Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, Day 1

While in Stratford-Upon-Avon, it was Christmas time. We definitely enjoyed the Market; it was one of the best Christmas markets we encountered. But our main objective was all things Shakespeare.

After eating lunch in our motorhome, (we had found a carpark with spaces marked for motorhomes only), we walked to the town's information center. Of the five Shakespeare sites, one was closed for the winter. We bought tickets that would gain us entry to the other four. We used these tickets over two days.

First stop - Shakespeare's birthplace where William was born in 1564. The front of the building is pictured above this interior photo of the dining table and hearth. Brian visited here in 1975 as a teen, but one could only view the exterior at that time. Now it's an excellent museum.

Featured inside is an excellent timeline of Shakespeare's life laid out with the family tree and other details. Museum staff are dressed in period costumes. This young lady was game to pose for a photo with Brian.

Next stop - Shakespeare's "New Place," the home he bought as an adult for his family. The original house is gone. Instead, a beautiful garden sits in its place. The buildings in this photo are the house next door.

Due to the winter season, the garden was dormant. A few brave blooms showed their colors, though, such as a penstemon above and a hellebore below.

The New Place gardens are adorned with bronze sculptures created by American artist Greg Wyatt that depict characters from many of Shakespeare's plays. Below is his rendition of Hamlet from my favorite play by the same name. It takes a moment to see his face.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this garden, an interesting mix of landscape design and art. It would be wonderful to see in the summer. What an inspiring way to commemorate Shakespeare's home. We ended our day with a stroll through the Christmas market before heading to our pitch at the Dodwell Park camping park. We looked forward to Day 2 of learning about William Shakespeare.