23 December 2012
Stratford Upon Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare We planned to go see some of the sights linked to the man: Visit the timbered home where he was born at Shakespeare’s Birthplace; see the house where he courted his wife at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, and visit his final resting place in the Holy Trinity Church.
After a hearty Full English breakfast, we checked out from the Ambleside Guest House but left our car at the guesthouse while we did a self-guided walking tour of the town.
The way to the birthplace of William Shakespeare was well signposted. It was easy to find and there was a Sunday market just starting to come alive nearby.
Interesting things could be seen in the Sunday market. In particular, a stall with beautiful owls.
From the Sunday Market, we made our way to the Avon river.
A visit to Stratford must include a walk on the banks of the Avon.
Recent rain in England has flooded many towns, and we could see some signs of flooding here as well. Fortunately, the floods did not hit this place too badly.
A nice slow walk down the banks of the Avon led us to the Holy Trinity Church also known as Shakespeare's Church, since this is the place of baptism and also burial of William Shakespeare.
From the church, the we passed another famous building in Stratford (Hall’s Croft) on the way back to collect our car from our B&B.
To complete our visit to Stratford, we drove to see the famous Anne Hathaway's Cottage, situated in Shottery, 1 mile from Stratford-upon-Avon. This was the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife. This is a beautiful cottage with a thatched roof and white and black sides, so typical of cottages in the Cotswold.
After seeing the sights of Stratford Upon Avon, we continued on our road trip to the city of Liverpool, home of the Beatles and Liverpool FC.
Where we stayed in Stratford Upon Avon: Ambleside Guest House, located along Grove Road.
We booked a family room and it was comfortable and spacious enough for 4 adults. The guesthouse was excellently located and within walking distance to the town centre. The guesthouse offers free off-road parking. The guesthouse was easy to find but parking the car was a little bit more challenging as the parking space was behind the B&B. To get to it, I had to drive the rented Audi A4 through a narrow path between two blocks of terrace houses, with barely a foot to spare on each side. Actually it not too bad as we are used to tight spaces and narrow car park spaces back home.
Peter (the host of the guesthouse) was warm, friendly and recommended nice restaurants within the village for dinner.
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