I have wanted to visit Stratford-upon-Avon, in particular Shakespeare's Birthplace, for many years but I didn't get the chance until last weekend. We arrived at about 10am and spent the whole day looking around the Birthplace as well as the other Shakespeare houses.

* * * *Location* * * *
Shakespeare's Birthplace is located on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon (Postcode: CV37 6QW) This is right in the centre of Stratford surrounded by cafes and shops. We found it quite easy to park. We paid £5 for a full days parking about 10 minutes walk from the centre.

* * * *Tickets and Prices* * * *
There are several different tickets available.

The Shakespeare Five Houses Ticket includes entrance to:
Mary Arden's Farm
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Hall's Croft
Nash's House and New Place

Adult: £17.00
Child: £10.50
Concession: £15.00
Family: £45.00

The Shakespeare Four Houses Ticket includes:
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Nash's House and New Place
Hall's Croft
Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Adult: £14.50
Child: £9.00
Concession: £13.50
Family: £38.50
The Shakespeare Town Houses Ticket includes:
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Nash's House and New Place
Hall's Croft

Adult: £11.50
Child: £7.50
Concession: £10.50
Family: £31.00

All of these tickets are valid for one year so you can go back as many times as you like within the year. We opted for the Four Houses ticket. In one day we had just enough time to see each of the houses. However, it was very quiet and we did not have to queue for anything or make our way through crowds. I can imagine that in the busier summer months it may take more than a day to get around all four. Shakespeare's birthplace, Nash's House and Hall's Croft are all within 10 minutes walking distance of each other. However, Anne Hathaway's Cottage about one mile from the centre. We walked this distance but in hindsight it may have been better to drive, especially as it was freezing!

* * * *Shakespeare's Birthplace* * * *
Before entering the Birthplace itself you make your way though a small exhibition centre. In here you are taken on a video guided tour detailing some aspects of Shakespeare's life and his work. There are about 3 different videos to watch and several artefacts to look at. As each video finished some automatic doors open and you are guided through to the next room.

After watching the videos you are then led out of the exhibition centre and into the gardens. The gardens although small were very well kept. I assume that they will be nicer to look at in the summer months, the January weekend when we visited the gardens were quite bare.

From the gardens you can then enter the house itself. In the entrance hall a guide gives an introduction to the house and explains a little of the background of the house. I found all of the guides to be very interesting. They were keen to answer any questions and offer insight into the artefacts and the property. The house itself is quite small and only took around 30 minutes to look around. There were guides throughout the house who gave a short introduction to each room and were on hand to answer any questions. A particular highlight of the house for me was a glass window upon which visitors had scratched their names, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens are amongst some of the more famous names.

One you have made your way through the house you are guided into the gift shop where you can buy any souvenirs. Visiting the birthplace alone would only take an hour or so at the most but the other houses make it a more full and enjoyable day out.

* * * *Conclusion* * * *
Overall, I had a very enjoyable day. I felt that I learnt a lot without being over-faced with tonnes of boring information. I would recommend buying the 4 house or 5 house ticket as Anne Hathaway's Cottage was worth a look at too. Although it may be a nice place to visit during the summer by heading there on a freezing cold day we did seem to beat the crowds.