From standing up high above Warwick, the next leg of our weekend away found us walking the steps of Shakespeare himself. I have always been a lover of Shakespeare so to be walking in the homes he once claimed as his own or of his loved ones, was an experience of a lifetime. Not to mention the incredible weather we had while we was there. With five properties in total we visited four of them due to the farm being shut till march. There is so much to see and do at all of them. With most of them being walking distance it gave us the perfect stroll around Stratford-upon-avon town centre. Its truly a beautiful place and well worth a visit for everyone.
Shakespeares birthplace.....
This is where our adventure begun. Right at the start of Shakespeare's life. The outside of this place is absolutely incredible. As one of the original houses along this stretch of high street it oozes the history of the town. Once inside you move slowly round a beautifully set out museum which guides you through the stages and history of who Shakespeare really was. There is also some old parts of the town which have been kept to keep the history of the town on display. After that part you walk into the main home and its truly amazing and set as it would of been all them years back. With people dressed for the era everywhere around the house they are more than happy to tell you the history of the family or rooms you are standing in. While you walk around here you can really feel how old this place really is with its old windows letting the colder air in and creaky floorboards.You really do feel as if you've stepped back in time.
New place....
This was the home that Shakespeare bought for himself and Anne Hathaway when they were married. Said to be the second largest home in the town, this made her an incredibly lucky woman. The new place was only Shakespeare's and Annes for as little as 19 years as Shakespeare died. The new place no longer stands it was demolished over 250 years ago but in its place the Shakespeare Trust have transformed the area into a beauty of sculptures to represent all things Shakespeare. One of my biggest loves is that his sonnets are all written into the floor around you. Its honestly amazing to see. As you follow the path down it brings you to a mass of garden which is kept tidy and as you may have seen it in the past when there was no animals there. Once inside you again have a small museum to wonder around to help you learn more about the ground your standing on and what was once there.
Halls croft....
This stunning period house was home to Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband, physician John Hall. As with all the other houses this is set out to perfection as to how the family would of lived. There are pictures in each room of them back in time so you can see why the room has been arranged as it has. In the kitchen they have a very old wooden highchair. With so much detail to it you could hardly imagine a child being placed in it to eat their dinner. Once outside the house you have a very well kept walled garden which was amazing to walk around as the sun was still shining beautifully. You can go upstairs and these rooms are set out again more in a museum style where you can learn more about Susanna and her husband and the work he done.
Anne Hathaways cottage......
This was by far my favourite place to visit. Said to be the most romantic of them all it gave me high hopes for beauty. Where do I start, the thatched roof, the cottage itself or the beautiful gardens which surround it. This is the home where Anne grew up and her romance with Shakespeare grew into the marriage it became. We started on the garden, with so much land to cover. I wasn't sure how long it would take us but when we finished it an hour later I not only felt amazed by what I had seen but also incredibly relaxed. With plenty of pictures opportunities you can only say this place is picture perfect. Once inside the cottage we learnt so much history about the family and about living all them years back. With beautiful furnished roomsand so many pieces of furniture that once belonged to Shakespeare himself you couldn't help but fall in love with the place. They also have a lovely tea room across the road where we enjoyed hot chocolates and brownies.
I honestly can not wait to visit Stratford-upon-avon again later this year. We plan to visit Anne Hathaways cottage again so we can see it all in blossom and in its greatest form. Also we will be visiting Mary Ardens Tudor farm which is the only part we couldn't visit. But we honestly can not miss out on seeing this work tutor farm for ourselves. If your looking for somewhere truly beautiful to visit look no further than stratford-upon-avon.
A Norfolk Blondie
xoxo
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