We took a 30-minute walk in the rain on our last adventure to get to Moor Street Station. At first, all of us thought the walk was going to be miserable, especially with the cold weather, but it actually was not as bad as we expected. The rain gave the city a calm atmosphere, even if my hands were freezing by the time we arrived. Thankfully, the weather forecast says the next few days in London should be much nicer. Once we finally reached the station, we scanned our tickets and walked upstairs to Platform 1. I immediately thought about Harry Potter trying to find Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station. Since the Harry Potter films are some of my favorites, I am really hoping I get the chance to see it while I am in London.

The train ride itself was relaxing and peaceful. I spent most of the trip reading my book and looking out the window at the countryside passing by. Eventually, we arrived in Stratford upon Avon, the town most famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. I learned that the city’s name comes from the Celtic language and refers to a ford crossing a river. Even before we started the tour, the town already felt historic and charming. The buildings looked older and more preserved than what I am used to seeing back home, and it was easy to imagine what the town might have looked like hundreds of years ago.

I have always had a complicated relationship with Shakespeare. His poetry sounds beautiful when you hear it read aloud, but I never enjoyed studying it in school. In English classes, teachers constantly made us translate his writing into modern English, and I always found that frustrating because I could barely understand what he was trying to say in the first place. Reading his plays often felt more like punishment than entertainment. Senior year in AP Literature, I had to memorize and recite Hamlet’s soliloquy, and I remember struggling through the entire assignment. I barely remembered a quarter of the speech because I thought the play was painfully boring at the time. Looking back now, it is funny that I chose a statue of Hamlet as the feature picture from this trip considering how much anguish that play caused me in high school.

Despite my love-hate relationship with Shakespeare’s work, Stratford upon Avon itself was beautiful. The architecture throughout the town was stunning and felt completely different from Birmingham. Birmingham feels more modern because much of it has been rebuilt, while Stratford seems much more connected to its history. One of the most memorable parts of the visit was seeing Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare and several members of his family were buried. I had heard about the church for years anytime Shakespeare was mentioned in school, so it was surreal finally seeing it in person. The doorway even had a sign warning visitors to “mind your head” because the entrance was so low. Ironically, I almost hit my head on the way out anyway.

Inside the church, the stained-glass windows were beautiful and detailed. Seeing the memorial dedicated to Shakespeare made the entire experience feel more real. Our tour guide, Tim, told us a strange story about people examining Shakespeare’s grave and discovering that he was buried only about three feet underground. Apparently, there is also a shadow where his skull should be, which led to rumors that it may have been stolen long ago. Whether the story is true or not, it definitely made the tour more interesting. I cannot imagine someone being crazy enough to steal Shakespeare’s skull, but hearing stories like that made history feel less distant and more human.

I think the landmark I wish I could have seen the most is the Globe Theatre in its prime. Even though I never fully appreciated Shakespeare’s plays in school, I think I would have enjoyed seeing them performed live during that time period. Watching actors perform for crowded audiences in the open-air theater would have been an unforgettable experience. Maybe if I had lived during his era, I would have understood the language and humor better. There was even a television series about Shakespeare’s life that I never watched because I assumed it would be boring, but after this trip I think I might give it a chance. Visiting Stratford made me appreciate his impact on literature and culture far more than I ever did sitting in an English classroom.

My favorite part of the entire tour was visiting the home where Shakespeare grew up. The tour guides inside were funny and made the experience much more enjoyable. I honestly could not believe that nine people lived together inside such a small cottage. I would have gone insane without privacy or a quiet place to escape from family for even a few minutes. Seeing the room where Shakespeare was born felt surreal because it connected such a famous figure to an ordinary home. One detail I found funny was the bed with a trundle underneath it. I had a bed like that when I was younger, although thankfully mine did not require a rope to pull it out. By the end of the trip, I realized that even though I may never love Shakespeare’s writing, visiting the town where he lived helped me understand why his legacy has lasted for centuries.