Shakespeare's Stratford & Warwick Castle

Located about 2 hours north-west of London's centre is the county of Warwickshire and the most well-known writer, William Shakespeare. I was able to visit his hometown through a Golden Tours bus trip, which travelled through the scenic Cotswolds villages, a visit at Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon, and finished off with a short stop in Oxford. 

Warwick Castle

This 1100-year old castle has been transformed into a live-history attraction with something to do around every corner. You are able to explore the castle and its grounds with many opportunities to learn its history and what life was like in the past. 

The castle also offers many medieval shows for your entertainment, like a jousting match and the UK's largest birds of prey show that showcases the terrifying beauty and skills of 8 different species owls, hawks, eagles and more. 

Some rooms within the castle were also decorated as they would have been during its days of occupation. 

The various attractions were very well-thought out, as they respected the castle itself while simultaneously offering a very fun experience. There was one self-guided history tour that used projections and moving parts that walked you through the centuries of its troubled past. 

You could easily spend one or two days taking in the 64 acres of surrounding greenery and landscape. I went during strawberry season, and was able to grab some fresh, locally grown berries to enjoy during my day out, as well. If you do appreciate castle lore and history, I would highly recommend visiting Warwick Castle on its own, as we only had about 2 hours to check everything out. 

Stratford-upon-Avon

Upon arriving in the quaint, lovely village of the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon is just swimming in history. Our group immediately went to see the preserved upper-middle-class-style home where Shakespeare was born and grew up in. 

The museum built beside it provides some historical facts presented in videos about the family and William, then you line up within the courtyard of the family home. The garden surrounding the house is absolutely beautiful, with a hundreds of years old fruit-bearing mulberry tree; and actors reciting snippets of the plays. 

The house itself is very large for its time, as Shakespeare's father, John, was a leather worker and maker of very fine leather gloves, so the family lived very comfortably. You are led through the two-storey home with a guide dressed in historical garb, who tells you stories from the Shakespeares' lives.  

Although uncertain, there is a bedroom upstairs hinting at the exact spot William was born; preceded by a headstone of the playwright. There is also some hearsay denying him as the sole author of every single masterpiece - some speculating who this ghost author even is.

Venturing further into the village of Stratford, my tour group walked past the school that Shakespeare attended as a child, then a lovely greenspace named Shakespeare's New Place, which was a second home to the playwright as an adult during his prowess. With the house no longer there, the land was transformed into an oasis with statues and lovely landscaping.

We were led to a small church a few minutes' from the village centre that was the final resting place of Shakespeare, his wife and children. It really was a fantastic way to end the tour of everything Shakespeare.