Boutique hotels
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The Church Street Townhouse
- Style
- Regency-revival remix
- Setting
- Half-timbered town centre
Stratford-upon-Avon Overview
United Kingdom
- Cityscape
- Historic half-timbers, riverbank bars
- City life
- All the world’s a stage
This attractive and historic riverside market town is once again claiming centre stage, tempting tourists back to its compact, cobbled streets from the neighbouring Cotswolds.
The new RSC theatre development has put the Warwickshire base of the bard back on the cultural map, with a supporting cast of new hotels, brasseries and boutiques popping up along the bonny banks of the river Avon. Once you've toured the Tudor buildings, taken in a play and made a pilgrimage to the popular playwright's haunts from cradle to grave, there's boating, biking and bookshop-browsing to keep you merrily occupied.
Suitably Stratford-upon-Avon
In the birthplace of the bard, you can't go far without coming across a building in some way connected with his life (or death). One of the prettiest is Anne Hathaway’s cottage, a mile from Stratford-upon-Avon's old centre in the hamlet of Shottery. With its half-timber frame, thatched roof and romantic gardens, Hathaway's girlhood home (where Shakespeare courted his wife to be) is bucolic bliss.
Local Knowledge
- Taxis
- The town centre is compact enough to explore entirely on foot, but if you’re exploring further afield or want your luggage ferried to the station, try Ideal Taxis on +44 (0)1789 290444. There are cab ranks at Rother Street, Union Street, and outside the t
- Siesta and fiesta
- Shops open from 9.30–5.30 Monday to Saturday; some stay open on Sundays in high season. Stratford has plenty of all-day cafes, restaurants serving till 10pm and bars open late, so you won’t go hungry.
- Packing tips
- Opera glasses; hankies for emotional denouements; deck shoes, for rowing alongside the swans on the Avon.
- Cuisine
- Farm produce plays a big role on local menus, with veg from the Vale of Evesham, hefty beef and hearty pork from Warwickshire’s farms; Ragley Estate is particularly well-known for its traditionally butchered meats (+44 (0)1789 778228; www.ragleyhall.com). Look out for beers from the county's many microbreweries. Stratford's finest serve up Pure Gold and Mad Goose from the eco-friendly Purity Brewing Co, which also offers brewery tours and tastings (+44 (0)1789 488007; www.puritybrewing.com).
- Currency
- Pounds Sterling (£).
- Time zone
- GMT.
- Dialling codes
- Country code for the UK: +44. Stratford-upon-Avon: 01789 (drop the initial zero when dialling from overseas).
- Do go/don't go
- Things are quieter in the winter months, when the riverside boat operators shut up shop, but come summer, the streets are alive with strollers and sightseers.
Don't go home without...
…taking the 50p-a-go hand-operated pedestrian chain ferry across the river from Waterside after a pint (or two) at the Dirty Duck pub.
