We arrived in Stratford on Friday night, and checked into our hotel, the Swans Nest, which we'd decided to stay in because of a Sainsbury's 2 for 1 offer we'd got. We checked in and then headed out in search of food. I'd tracked down a couple of websites with restaurant recommendations and so we headed off to one of those, Desports where we had the "Friday fish" menu.
On Saturday we had breakfast and then headed off to explore. The weather wasn't great but we made the best of it, and had a walk around along the river, to Holy Trinity (where Shakespeare is buried), past Hall's Croft (where Shakespeare's daughter lived), and in to the Birthplace. The birthplace has an interesting exhibition attached to it, however, it's not very well suited for people without a good grasp of English as there were no (that we spotted) foreign language signs whatsoever. The house itself has been decked out in an approximation of what it would have been like when Shakespeare was alive, based on documentation and drawings from the time. It was time for a sit down and so we headed off for a cup of tea and a cake, before doing a bit of light shopping and calling it a day.
We ate dinner in the hotel, and had a very pleasant meal (again part of a 2 for 1 offer).
(27 images.)
Swan heads | 
Another part | 
Lady Macbeth | 
Hamlet |
Prince Hal | 
Falstaff | 
Shakespeare | 
A swan |
A goose | 
Holy Trinity Church | 
Hall's Croft | 
Gargoyle |
Street View | 
Old Bank | 
The Birthplace | 
Lady Macbeth again |
Prince Hal | 
Prince Hal again | 
Hamlet | 
Hamlet and Shakespeare |
Hamlet at night | 
Lady Macbeth | 
Falstaff | 
Falstaff and the theatre |
Prince Hal | 
The swans | 
Street scene |