Backpacking the UK: A Guide to Stratford-upon-Avon

I arrived at the bus station in Stratford-upon-Avon after a short bus ride from Bath to find that the bus station in Stratford was unlike any other I had seen so far. For starters it was completely deserted. In addition to that, there was some sort of sport's facility connected with the bus station and it just didn't seem like a bus station at all. After having been in more bustling places, it was disorienting to be someplace that was so quiet. It was late in the afternoon and it was quite a hike up the hill through town to the hostel. The main street through Stratford was fairly empty of cars and pedestrians and we only passed a few people.

I only had a day to see everything I wanted to see in Stratford, and on that note I wasn't even sure what I wanted to see. I was supposed to have gone to York but there were no buses going that way because of something going on. I never did find out what that something was. I only had a vague idea about Stratford-upon-Avon and that was that it was the hometown of Shakespeare. I suppose it you are a die hard fan of Shakespeare, you should probably make a trip to Stratford at some point in your life, because the town is really all about him.

I started early the next morning by stopping in the hostel's foyer and gathering up information about the town. It was a brilliantly sunny day, which was completely odd in southern England. I kept expecting to have that rain shower that creeps up on you, typical to the location, which is more like being squirted with a misting bottle than rained upon. However, to my surprise, the weather held out all day. Hopefully, if you're ever side tracked and turn up in Stratford, you'll have some idea of what you want to do after reading this.

The first place I went was the obvious choice, Shakespeare's house. The emptiness of the town the day before was quickly being made up for on that day with tourists wandering about in droves. I waited for many minutes for the street to clear so that I could get a picture of Shakespeare's house without a ton of people in the way. I finally gave up and went in and paid the entrance fee to take a look around. The rooms are very small, with low doorways and worn wooden floors that looked as if everyone on the planet had trod over them at least once. Out back there is a garden that is very pretty.

Shakespeare's house only kept my attention for about an hour or so, and after that I was left to wonder what I should do next. I sorted through all the brochures that I had picked up at the hostel and decided that I would go to the Royal Shakespeare Memorial Theater and get tickets for whatever play was happening that night. I bought tickets to see Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing later that evening for more than what I really wanted to pay for a ticket, but I decided that I should do it anyway, because it was Shakespeare after all in the Royal Shakespeare Theater! I was still clueless on what I was going to do for the rest of the day.

I wandered down to the River Avon, which runs right behind the theater and saw that there were boat rides to be had. I thought it would be a good thing to do and paid to travel on a small boat down the River Avon. You can see a lot of the town from the river and I saw that there was a church, which I found out later is called the Holy Trinity Church, and so I decided that after the boat ride was over, I'd go up to the church.

There were hundreds, if not thousands of ducks, geese and swans on the River Avon and they all want one thing, food. They flock around the boats and I was told that you should keep your hands away from them, especially the swans, because they'll bite. They were definitely in touching distance, but I heeded the advice and kept my hands to myself.

I walked down to the church, taking pictures of the buildings along the way. When I got to the church I was pleased to see there was a large cemetery with really old graves. I walked around the cemetery and looked at all of the graves; most of them were hundreds of years old. I then went into the church which is of course open to the public and saw Shakespeare's grave. He's buried in the church towards the front where the altar is.

After I left the church it was getting late so I headed back up to the theater. The seat that I had purchased was way in the back and I had a hard time following what was going on. I had read other Shakespeare plays, but not this one. I didn't know it at the time but I needed glasses and since I'm already hard of hearing, I didn't enjoy myself as much as I probably should have. I would recommend buying seats toward the front, or if you are stuck in the nose bleed section, to make sure you bring your glasses or binoculars.

There was an intermission where we could go and buy refreshments and take in a view of the river from the balcony on the backside of the building. The sun was setting behind the River Avon and it was an absolutely gorgeous view. I have to admit that I did feel a bit out of place because I wasn't dressed as well as some of the people who were there. It wasn't a big deal though and I decided that if they didn't like backpackers it was their own problem.

After the play was over it was getting dark so I decided to call it a night and go back to the hostel because my bus left early the next morning for Edinburgh, Scotland. I was glad that I didn't decide to spend more than a day in Stratford, because I honestly don't know what I would have done with a second day in the town. I'm sure I would have found something to do, but I was ready to move on.