After spending our first week in England staying with my parents in Haslemere, we headed north to visit a friend near Liverpool.
Along the way, Shae and I stopped for the afternoon in Stratford-Upon-Avon, a town best known for being the birthplace and subsequent home of William Shakespeare.
We only spent three hours there, but it gave us a good opportunity to experience some of the main sights around the town. Here’s everything that we saw during our visit.
To make it easier for you to find everything we did, here’s a map with everything plotted on there.
We parked near the visitor center and popped in there quickly to get a map of the area. The person we spoke to was very helpful and circled all the places we knew we wanted to visit and shared the best way to get to all of them.
Our first stop was the river. Stratford-Upon-Avon’s name comes from the fact that it’s on the River Avon.
There are several companies that offer short cruises along the river and we chose Avon Boating. Their cruise is 40 minutes long and cost us £7 ($9) per adult. It takes in various sights along the river which are helpfully noted on a map.
The map is accompanied by an audio handset. As you head down the river, you enter the number for the attraction and it gives you a description of what you’re looking at, along with some of its history.
Some of the attractions include The Swan Theatre…
…the Clopton Bridge which was built in 1492(!)…
…and a chain ferry. The ferry has operated since 1937, but the local council wanted to build a bridge across the River Avon in this location. Local residents complained as it would spoil the views of Holy Trinity Church (more about the significance of the church later), so it’s remained in use.
The chain that transports the ferry from one side of the river to the other falls to the river bed when not being used in order to allow other boats to pass.
In addition to the points of attraction listed on the map, it’s worth taking in the general views as there are some beautiful houses and gardens along the river.
After our boat ride was done, we were ready for some lunch. Shae had already scoped out some options beforehand, so we headed up Sheep St to The Fourteas. As the punny name suggests, it’s a tea room with a 40s theme.
It’s cute inside with all kinds of of 40s-themed decor from the seat cushions…
…to their menus which were made to look like ration books from World War II.
The US does a lot of things right, but two things the UK does better is bread and bacon. Combine the two and you get delicious bacon sandwiches, so that’s what Shae and I both ordered.
To go with my sandwich I ordered a pot of tea. That came with a sand timer to let me know once it had been brewed for long enough.
To finish off, Shae and I each got a scone with jam and clotted cream. Shae’s a monster, so she put her clotted cream on before her jam. I therefore didn’t take a photo of hers so that you wouldn’t be subjected to its hideousness, so here’s a picture of mine. It’s not the prettiest looking scone ever, BUT AT LEAST I PUT THE JAM AND CLOTTED CREAM ON IN THE CORRECT ORDER!
There’s a saying – ‘Jam before cream on scones unless you’re a sociopath’. OK, so that’s not an actual saying, but it should be.
Sorry, but I feel very strongly about my scones.
Once the scone debacle was over, we started exploring the town. If a 40s-themed tea room isn’t your thing, how about the ShakesPaw Cat Cafe where you can have a drink and pet cats?!
We spotted that cafe while on our way to William Shakespeare’s birthplace and childhood home. You can pay to enter, but we didn’t have time and so just took a quick photo outside.
Opposite his birthplace was a store called Alohomora which had all kinds of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones products. Shae’s a huge Harry Potter fan, so we took a look in there.
Having seen William Shakespeare’s birthplace, our next destination was his grave. Along the way we passed several interesting buildings. One of them was the Guild Chapel which was founded in 1269. Some portions of that original structure remain, with the nave and tower being built in the 1400s.
To the right of the church is the building that once contained Shakespeare’s school room and the Guildhall. The building next door once contained almshouses (accommodation for poor people), with some of that building now converted to residential apartments.
Around the corner from there was Hall’s Croft. This was once the home of William Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall. Similar to Shakespeare’s birthplace, you can take a tour inside Hall’s Croft, but we simply admired it from the outside and continued on.
Soon enough we arrived at Holy Trinity Church which is where William Shakespeare’s body was laid to rest in 1616.
Despite the church having a large, historic entrance, the doorway itself is only half the height. You therefore have to duck down when entering, hence the warning sign.
The church is open for visitors and it’s free to look around and admire the architecture and stained glass windows.
Shakespeare is buried in the church, alongside some of his family members. In theory it’s free to view the grave, but the church encourages a donation of £3 ($4) per person which is reasonable.
After visiting his grave, Shae and I made our way back towards the parking lot, passing the Swan Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Theatre along the way, buildings we’d seen from the opposite side on the river boat trip.
We walked back towards the river through Bancroft Gardens which contains a Swan Fountain…
…and a statue of Shakespeare that’s perfect for the selfie-inclined.
At the edge of the park is the River Avon with a lock used to raise and lower boats on the river.
If you ever fancy taking a trip along the river, there’s a helpful sign letting you know how long it’ll take.
Off in the distance we could see the Big Wheel – a large Ferris wheel near the river. An online search suggests it’s closed permanently, but it was still turning when we visited.
Our final stop was the Gower Memorial – a tall structure with another statue of William Shakespeare atop it.
Final Thoughts
Shae and I had a great time exploring Stratford-Upon-Avon for a few hours on our way up to the north of England. It’s a cute town with lots to offer – we could’ve easily spent a couple of days wandering around, visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace and more. If you’re visiting the UK and want to see somewhere outside of London, Stratford-Upon-Avon is an excellent option.
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