Travels Across the UK: Stratford-upon-Avon

On 26^th April 1564, a legend of the literary world was born in a small English town called Stratford-upon-Avon. William Shakespeare doesn’t need any introduction. For me, he has been a man who draws awe and reverence from the remotest corners of the world through his writings, even centuries after his existence. Till date his written word is worshiped in the theatre and literary world. This place couldn’t be missed by a publishing student.

Stratford-upon-Avon, as the name suggests, lies on the banks of Avon. It is very close to Coventry and falls under the Warwickshire County. This place doesn’t even qualify as a city. It is a simple place still basking in the glory of Shakespeare and feebly promoting itself to the tourist population. The city centre hosts a building that says ‘1564’ in big bold font on its front. I’m not sure if it stands there for centuries but it pretends so at the least. On the high street itself, there is this old wooden villa that stands tall amidst all the modern cafes and stores and forms the centre of all attention for everyone in the town despite its withering strength. Just above its entrance, under a tiled sloping roof is an emblem that flashes an ink pen in gold and black. The windows barely hold on to broken glass fragments that reflect sunlight to the onlookers. This astonishingly old but dignified building is the home of William Shakespeare. Next to the house is a memorial built to commemorate Shakespeare’s four hundredth birth anniversary.

 

In this peculiar city we found a shop that sold Christmas decorations all year round, a shop that sold Bunny Rabbit merchandise and another that sold Shakespeare merchandise. We walked into the ‘Shakespeare’ shop full of excitement and what we found inside was marvellous. To welcome us were quills – yes real quills that could be dipped in ink bottles to write – made from colourful feathers. Quills with detachable nibs and multiple styled nibs for calligraphy were being sold along with ink bottles. Just below them were diaries and notebooks with Shakespeare’s covers. Behind this magnificence were bookmarks, scarfs, candles, magnets, keychains, pens and pencils, mugs… you name it. Further inside, we found Shakespeare’s original works being sold in hard bound copies and gold washed edges. His plays and sonnets as well as specialities like the first English Dictionary formed the highlight of the shop. We spent more time in this shop than in front of his house. Just browsing through these items and dreaming about owning each of them was so fulfilling! Only a literature lover will understand this. I couldn’t have stepped out of this shop without buying anything. So I stepped out with a bagful of merchandise.

The second attraction of this place is Anne Hathaway’s house. No, not the actress of ‘Love and other drugs’. Anne Hathaway was Shakespeare’s wife and her house has still been maintained. I’d say much better maintained than that of Shakespeare. So we walked down to her house and I must say Shakespeare had to take a long walk to her place in those days. It took us some 45 min to walk down but it was all worth it. Anne Hathaway’s cottage is a thatched house and it definitely adds to the beauty of the city. On our way to her cottage we found several other thatched houses that were still being used by families. It is splendid how the British manage to preserve their historical wealth in such diverse forms. These houses are priceless! Anne Hathaway’s cottage has been converted into a small museum. By now you know my aversion to museums. I didn’t go in!