The New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon Old Town will immediately transport you to the times of the Bardo with tudor style dwellings , recognizable by their white, half-timbered facades, such as Shakespeare's birthplace on Henley Street.
Actors dressed in period costumes will accompany you during your visit to tell you curiosities about the playwright's childhood and explain how he lived in the 16th century . The house does not have original pieces that belonged to the family, but their possessions have been recreated such as fabrics that decorate the two-story house that Shakespeare's mother inherited from an inheritance, or the dining room with the table set with the typical food of that time.
In this house is also the workshop of John Shakespeare, his father, who made leather gloves and has direct access to the gardens of the house , where you will find actors reciting at the request of visitors passages and verses from the plays and sonnets of the playwright.
William Shakespeare was born here
Right next to the house is the shakespeare center with an exhibition that shows the world influence that the writer has had with a museum that keeps more than 11,000 objects and a library with more than 55,000 books, including two copies of the First Folio , the first publication of Shakespeare's works collected by two of his friends; without this volume almost half of his works would have been lost.
We follow the route that Shakespeare took every day to go to school which stands on Church Street, and is still used today by the town's children as a library and meeting place. On April 23, it opens for the first time to the public with a great renovation work that has uncovered original paintings and murals from the 15th century.
Culture #everywhere!
In this enclosure was also the Guild Hall where his father, who for several years was the city bailiff, attended meetings with aldermen to deal with the affairs of the municipality and where traveling theater companies went to apply for a license and to be able to act in the town. At the top of the building, John Shakespeare was in charge of seeing the works and giving licenses if he considered that the content was appropriate. It is believed that it was here that Shakespeare first saw a play.
The next stop is New Place , the house that Shakespeare bought to live with his family in 1597 when he was already a well-known actor and playwright in London. It was the largest house in town. At that time, but today only the gardens remain since in 1759 the Reverend Francis Gastell ordered it to be demolished, tired of it being an attraction for tourists.
Shakespeare Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust He decided to give this place a makeover to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death, so it will not be possible to visit it until July 1. Its gardens will recreate 16th-century gardens with a 5-meter-high bronze tree as a central piece, which wants to reflect the great imagination that Shakespeare had to write some of the most important works of universal literature.
Green spaces reign in this town bathed by the river Avon that articulates its spaces. Following its course we arrive at the Holy Trinity Church (Holy Trinity Church) where Shakespeare's grave is located next to that of his wife Anne and his daughter Susanna. A curse is engraved on his tombstone that will fall on anyone who wants to move his remains. They are also kept as heirlooms the font where Shakespeare was baptized and the record of his birth and death which are exposed in the choir of the temple.
Holy Trinity Church by the River Avon
The life of this town of 25,000 inhabitants revolves almost entirely around Shakespeare being its main source of income with millions of tourists visiting it every year. One of his biggest claims is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), an eminence in the theater world, which creates its own productions to be represented in The Royal Shakespeare Theater Y Swan.
The Swan always hosts works by contemporary Bardo writers such as Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, on the bill until May 21. At The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, only works by Shakespeare are performed with which experiments are carried out to offer a new version that is close to what is happening in today's world, but keeping their original dialogues . An example of this is Hamlet, which you can see until August 13, with a surprising and modern staging that is set in Ghana with the colors and sounds of the African country and a protagonist with Nike shoes and wide pants. As a review from The Guardian newspaper picks up, "You may have seen Hamlet 50 times but it will make you feel like you're seeing it for the first time."
In Stratford theater is breathed, a lot of theater that is dissected with tours so that the visitor knows how theater is made in the cradle of Shakespeare. This is the objective of a permanent exhibition that opens in October in The Swan Wing with interactive spaces where the visitor will be able to try on virtually the costumes used in works of the last 40 years or see how some of the special effects like blood and vomit are made.
If you want to see the costumes up close, go to The Other Place where they keep more than 35,000 garments made entirely in the town, as well as the props. They even have a blacksmith shop where they produce armor and swords for the performances, all 'made in Stratford'.
The Vintner
There is no shortage of restaurants and pubs that keep that medieval halo with their welcoming facades and interiors. The Vintner is a bar-restaurant that was originally a wine shop where, they say, Shakespeare himself used to go. A few meters away is the Lambs restaurant where its specialty could not be less than lamb. Or if you prefer an evening enlivened with a live pianist playing while you gaze out the window at the facade of Shakespeare's College, go to The Church Street Townhouse, a restaurant and hotel with 12 rooms.
If Stratford is too small for you, visit Mary Arden's Farm in Wilmcote, 7km away. Shakespeare's mother lived here before marrying her father and it's almost a theme park that takes you back to Tudor times.
As soon as you enter, you are greeted by the blacksmith who will explain to you while working in the forge how swords and knives were made at the time, you will see how the servants feed the farm animals: pigs, ducks, hawks and donkeys, while in the kitchen one of the maids is waiting for you who prepares the food that everyone tastes at 1pm every day while the tourists ask them curiosities about the farm.
Mary Arden's Farm
*** You may also be interested in...**
- English mansions for Downton Abbey tea
- The 100 best series that make you want to travel
- Hotels that are the little brothers of Downton Abbey
- The 100 things you should know about London - 25 things about London that you will only understand if you have lived there - Gastromorriña in London: survival guide
- Cottages to fall in love with Great Britain again