The ancestral home of John Harvard, founder of America's most famous University - HARVARD! Actually…read morethis was his mother's home, built in 1596 it is a fine example of an Elizabethan town house. Harvard House is the home of the Museum of British Pewter. The Museum houses an extensive Neish Collection which illustrates the history of two thousand years of British pewter.The collection includes some rare and unique pieces including Roman items and medieval pilgrim badges. This is an interesting place and well maintained. A fun and educational place for kids.

The Harvard House spreads its exhibits over the three floors of the old building and seems to be…read moreaimed more at children or teenagers. It has several hands-on interactive exhibits and little note cards telling of customs of the olden days. It's quite interesting, but nothing much to rave about. It's part of the three-houses ticket of the Shakespeare houses, so if you're going to see the birthplace, you might as well check this one out too. I'm not sure if it's worth it in its own though.

Ok, if you are looking for the place where Anne Hathaway grew up, well, you are pretty much in the…read morewrong place, unless the Anne Hathaway you are looking for happens to be the wife of William Shakespeare, then you are in the right place. So, when you get a ticket to the Shakespeare house, you also get admission to this place as well. The thing is that it is a bit of a hike out of town, but it is pretty cool, especially considering that it is a tudor farmhouse.

I truly wish I could relay how beautiful this cottage is, however before I could even get up the…read moreramp, a most unfortunately assertive individual took it upon herself to run out and greet me with a welcome that only the truly emotionally inept could muster. Apparently my name is "you can't take cases in here", repeated twice in quick succession just on the off-chance I did not hear her on the first flat out rude and blustering attempt. As I looked down at my case, a carry-on size pulley, I thought to myself, c'est la vie, the rules are the rules after all. However, in Shakespeare's land, one might have hoped for just a pinch of emotional intelligence in how to verbally greet a guest about to fork out £23 to see an attraction after they'd already paid £10 in a taxi to get there and per chance deliver the blow with a degree more eloquence? Madam, whoever you are, the service industry requires training of which you are clearly woefully lacking. That, or you are yet another of those odious cretins who relishes in unleashing their one minute of power assertion over... a prospective customer? Bravo! Shakespeare wouldn't bother turning in his grave over this, he wrote of plenty an ass and a fool in his time.

Wonderful place to stop and spend some time. Got to see a…read moredemonstration with wool, discussion on different types of wool. Donkeys, horses, goats, falconry and gardens. The demonstration with Talia the eagle owl was delightful and fun. Friendly staff, very educational.

We walked to Mary Arden's Farm from Stratford-upon-Avon. Fair warning: it's a LONG walk. Don't do…read moreit if you're not prepared to walk 5 miles (or about 8 km) there and back. I suppose a bike ride would nice, though. It's along a river through really Englishy countryside with rolling hills and and pebbly roads. Once we got there, it was pretty meh. Admissions is covered in the Shakespeare Five House ticket, but not any of the other types of ticket packages. You just walk around and look at pigs and rooms. We saw some owls and falcons, a dovecove, some pigs, an old oven, old bedrooms with small beds.... It's not really educational - there wasn't much to learn about Shakespeare or Mary Arden. I didn't think they made much of an effort to make it tourist friendly either. It wasn't really worth it but still mildly interesting. I recommend saving some money and just purchasing the Four House ticket and forgo this house.

10 Reasons Why I Enjoyed Shakespeare's Birthplace…read more What I really enjoyed about this tour was learning all of the salacious details that no high school teacher ever taught us while reading the works of William Shakespeare! These were my top favorites and I hope if you have the opportunity to visit, you find some of your own as well! 1. The first thing you will want to do is grab a copy of Shakespeare~Work, Life and Times, an official guide to the Shakespeare Historic Trail. You will need to do this as you enter, if not you can get a copy in the gift shop at the end of the tour. 2. A visit to the gift shop is a must, they have snippets of his works in all price ranges, and some very interesting trinkets for any lover of literature. You need a good 20 minutes to peruse the shelves here guys, so don't forget to factor that time into your visit. 3. Check out the family tree and timeline, notice anything interesting? Look at the dates of William and his love Anne. 4. William almost died from the Bubonic plague, an outbreak shortly after his birth had his mother packing her bags and running to the safety of her family in the country four miles up the road! 5. William's dad made his living as a glover (craftsman who makes gloves) and was very successful running his business out of the home. To process those skins into fine leather gloves, dog excrement, urine, and egg are just a few of the things used! I was unnerved reading this, wondering if dog excrement is still used to this day on a pair of fine gloves! 6. William's wife Anne was three months pregnant when they got married, so I guess we can all say, a lot more was going on than reading the written works of William Shakespeare! 7. William's oldest daughter Susanna Hall, a married woman, was accused of having an affair and giving a man a venereal disease! To plead her case, she brought him up on charges in the church court, he neglected to show up to face the charges, so the case was dismissed! Ladies, men were out here lying on their penises back in the 1500, just goes to show, things don't change over time, they just get more interesting! 8. William and Anne had a set of twins, Hamnet and Judith. Sadly Hamnet passed away at the age of 11, and the family mourned him deeply. William had to ask permission from his father to marry Anne, he was 18 and she was 26. William was still considered a minor, and it was unheard of to marry such an older woman! They had to rush the ceremony because they needed to keep the fact that she was pregnant a secret. What a scandal! 9. The Shakespeare birthplace home will be tight, the ceiling is low in places and the floors slippery in sections. The stairs are very steep and the walls tight so please be careful. If you are using a walker or wheelchair, there are places that will not be easy to navigate and you will have to walk. Please keep this in mind when planning your trip. 10. If it's busy, guides will take you in the house in shifts, please be patient and don't give them a hard time, they are trying to maintain the integrity of all artifacts. Hope these tips are helpful for future travelers! Enjoy Unnerved Traveler

My wife and I have attended mnay performances of Shakespear's work, both in actual theathers and…read moreoutdoors "in the park". So, when we got a chance to visit his birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon, we jumped at the chance. Our tour guide was excellent and shared many details of what it was like living in this house in William's time (e.g. the boys shared one room and the girls were in another - and the boy's room was more comfortable because - in those days - the boys were more valuable. It was fascinating walking through the house where Shakespear actually lived and grew up. The day we were there, there were actors in the courtyard performing snippets of Shakespear's plays and writings. The one actor asked members of the audience to call out their favorite and he would then perform something from that particular play. Fascinating visit and tour.

The castle is lovely and grounds are absolutely stunning. Although the structure and landscaping…read moreare lovely, our tour guide felt the need to weave her strong political views into most topics. Examples would be regarding a pitcher/jug that is displayed in one of the glass cases. She said the pitcher "should not be here" and if she had her way "it would be returned" because it was "stolen from a masque." She also said when referring to Dr. Edward Jenner being the first to develop a successful vaccination for small pox that "it really is a question if he were the first." She said he barely beat Africa and Turkey in this world altering vaccine. To which doctors to whom was she referring to in Africa or Turkey? She made a comment of, " My grandfather always said, 'Whatever horrible acts done have been done have been done by the English first.' and I firmly believe this." She was also railing against the decisions of the monarchs before the addition of the parliament. Then she went on to say she wished she could get rid of the current government. A guide should concentrate on the facts and remove biases. It is quite distracting and unnecessary.

What can you say about one of the oldest inhabited castles in the world which is still owned by the…read moresame family from 900 years ago. You have to go. Its where Edward II was murdered with a red hot poker up his fundament .

I didn't expect discovering Rock of Gibraltar is owned by the British Peeps! Who knew? I surely…read moredidn't know this fact . . . I was also surprised learning that Spain wants the Rock returned to them, too. Visiting here was astonishing because Spain is right outside, but peeps living on the Rock-everyone uses British currency. Everyone in McDonald's spoke with a British accent! http://gibraltar.costasur.com/ http://www.gibnet.com/tourist/basics.htm http://www.gibnet.com/tourist/general.htm http://www.andalucia.com/gibraltar/home.htm

The rock of Gibraltar is indeed something very, very special. Just the thought of all sailors that…read morefor thousands of years that have shared this grand view is breathtaking. Lord Nelson, Marco Polo, Vasco da Gama are just a few that have passed this mighty rock. The view from the top of the Rock is just as breathtaking as its history. If possible - wait for clear skies before going to the top. It is worth it. Clear days it is possible to see far along the Spanish coast and across the sea to Africa. And - beware of the apes. No kidding. Already when docking at the top they may enter the cabin in search for food. According to the guards they are calmer and nicer in the morning than in the hot afternoon.

Located immediately behind Nash's New Place, the Great Garden of New Place is a large open space…read morecontaining some interesting topiary, beautiful flowers, a large grass lawn and a number of Shakespeare-themed sculptures. It's another of the "don't miss" stops in your tour of Stratford-upon-Avon. There are sculptures for several of Shakespeare's famous plays. The key is to figure out which play is represented without looking at the plaque. Benches for reflection and while you're welcome to eat here, I didn't spot any rubbish bins for trash. Though with the large garden with many flowers, I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking to avoid an encounter with the bees.

You know those amazingly warm and sunny weekends? Well we don't get them too often and when they…read morehappen I get the urge to do something quintessentially English. So last one day recently saw a much needed drive out of Brum and into the countryside. I'm not a National Trust member but I am starting to wonder why? Our visit to Packwood House was fantastic. You can go into the house and even have a tour but we wanted to experience the gardens, herbaceous borders and huge yew topiaries up close. The house is originally 16th century and features several gorgeous blue and gold sun dials - so check your watch against them and see which are still set to GMT. The gardens are beautiful and kept in stunning condition. Mostly they are comprised of some very distinct and large yew topiaries. The highlight has to be walking up the helter skelter style border to reach the top of The Mound which is adorned with a large yew tree. From there you can take in the views, enjoy the cool shade and benefit from some much needed peace. The rest of the gardens are a mix of wild and wonderful plants and the look must change considerably throughout the year. Don't miss out on walking around the back of the house to catch the very unique sun dial monument. A great day out even if you are not a National Trust member - stunning!

Packwood is another National Trust property right on the doorstep and one that makes me so glad…read morethat we got membership for a Chrismas present. The gardens are the usual lovely mixture of more formal with some stunning yew trees to admire, plus the broader park land. The formal area is very children friendly and there's a lovely little raised mound right at the back that's lots of fun to run up. The pak land has a great walk and there's a large pond/small lake with ducks. It's a good place to explore and there's the usual wooded area to wander around too. The National Trust is so much better at welcoming families and Packwood now has so much more to offer children such as outdoor games and family activities during holidays. Picnics are welcome too. There isn't a cafe or restaurant although you can get coffee and snacks from the reception area. The toilets are in the car park.

I have a soft spot for Anthony Gormley's work, so much so I was even one of the lucky ones that…read morestood on the 4th Plinth in London. The statue represents the traditional skills of Birmingham and the Black Country practised during the Industrial Revolution. The controversy of public opinion when it was installed makes me further believe that it really does represent the Brummie and Yam-Yams naysaying nature. I can't really recall why it was so hated back in 1993 when it was given as gift from the Trustee Savings Bank, but when they moved down south there was an outcry that the Iron: Man should be moved with them. I love that it started out as an untitled work until the Iron Man nickname stuck, only for the artist to insist on making his own stamp by insisting on a stupid colon in the middle. Brilliant! Maybe my soft spot for Gormely is because he utilises many local resources to make his large scale iron works with the Iron:Man being cast at Bradley and Fosters Castings (now Firth Rixson Castings) in Willenhall. Whether you love or hate it this 6m tall, leaning man whose feet are sunk in the ground is worth a look.

The most overlooked art in victoria square. I love this art by one of my favourite artist/sculptor.read more