Stratford-Upon-Avon

I actually named a kitty of mine Stratford, after Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. When I was visiting London and learned how close I was to the town of Shakespeare, I knew I had to take the train up to visit. I was not disappointed. The town has such character, such quaintness, and the surrounding area of the Cotswolds is just as beautiful with a singular personality of its own. If ever I was to move to Great Britain, this area would be the place to live and enjoy life in utter peacefulness.

There are several tourist sites to see while you are there and many tours that will take you around. Among them is the house of William Shakespeare as a boy. His father, John Shakespeare, and mother, Mary Arden, came from affluent families. His father was a glover and alderman, and the family was well respected in the area. The grandeur of their house portrays this and is a definite stopover for you to visit, even with its tourist gift shop with cool t-shirts.

Two other places to visit are Hall's Croft and New Place. Hall's Croft was the home of William Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah, and her husband. New Place was Shakespeare's final home, the home where he retired to. All that is left today is a garden, apparently first created with flowers planted by Shakespeare's very own hands. You can enter into the garden by going through Nash's house, which is now a museum.

At 18 years old, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was 8 years his elder. With her he had three children, though he hardly spent any time visiting Stratford once he moved to London. I always wondered why he didn't come back more often to be with his family. It always did irk me that he could write such beautiful poetry about love, and yet he didn't seem to share this with his wife. A theory is that he may have had another love, another wife...Anne Whateley. An interesting turn of events as some scholars have written about.

If this intrigues you, Mistress Shakespeare is an entertaining book about the questionable love between Shakespeare and Anne Rosaline Whateley, his possible first wife, by Karen Harper. No matter what the stories are, Shakespeare was legitimately married to Anne Hathaway, whose house is a must see if you are in the region. The gardens are serene and the house is of the typical Cotswolds style.

My favorite part of the trip, however, was wandering through the town at dusk. While wandering and wondering who has walked these cobblestone streets, you randomly come across plaques on the buildings reading something like "Shakespeare's grammar school" or "Shakespeare frequented here" and you just wonder what is was like to live at the end of the 16th century and where you're amazed that the buildings are still standing.

Make sure to end your wanderings at the Holy Trinity Church with Shakespeare's grave. At dusk, the surrounding river and cemetery create an oddly magical resting place for the world's arguably best playwright.


Bonus: Go see a play at the Royal Shakespeare Company along the Avon, where you're close enough to the actors to get spit on...