We’re having a William Shakespeare day out today! We set off on foot to the old town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. First we visit the house where his parents lived and where he was actually born. In the adjacent museum we learn a lot about his family and the time in which he grew up. And we see excerpts from performances of his work – including even the Simpsons.

The big house looked slightly different back then. Not only did the Shakespeare family live in it, but the house was also the workshop of William’s father, who made gloves and bags out of leather together with four employees and apprentices, and an inn where guests rented a floorboard to sleep on. The best bed was placed in the living room. It was more a status symbol than a place to sleep. And in the actual bed on the first floor the parents slept half upright, because otherwise they could be thought dead and the Reaper would rob them of their soul. In the room next door, the children were accommodated and in the other room a floor was put in later, when in the kitchen underneath didn’t use an open fire in the middle of the room to cook. Many writers carved their names into the window in this room when they came here on pilgrimage after Shakespeare’s death.

Behind the house, staff are busy reciting Shakespeare plays, and the shop to the exit offers only great things – from all of Shakespeare’s books to the Shakespeare rubber ducky.

From here we drive to the farm where William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, grew up. The farm with its apple grove and many animals is still active today and has been received several awards as an organic farm. We first have lunch at Café and then watch the bird of prey demonstration, where an impressive eagle owl flies from group of spectators to group of spectators. They also present many other farm animals as well as old professions. We really like it here very much and spend a lot of time walking along the fields and pens.

After the farm we drive to the cottage where William Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, grew up. At that time only the middle part of it existed. Also the kitchen did not look as “modern” as it does today, but had only an open fireplace in the middle of the room, which was open to the upper floor. The floor in this part of the house is still the original one, on which Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare stood. It’s exciting to listen to the guide talk about the goings-on of the Hathaway family, which has been very wealthy for a long time, but then loses almost everything at gambling and finally lives in a small apartment in the meanwhile enlarged house and earns its money with guided tours through the house until the 20th century.

In the evening we drive on to our next hotel in Coventry near Birmingham. The room is huge! We get a wonderful curry for dinner but prefer to eat it in the hotel room.