Today we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon which is where William Shakespeare was born and lived his life. We got to ride the train on the West Midlands Railway from Moor Street station into to beautiful town with so much history. After stopping for a delicious vanilla latte from Nero Cafe, we met Tim, our tour guide for the day at the Gower Memorial Statue. The beautiful statue was near a lake containing houseboats, canoes and a ton of gorgeous swans. The statue was of Shakespeare himself with some of his famous characters that each represented different types of play Shakespeare produced. There was a statue of a character for comedy, tragedy, philosophy and history.
Tim was extremely knowledgeable about everything Shakespeare with knowledge on his family, marriage, tomb, and so much more. We went to Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare worshipped, was baptised, and buried. His tomb lies in the Chancel next to his wife, John Hall who was his daughter Elizabeth’s husband, and two others. The tombs are surrounded beautifully with stained glass and the fount Shakespeare was baptised in. Above his grave, there is a portrait of him that was sponsored by his wife, Anne Hathaway. This portrait is kind of funny as it is said it is not accurate to what he actually looked like. It is believed that he was much more attractive than what the portrait portrays. For this reason, Tim believes that maybe his marriage was flawed and his wife wanted to make a bit of a joke or that it was just a mistake of some kind. I found this funny as it makes these people on such a pedestal for their achievements relatable. Seeing all the old buildings from the 15th century that are still standing was so cool and the knowledge Tim possessed was truly incredible.
After our morning portion, we got to take a lunch break where we went to one of Englands most historic and popular pubs, The Dirty Duck where a lot of famous actors who perform at the PCS theatre go to. The lunch was delicious and we left enough time to go shopping around Stratford which is such a beautiful town with a ton of options. We got to go through some charity shops that were adorable and had such an array of different clothes, dishes, accessories, and more. I loved to see all the different things that were there to support local charities with good prices. After the shopping, we went to Shakespeare’s birthplace where he was born and spent his childhood.
I enjoyed seeing the house he grew up in as the original stone floors on the ground floor are still intact as well as a window with names carved into it from the original house. The window was so interesting as it had multiple names of famous authors who carved with diamond jewelry. Seeing how they lived with very few beds was also interesting as it shows the differences in time periods between then and now. Children often shared beds and had to sleep in the same room with multiple family members. Overall, the visit was very insightful into life during the 16th and 17th century and the passion all of the tour guides had for Shakespeare and telling his story was truly inspiring.
