Travelling
BRITISH TOWNS: A DAY IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
24/11/2013
SHAKESPEARE FOR THREE YEAR OLDS
On the way back from our friends in Evesham, we decide to spend a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of one of the greatest playwrights of all times and also one of the most charming and most popular tourist destinations in the UK. As we walk towards the centre from the hotel (as usual, a cheap and cheerful Travelodge), we wonder if it is too early to introduce Shakespeare to a three (and-a-half) year old. And drag her along to various locations of historical and cultural value. Of course it isn’t! She is a bit of a clever-clogs and she will surely find something interesting in all of this. Otherwise, she will make this trip pretty interesting for us… Then again – it’s not like we are going to read Hamlet or Macbeth to her and try to interpret them – we are just taking a walk through… well, some houses…
Stratford-upon-Avon is not one of those places you will visit once in your lifetime, tick the box and never return. Instead it is one of those towns you cannot wait to visit again; every time, it will fascinate you with its quintessentially English appearance and its immense pride in its most famous son. This is a place of pilgrimage to William Shakespeare and just about every connection is exploited and presented to its many visitors – from his mother’s farm to his son-in-law’s house, with his birth house on Henley Street as the central point. Every time I visit Stratford-Upon-Avon I take more or less the same route: start with Shakespeare’s house, walk along the Avon – charming in its own right -, move on to Holy Trinity Church and the final resting place of the Bard, and finish the day with an afternoon stroll around Anne Hathaway’s cottage. And I’m equally thrilled and excited to be walking through the town that bore the author of so many sonnets, tragedies, comedies and historic plays as if it was the first time. But will our three and a half year old whingeing child share our fascination? Will she find anything entertaining and interesting in all of this pilgrimage to the places where William Shakespeare was born, lived and died?
THE IMPORTANCE OF POCKETS AND POTTIES
We start our day with coffee/hot milk and fruit scones with cream and jam in Patisserie Valerie overlooking the house Shakespeare was born in. It’s a pleasant, sunny although crisp November Sunday morning after an extremely rainy night. The sunlight is bright, sharp and low; but would you ever think of taking sunglasses with you to Stratford-upon-Avon in mid-November? As the market traders prepare their stalls, dog walkers are strolling by and finely dressed churchgoers rushing up and down Henley Street. Scores of tourists and literature pilgrims quickly gather at the door of The Shakespeare Centre and Shakespeare’s Birthplace Entrance. We buy a complete Shakespeare Experience ticket and for £18.95 we get the entry to all the houses of the Shakespeare Experience: Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Nash House/New Place, Hall’s Croft, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Mary Arden’s Farm. The ticket is valid for a year and that gives us an incentive to come back.
A charming hostess in historical clothes opens the door to Shakespeare’s house and in no time explains to us all about the importance of the small leather pouches – pockets - that Shakespeare’s father was making in his workshop. My three (and-a-half) year old cannot quite comprehend that once upon a time clothes did not have pockets and quickly checks the pockets on her and my jackets. Great – here they are …
The house is furnished in period style, from wall decorations to unique pieces of furniture, and every corner brings us back in time. Shakespeare father’s glove and pocket workshop including the window to the street for sale of his products is at the back of the house. There is an impressive display of white and natural-coloured gloves as well as pockets. Apparently there was a horrible smell due to the method of tanning leather.
I miss that part as our little one is already half way up to the second floor and the sleeping quarters. And here we are in the room William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564; in a year of raging plague. It is also here that our three (and-a-half) year old) comes to life. It’s a room with low ceilings and a large bed in the middle. To one side there is a cradle, a crafted wooden chest and to the other there is stow away truckle, or 16th century futon on wheels, where children slept. Children’s clothes, shoes and toys – a wooden mannequin, a leather ball - are scattered around.
“Wow” she shouts. “Look Mummy there is a green potty there! Isn't it nice?” And indeed there is but in those days the chamber pot was – apparently - called a “jordan”. She is also fascinated by the sleeping arrangements; the whole family slept in one room: mum and dad in the large bed, baby in the cradle and the other children cramped on the futon.
The Shakespearean actors in full theatrical outfits in the garden perform my little one’s favourite song – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – before starting their excerpt from the Romeo & Juliet. What a treat! I realise our worry was unfounded – this is a good place to bring a three (and-a-half) year old after all.
NO ENTRY TO UNMARRIED MEN AND FOREIGNERS
As we walk down Haley Street towards the second house on our list – Nash House/New Place – I think of the article about life in Stratford in the late sixteenth century I read just before setting off for the weekend. The main concerns of people of Stratford-upon-Avon in those days were: how to get dog owners to put muzzles on their pets and keep bitches on heat indoors, not allowing young and unmarried men to come into town with daggers and other offensive weapons, solving the problem of street parking (and leaving carts in front of the houses) and controlling the immigration of foreigners into town (apparently all street violence was caused by foreigners). It sounds pretty contemporary to me…
In a ten minute walk we reach Nash House/New place, the location of the house that Shakespeare bought in 1597 and where he retired and eventually died in 1616. In those days this was the second biggest house in Stratford and it clearly indicates how rich Shakespeare had become by this time. And not only with his art but also his business sense.
At the back of the house there is a children’s area and my three (and-a-half) year old sits down and enthusiastically colours in characters in the outfits of Shakespeare’s time. She is in particular impressed by the clothes (and dagger) of the policeman of the time. On the first floor there is an exhibition of Shakespeare’s Top Ten Characters. No surprises there: top spot goes to Juliet and the second to Hamlet. The gardens of the Nash house are impressive and immaculately landscaped. They look just like a postcard of what you would imagine an ideal British garden looks like.
Hall’s Croft – or the house of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna who married Dr John Hall – gives the visitor an interesting insight into the everyday life of the rich and respected members of Stratford in those days. The upstairs hosts an exhibition on the history of Stratford-upon-Avon before and after Shakespeare. There is also a children’s corner and very appropriately it is about playing doctors. My three (and-a-half) year old gets stuck into a multi-layered puzzle of the human body and refuses to leave until the puzzle is completed… And as there a few pieces missing we go on all fours and look around the room in an attempt to find them before heading off for lunch.
GARRICK INN – A PLACE TO AVOID
Puzzle (almost) completed we go the Garrick Inn, a charming establishment that boasts of being the oldest pub in Stratford-upon- Avon. And when I think that we also booked in advance as we did not want to miss out on a meal in such an attractive place… Yeah right. But don’t get fooled by its charming façade and cosy interior – the food is average and the service is horrifying. We were shown to our table and then for the next 20 minutes no one approaches us to take orders. Our stroppy and hungry three (and-a-half) year old starts fidgeting on the chair, getting up and down and jumping impatiently. And rightfully so. Eventually we get the drinks: a beer, a coke and an apple juice. The last two with excess ice.
“Could you please take the ice out?” I ask as politely as I could.
“Oh… Did you ask for that?” The accusing tone in the waiter’s voice.
“Yes, I asked explicitly… And I’m asking now too…”
The menu is a mixture of typical British pub grub: Sausages & Mash, Fish and Chips, Beef and Ale Pie and some domesticated imports such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Fajitas.
Once we got our iceless drinks, the waiter and a couple of waitresses revert back to the ignore-that-table mode. Not only don’t we get any food for the next half an hour but no one deigns to give us a look. We get increasingly frustrated trying to catch someone’s eyes… But they seem to be too busy to notice us. Eventually we manage to get hold of someone and complain about what happened to the bread and butter starter we ordered to get it as soon as possible for our hungry child. She says: “Oh…I’m going to find out where it is…” In the mill probably. And then she gets lost too. The table next to us is already on the dessert and the other one in the corner behind settle the bill and get ready to leave. They look at our disappointed child: “She’s had a long wait. I hope she gets her food soon!” A little sympathy…but still no food.
When it finally arrives 50 plus minutes after we came – Fish and Chips in a pretend newspaper and Sausages with mature Cheddar Mash - the food is OK-ish but we still have the bitter taste of disappointment in our mouths.
LIKE A CHRISTMAS CARD
After lunch we head for a walk along the Avon riverbank. The warmish and sunny afternoon seems to have lured everyone out. The light is trickling through the brownish autumnal leaves and lingering on the water surface.
The ancient Holy Trinity Church is set on a breathtakingly beautiful spot just outside the hustle and bustle of the centre and it looks nothing short of a Christmas postcard. The church is busy; both with tourists and regulars. The volunteers are friendly and charming. We head straight to the bottom of the church and the resting place of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. They are next to each other. Even if some historical studies imply – and that’s the theory my husband supports – that he ran off to London to escape her nagging, he still remained loyal to her and their family, returned to them every year and eventually retired back home; nothing else would have made sense.
Our little one discovers the church shop and insists on getting a small set of colouring pencils (as the other twenty she’s got are not enough). Realising her pre-tantrum state we buy it without arguing. It’s only a couple of pounds after all and that’s hardly an expensive price to pay for her remarkably good behaviour! On the way out of the Holy Trinity Church we realise that– somehow, somewhere – we have left the stroller. We definitely came to the church with it so at some point we just forgot it. It stands forlorn in the corner next to Shakespeare’s resting place, surrounded by scores of pilgrims…
BECAUSE ANNE LIVED HERE...
The day is already approaching the dusk and the sunny afternoon is giving way to a cold and rainy night as we rush to our car (losing the pencils on the way) and drive to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. After a couple of wrong turns and driving in circles around central Stratford we reach it with just twenty minutes to go before closing time. Just enough time for a quick tour around the house and in particular the bedrooms upstairs. My little one – by now completely Shakespeared out, stroppy and tired - still enjoys the tour of the bedrooms. “Why is the floor so bumpy? Why did they have so many rooms? Who slept here? And there?” I try to explain to her that this is one of the most famous houses in Britain. “Why Mummy?” Because Anne lived here…
Our quick tour over, large raindrops are coming down erratically; we sit in the car and look at the map for the quickest route to London. Our tiredness is of the satisfying kind; caused by the intense but thoroughly enjoyable day in this fascinating town full of history, culture and Shakespeare. And I’m already looking forward to my next visit – after all we did buy the annual pass for all the Shakespeare attractions… And we still have to visit Mary Arden’s Farm which is closed in winter anyway…
Shakespeare's Birthplace
On the way back from our friends in Evesham, we decide to spend a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of one of the greatest playwrights of all times and also one of the most charming and most popular tourist destinations in the UK. As we walk towards the centre from the hotel (as usual, a cheap and cheerful Travelodge), we wonder if it is too early to introduce Shakespeare to a three (and-a-half) year old. And drag her along to various locations of historical and cultural value. Of course it isn’t! She is a bit of a clever-clogs and she will surely find something interesting in all of this. Otherwise, she will make this trip pretty interesting for us… Then again – it’s not like we are going to read Hamlet or Macbeth to her and try to interpret them – we are just taking a walk through… well, some houses…
Stratford-upon-Avon is not one of those places you will visit once in your lifetime, tick the box and never return. Instead it is one of those towns you cannot wait to visit again; every time, it will fascinate you with its quintessentially English appearance and its immense pride in its most famous son. This is a place of pilgrimage to William Shakespeare and just about every connection is exploited and presented to its many visitors – from his mother’s farm to his son-in-law’s house, with his birth house on Henley Street as the central point. Every time I visit Stratford-Upon-Avon I take more or less the same route: start with Shakespeare’s house, walk along the Avon – charming in its own right -, move on to Holy Trinity Church and the final resting place of the Bard, and finish the day with an afternoon stroll around Anne Hathaway’s cottage. And I’m equally thrilled and excited to be walking through the town that bore the author of so many sonnets, tragedies, comedies and historic plays as if it was the first time. But will our three and a half year old whingeing child share our fascination? Will she find anything entertaining and interesting in all of this pilgrimage to the places where William Shakespeare was born, lived and died?
THE IMPORTANCE OF POCKETS AND POTTIES
We start our day with coffee/hot milk and fruit scones with cream and jam in Patisserie Valerie overlooking the house Shakespeare was born in. It’s a pleasant, sunny although crisp November Sunday morning after an extremely rainy night. The sunlight is bright, sharp and low; but would you ever think of taking sunglasses with you to Stratford-upon-Avon in mid-November? As the market traders prepare their stalls, dog walkers are strolling by and finely dressed churchgoers rushing up and down Henley Street. Scores of tourists and literature pilgrims quickly gather at the door of The Shakespeare Centre and Shakespeare’s Birthplace Entrance. We buy a complete Shakespeare Experience ticket and for £18.95 we get the entry to all the houses of the Shakespeare Experience: Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Nash House/New Place, Hall’s Croft, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Mary Arden’s Farm. The ticket is valid for a year and that gives us an incentive to come back.
A charming hostess in historical clothes opens the door to Shakespeare’s house and in no time explains to us all about the importance of the small leather pouches – pockets - that Shakespeare’s father was making in his workshop. My three (and-a-half) year old cannot quite comprehend that once upon a time clothes did not have pockets and quickly checks the pockets on her and my jackets. Great – here they are …
Shakespeare's Birthplace - the birthroom with the green potty
The house is furnished in period style, from wall decorations to unique pieces of furniture, and every corner brings us back in time. Shakespeare father’s glove and pocket workshop including the window to the street for sale of his products is at the back of the house. There is an impressive display of white and natural-coloured gloves as well as pockets. Apparently there was a horrible smell due to the method of tanning leather.
I miss that part as our little one is already half way up to the second floor and the sleeping quarters. And here we are in the room William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564; in a year of raging plague. It is also here that our three (and-a-half) year old) comes to life. It’s a room with low ceilings and a large bed in the middle. To one side there is a cradle, a crafted wooden chest and to the other there is stow away truckle, or 16th century futon on wheels, where children slept. Children’s clothes, shoes and toys – a wooden mannequin, a leather ball - are scattered around.
“Wow” she shouts. “Look Mummy there is a green potty there! Isn't it nice?” And indeed there is but in those days the chamber pot was – apparently - called a “jordan”. She is also fascinated by the sleeping arrangements; the whole family slept in one room: mum and dad in the large bed, baby in the cradle and the other children cramped on the futon.
The Shakespearean actors in full theatrical outfits in the garden perform my little one’s favourite song – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – before starting their excerpt from the Romeo & Juliet. What a treat! I realise our worry was unfounded – this is a good place to bring a three (and-a-half) year old after all.
Twinkle twinkle little star - performed by Shakespearean actors
NO ENTRY TO UNMARRIED MEN AND FOREIGNERS
As we walk down Haley Street towards the second house on our list – Nash House/New Place – I think of the article about life in Stratford in the late sixteenth century I read just before setting off for the weekend. The main concerns of people of Stratford-upon-Avon in those days were: how to get dog owners to put muzzles on their pets and keep bitches on heat indoors, not allowing young and unmarried men to come into town with daggers and other offensive weapons, solving the problem of street parking (and leaving carts in front of the houses) and controlling the immigration of foreigners into town (apparently all street violence was caused by foreigners). It sounds pretty contemporary to me…
In a ten minute walk we reach Nash House/New place, the location of the house that Shakespeare bought in 1597 and where he retired and eventually died in 1616. In those days this was the second biggest house in Stratford and it clearly indicates how rich Shakespeare had become by this time. And not only with his art but also his business sense.
Nash's house - the garden
At the back of the house there is a children’s area and my three (and-a-half) year old sits down and enthusiastically colours in characters in the outfits of Shakespeare’s time. She is in particular impressed by the clothes (and dagger) of the policeman of the time. On the first floor there is an exhibition of Shakespeare’s Top Ten Characters. No surprises there: top spot goes to Juliet and the second to Hamlet. The gardens of the Nash house are impressive and immaculately landscaped. They look just like a postcard of what you would imagine an ideal British garden looks like.
Colourful children's corner in the Nash's House
Hall’s Croft – or the house of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna who married Dr John Hall – gives the visitor an interesting insight into the everyday life of the rich and respected members of Stratford in those days. The upstairs hosts an exhibition on the history of Stratford-upon-Avon before and after Shakespeare. There is also a children’s corner and very appropriately it is about playing doctors. My three (and-a-half) year old gets stuck into a multi-layered puzzle of the human body and refuses to leave until the puzzle is completed… And as there a few pieces missing we go on all fours and look around the room in an attempt to find them before heading off for lunch.
Hall's Croft
GARRICK INN – A PLACE TO AVOID
Puzzle (almost) completed we go the Garrick Inn, a charming establishment that boasts of being the oldest pub in Stratford-upon- Avon. And when I think that we also booked in advance as we did not want to miss out on a meal in such an attractive place… Yeah right. But don’t get fooled by its charming façade and cosy interior – the food is average and the service is horrifying. We were shown to our table and then for the next 20 minutes no one approaches us to take orders. Our stroppy and hungry three (and-a-half) year old starts fidgeting on the chair, getting up and down and jumping impatiently. And rightfully so. Eventually we get the drinks: a beer, a coke and an apple juice. The last two with excess ice.
“Could you please take the ice out?” I ask as politely as I could.
“Oh… Did you ask for that?” The accusing tone in the waiter’s voice.
“Yes, I asked explicitly… And I’m asking now too…”
The menu is a mixture of typical British pub grub: Sausages & Mash, Fish and Chips, Beef and Ale Pie and some domesticated imports such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Fajitas.
Once we got our iceless drinks, the waiter and a couple of waitresses revert back to the ignore-that-table mode. Not only don’t we get any food for the next half an hour but no one deigns to give us a look. We get increasingly frustrated trying to catch someone’s eyes… But they seem to be too busy to notice us. Eventually we manage to get hold of someone and complain about what happened to the bread and butter starter we ordered to get it as soon as possible for our hungry child. She says: “Oh…I’m going to find out where it is…” In the mill probably. And then she gets lost too. The table next to us is already on the dessert and the other one in the corner behind settle the bill and get ready to leave. They look at our disappointed child: “She’s had a long wait. I hope she gets her food soon!” A little sympathy…but still no food.
When it finally arrives 50 plus minutes after we came – Fish and Chips in a pretend newspaper and Sausages with mature Cheddar Mash - the food is OK-ish but we still have the bitter taste of disappointment in our mouths.
LIKE A CHRISTMAS CARD
After lunch we head for a walk along the Avon riverbank. The warmish and sunny afternoon seems to have lured everyone out. The light is trickling through the brownish autumnal leaves and lingering on the water surface.
The Avon
The ancient Holy Trinity Church is set on a breathtakingly beautiful spot just outside the hustle and bustle of the centre and it looks nothing short of a Christmas postcard. The church is busy; both with tourists and regulars. The volunteers are friendly and charming. We head straight to the bottom of the church and the resting place of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. They are next to each other. Even if some historical studies imply – and that’s the theory my husband supports – that he ran off to London to escape her nagging, he still remained loyal to her and their family, returned to them every year and eventually retired back home; nothing else would have made sense.
The Holy Trinity Church
Our little one discovers the church shop and insists on getting a small set of colouring pencils (as the other twenty she’s got are not enough). Realising her pre-tantrum state we buy it without arguing. It’s only a couple of pounds after all and that’s hardly an expensive price to pay for her remarkably good behaviour! On the way out of the Holy Trinity Church we realise that– somehow, somewhere – we have left the stroller. We definitely came to the church with it so at some point we just forgot it. It stands forlorn in the corner next to Shakespeare’s resting place, surrounded by scores of pilgrims…
BECAUSE ANNE LIVED HERE...
Anne Hathaway's Cottage - one of the most popular houses in the UK
The day is already approaching the dusk and the sunny afternoon is giving way to a cold and rainy night as we rush to our car (losing the pencils on the way) and drive to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. After a couple of wrong turns and driving in circles around central Stratford we reach it with just twenty minutes to go before closing time. Just enough time for a quick tour around the house and in particular the bedrooms upstairs. My little one – by now completely Shakespeared out, stroppy and tired - still enjoys the tour of the bedrooms. “Why is the floor so bumpy? Why did they have so many rooms? Who slept here? And there?” I try to explain to her that this is one of the most famous houses in Britain. “Why Mummy?” Because Anne lived here…
Our quick tour over, large raindrops are coming down erratically; we sit in the car and look at the map for the quickest route to London. Our tiredness is of the satisfying kind; caused by the intense but thoroughly enjoyable day in this fascinating town full of history, culture and Shakespeare. And I’m already looking forward to my next visit – after all we did buy the annual pass for all the Shakespeare attractions… And we still have to visit Mary Arden’s Farm which is closed in winter anyway…
A window in Anne Hathaway's Cottage