When I planned our annual Boys' Getaway this year, I figured Stratford-upon-Avon would be a day more for myself than Sam... in the end though, we both enjoyed it far more than Warwick Castle. Unlike the overpriced Serf Taxation Scheme of the day before, we caught the FREE Park & Ride into Stratford and pootled round various attractions, charity shops and sites of national interest (well, national interest to English teachers), feeling far more welcome than we had at the castle.
Tudor World sounds a lot more flash than it is, but after the Disneyland vibe of the day before, we appreciated the more am-dram evocation of times gone by.
It's free to wander around the new RSC theatre too, so we stopped for coffee and a cake in their rooftop restaurant... well, I had coffee, Sam had a mocktail. Great view of the town from up there.
Next, a relaxing boat trip down the river Avon...
But the highlight of the day was our visit to Shakespeare's School Room, where you get taught by the very schoolmaster who taught young Will Shakes. (Or it might be an actor.) We lucked out here as we arrived at a time when we were virtually the only ones in his lesson (the next lesson, there was a coachload of American tourists). We learned how the school day started at 6am in Shakey's day, how all the learning was in Latin, and how the schoolroom is still used today by the Grammar School next door. It stayed open all through the Plague and the Black Death... the only time it was closed was during Covid.
The desk below may well have been Shakespeare's sideboard... but it's been rather vandalised over the years by naughty schoolboys.
Our day finished in The Mad Museum, "an eccentric world of moving art". Well worth a visit...
Unlike Warwick, I struggled to find songs about Stratford, which is why you've got some songs about its most famous resident today. Sadly, I don't think Liz Phair was thinking of the town when she penned this...
I like the sound of your Boys Getaways (DD was hard work at the same age - it's a mother and daughter thing - so we tended not to have Girls Getaways). Plus I like the sound of all the things you got up to - much better that the rip-off that was Warwick Castle.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've spent time in Stratford-upon-Avon was when I travelled to Birmingham for Bruce Springsteen on my 21st birthday. Still remember it though so definitely time for another visit.
Hope Sam is enjoying his school hols - with a mocktail in hand it sounds as if he is!