Shottery, Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Not a lot is known about William Shakespeare (1564-1616) but a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon will get you as close as you can get to the bard and give you an insight into life in his hometown. As you approach Stratford look for signposts directing you Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. Anne married William Shakespeare in 1582, but until then she lived in a darling thatched cottage at Shottery, a small village just a stone’s throw from Stratford-upon-Avon. You see paintings and photographs of this picture-book cottage all over the world.
Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of the greatest poet in the English language, William Shakespeare. Stratford-upon-Avon is always impossibly crowded with visitors—if crowds are not to your liking, give it a miss. William Shakespeare was born in a half-timbered house on Henley Street (Shakespeare’s Birthplace, now a museum alive with the bright colors and patterns of late 16th century furniture), educated at the King’s New Grammar School and, in 1597, six years before his death, retired to New Place one of the finest and largest houses in Stratford. New Place was demolished in 1759 but its foundations can still be seen. To give you an idea of what New Place might have looked like visit the adjacent Nash’s House in Chapel Street which is furnished as New Place might have been.
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Downtown Stratford
The playwright would have known the carved timber frontage of Harvard House in the High Street. It was built in 1596 by Thomas Rogers grandfather of the founder of Harvard University.
Simply engraved stones in front of the altar of the Holy Trinity Church mark the burial spot of Shakespeare and some other members of his family. It is a fairly large town, with beautifully renovated timbered buildings and lovely shops. The town’s glory, however, is brought expertly to the stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and at its associate theatre, The Other Place
Stratford, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Stratford along the river
Just outside Stratford, though technically in the town, you find Cross O Th Hills Farmhouse, a very handy place to stay just a 15 minute walk across the fields to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
