Again, I was browsing my places to go in England site and I realized I was close to the Birthplace of William Shakespeare. More on that later but it happens to be in a county called Warwickshire. Oh in case you've never been to England the "shire" part of a word is pronounced "sher" not "sheyer". Anyhow, this was a bit further than I normally drove so I go tup early and set off for the place. The route I took was mostly rural until I approached a large city in which case it turned into what appeared to be an industrialized area. I stopped along the route for a coffee and to get my bearings and I wasn’t in an incredible hurry. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this county in general as I drove directly to my destination. You can read more about it in other posts but I had a very good reason to go.
Stratford-Upon-Avon: Just the name required me to travel there and have a look. Stratford-upon-Avon, do I really need to tell anyone why I went? If you’re from western Europe, the United States and probably Canada you’ve undoubtedly heard of William Shakespeare. I came in from the east and found a parking spot straight away, dropped in some coins and off I went to survey the city. It isn’t an enormous city but it was absolutely packed with cars and people. This was due partl to a festival going on and the place draws people from all over due to the Shakespeare anyhow. I walked to the downtown area to see what all the commotion was about but it seemed to be a generally busy town, nothing out of the ordinary going on as far as I could tell. There are souvenir shops available literally throughout the main area and even on the side streets just in case you missed out on purchasing something.
There is a nice park near the city that you can stop and relax in and of course purchase something to eat. I paused for a few minutes then continued on into the city. I ended up walking all over the side streets seeking out points of interest and did locate a few churches which seemed to have been around well over 100 years. As is the case with just about everywhere I’ve been in England there's a nice mixture of old and new and very, very old.
I did manage to find my way quite easily around town and was able to move my car to different parking locations to avoid a lengthy walk where possible. The city is nicely laid out and most things are easy to find and as I recall there's a tourist information island where you can grab a map. I did some shopping as you as a tourist are required to do and ended up purchasing some items with the Shakespeare theme. I met a few people there and all seemed friendly and helpful, even the policeman I stopped and asked for some assistance was nice and helpful.
I spent the day visiting various Shakespeare themed venues and walking by the river, relaxing and meeting people from various parts of Europe and beyond. It seemed as if most of the people were tourists oddly enough, except for the people working in the shops of course.
I spent the entire day walking around most of the city and managed to find some interesting venues on the side streets as well as out of the way stores, churches and buildings that have been re-purposed over the centuries. An interesting town and should I ever have the chance I most definitely will return.
Wizard of Where
