Shakespeare's Stratford: I was expecting Stratford-upon Avon to be a tourist hellhole, wrecked by commercialisation and clogged with coaches. I was wrong. Maybe it was still too early in the season, but even on a sunny Saturday in April there were no queues at the major attractions and very few annoying snappers getting in the way of all my photographs. And the town was gorgeous. Trees dripped with blossom, abundant flowers were in bloom and countless swans thronged the riverbank. Even the Pizza Hut in the High Street was tastefully disguised as a genuine half-timbered 17th century townhouse. It's enough to make you wonder why William Shakespeare ever left the place.
Shakespeare's Stratford:Holy Trinity Church Stratford's old parish church on the banks of the river Avon is where William Shakespeare began and ended his life. He was baptised here on 26th April 1564 (his "23rd April" birth date is pure speculation based on this one fact) and buried in the chancel 52 years later. I failed abjectly in my attempts to venture inside to see Will's grave, kept at bay by the Harpenden Choral Society. They'd just started singing Faure's Requiem to an appreciative audience, and it would have been rude to interrupt their recital by trying to sneak past for a quick look at a stone slab and a plaster bust. Lovely singing it was, but damn you Harpenden Choral Society, damn you all the same.
Shakespeare's Stratford:The Royal Shakespeare Company Forget the upstart Globe Theatre down in London, the place to see Shakespeare performed properly is in this big brick building beside the Avon. All the luvvies come here to play their favourite Shakespearean roles, usually something from one of the tragedies because you get to appear more dramatic that way. Sir Ian McKellen and Sylvester McCoy are treading the boards in King Lear at the moment (one's a king, one's a fool), before the Swan Theatre closes down later in the summer for a major refit. The RSC take their Shakespeare seriously, and are as likely to be performing one of his lesser historical plays as a crowd-pleasing romance. One hope they never get tired of playing to full houses of lank-haired GCSE students.
This coming weekend, as part of Stratford's official Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations, the RSC are holding a special Open Day where you can go behind the scenes and take part in workshops and stuff. They've even invited Gyles Brandreth along, should you be so inclined. You really don't get this sort of cultural depth in most minor English market towns, do you? But then, thanks to one single birth here nearly 450 years ago, this is no ordinary English market town.
Shakespeare's Stratford:Anne Hathaway's Cottage A mile to the west of Stratford, in the small village of Shottery, is possibly the most famous cottage in all of England. William Shakespeare never lived here, but he did pop round quite a lot while wooing his wife-to-be. There was no open-topped sightseeing bus in those days so he had to walk across the fields to see his beloved - farmer's daughter Anne Hathaway. She lived in this picture-perfect thatched farmhouse beside the Shottery Brook, seen here with its scaffolded left-hand half carefully cropped out of shot. There are twelve plainly furnished rooms inside, including an upper storey supported by a gnarled wooden floor just one plank thick. It doesn't take long to wander round, and if you can't make it up the stairs you can view what you're missing in a Virtual Tour room nextdoor. The cottage garden is another modern addition, seemingly introduced to boost production of quaint Ye Olde English jigsaws and chocolate boxes. Further up the hill there's an extensive tree garden, complete with adventurous Shakespearean sculptures and a yew hedge maze, plus a couple of very well-screened coach parks. All this plus a gently-flowing stream, with ducks. Foreign tourists who only get to visit one village during their whistlestop tour of Britain probably think we all live like this. It would be a shame to disappoint them.
Shakespeare's Stratford:Hall's Croft The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust own five properties in and around Stratford, of which this is possibly the least exciting. Its claim to fame is that it was built for William's daughter Susanna and her husband John Hall, the town's only physician. But they only lived here for three years before inheriting William's main residence, so the historical link is a bit weak. Only in Stratford could a house such as this become a major tourist attraction. It's a fine building with a lovely garden, don't get me wrong, and if you've never been inside a well-to-do timber-framed house it must be quite impressive. But the interior is a little drab, and the limited selection of exhibits somewhat underwhelming. As for the upstairs exhibition about 17th century medical practice, that's little more than a room full of printed text pinned to boards, and somewhat reminiscent of the provincial museums I was dragged around as a schoolchild in the 1970s. I wish the restoration appeal well - there is much to be done.
Shakespeare's Stratford:Mary Arden's House I never got as far as Shakespeare's Mum's house, out in the village of Wilmcote, to see the farmhouse and sheep and chickens and pigs and falcons. But I'm told that my £14 five-property joint entrance ticket remains valid indefinitely should I ever choose to return. I shall store it somewhere safe, just in case.
Shakespeare's Stratford: I was expecting Stratford-upon Avon to be a tourist hellhole, wrecked by commercialisation and clogged with coaches. I was wrong. Maybe it was still too early in the season, but even on a sunny Saturday in April there were no queues at the major attractions and very few annoying snappers getting in the way of all my photographs. And the town was gorgeous. Trees dripped with blossom, abundant flowers were in bloom and countless swans thronged the riverbank. Even the Pizza Hut in the High Street was tastefully disguised as a genuine half-timbered 17th century townhouse. It's enough to make you wonder why William Shakespeare ever left the place.
Forget the upstart Globe Theatre down in London, the place to see Shakespeare performed properly is in this big brick building beside the Avon. All the luvvies come here to play their favourite Shakespearean roles, usually something from one of the tragedies because you get to appear more dramatic that way. Sir Ian McKellen and Sylvester McCoy are treading the boards in King Lear at the moment (one's a king, one's a fool), before the Swan Theatre closes down later in the summer for a major refit. The RSC take their Shakespeare seriously, and are as likely to be performing one of his lesser historical plays as a crowd-pleasing romance. One hope they never get tired of playing to full houses of lank-haired GCSE students.
A mile to the west of Stratford, in the small village of Shottery, is possibly the most famous cottage in all of England. William Shakespeare never lived here, but he did pop round quite a lot while wooing his wife-to-be. There was no open-topped sightseeing bus in those days so he had to walk across the fields to see his beloved - farmer's daughter Anne Hathaway. She lived in this picture-perfect thatched farmhouse beside the Shottery Brook, seen here with its scaffolded left-hand half carefully cropped out of shot. There are twelve plainly furnished rooms inside, including an upper storey supported by a gnarled wooden floor just one plank thick. It doesn't take long to wander round, and if you can't make it up the stairs you can view what you're missing in a Virtual Tour room nextdoor. The cottage garden is another modern addition, seemingly introduced to boost production of quaint Ye Olde English jigsaws and chocolate boxes. Further up the hill there's an extensive tree garden, complete with adventurous Shakespearean sculptures and a yew hedge maze, plus a couple of very well-screened coach parks. All this plus a gently-flowing stream, with ducks. Foreign tourists who only get to visit one village during their whistlestop tour of Britain probably think we all live like this. It would be a shame to disappoint them.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust own five properties in and around Stratford, of which this is possibly the least exciting. Its claim to fame is that it was built for William's daughter Susanna and her husband John Hall, the town's only physician. But they only lived here for three years before inheriting William's main residence, so the historical link is a bit weak. Only in Stratford could a house such as this become a major tourist attraction. It's a fine building with a lovely garden, don't get me wrong, and if you've never been inside a well-to-do timber-framed house it must be quite impressive. But the interior is a little drab, and the limited selection of exhibits somewhat underwhelming. As for the upstairs exhibition about 17th century medical practice, that's little more than a room full of printed text pinned to boards, and somewhat reminiscent of the provincial museums I was dragged around as a schoolchild in the 1970s. I wish the restoration appeal well - there is much to be done.
