28 BRITAIN http://www.britain-magazine.com
In many ways, Stratford’s tourist trail is
little changed today, although the experience
is much richer now. For a start, the Trust
has ve properties in its care instead of one,
and with its ingenious ‘Full Story’ ticket,
Shakespeare lovers can follow in his footsteps- from cradle to grave.
Alongside his birthplace, there’s
Shakespeare’s mother’s childhood home
to see (now a working Tudor farm); the
cottage where he wooed his wife, Anne
Hathaway; the site of New Place, where the
house they purchased together once stood
(now a beautiful garden); and Hall’s Croft,
the home of their daughter, Susanna. A visit
to Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare’s
grave lies, makes a tting end to a visit.
What you’ll notice, however, is that those
town planners really did do a great job.
Most of Stratford’s Shakespearean highlights
are no more than a pleasant 30-minute stroll
from the birthplace itself. Treading the
‘enchanted ground’ has certainly become
much easier in the past 250 years, and
it’s de nitely become busier – more than
420,000 tourists from every corner of the
globe make a pilgrimage to the birthplace
alone every year. Garrick, the man who
put the town on the map all those years ago,
would have been happy, indeed.
For more on Britain’s Shakespearean locations,
go to http://www.britain-magazine.com PHOTOS:© DAVIDCC/ALAMY/LEE BEEL/VISITBRITAIN/ANDREW THOMAS/SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUSTAbove: Holy Trinity Church,
the Bard’s burial place
Above right: A tankard from
the Shakespeare Jubilee
This image: Anne Hathaway’s
Cottage and country garden