arden’s House, Holy Trinity Church, the park with the lock and dam and the theaters. You can easily see all of the sites in a day, unless you’re one of those people who spends HOURS in each spot.