Day 8 – Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick Castle

Trinity Church

Stratford-Upon-Avon is the birthplace and also the final resting place (Trinity Church) of William Shakespeare. The town is a quaint, small town located on the River Avon and filled with Shakespeare sites including the house where he was born, the cottage of his wife, Anne Hathaway, the farm where his mother was born, and the church where Shakespeare is buried. There are also still a number of half-timbered homes and even a few still with thatched roofs dating back to the 16th century.

Shakespeare's Home

Shakespeare’s father was a glover (i.e., maker of gloves) and also a bit of a scoundrel as he dabbled in the black market for wool because he bought and sold it without a license. He also added some rooms on to the Shakespeare home that he let out. By the time we got to the Shakespeare family home where William was born, it was mid-morning and the tour busses had rolled in and it had become quite crowded. They also had a couple of performers putting on segments of Shakespeare’s plays and they performed Romeo and Juliet just for us.

Anne Hathaway Cottage

Anne Hathaway’s cottage is located about a mile away from the Shakespeare’s and on the outskirts of town. The cottage is really more of a large farmhouse as her family was in the wool trade and relatively wealthy. Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, grew up on a small farm about 3 miles outside of town, which we also visited.

Warwick Castle

After Stratford-Upon-Avon we drove to Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068 and is also located on the River Avon. The Earls of Warwick and the castle itself have played significant roles in history, especially during the Wars of the Roses. The castle today is owned by an entertainment group which has turned it into a kind of Disneyland type property which was actually kind of nice. We saw demonstrations of archery, birds of prey and a giant Trebuchet, which is a version of a catapult used to lay siege to castles.