Shakespeare's Birthplace

• Download Stratford-upon-Avon Tour£5

• Order Stratford Tour CD£8+P&P

We have a one-hour audio walk around Stratford-upon-Avon, which is available for £5, or can be bought as part of our Cotswolds Offer (includes two Bath walks, two Cheltenham walks, three Oxford walks as well as the Stratford-upon-Avon walk) for £16. All our walks include a map in PDF format, which you will find within the zip file that you download immediately after purchase. Audio files are standard MP3 format, suitable for use on iPods and other MP3-compatible devices.

The route passes by some of the most significant historical and cultural highlights of the historic town: Shakespeare’s Birthplace; Rothermarket; Harvard House; the Garrick Inn; New Place; Nash’s House; Hall’s Croft; Holy Trinity Church (where Shakespeare is buried); Avonbank Gardens; Swan Theatre; Royal Shakespeare Theatre; Bancroft Gardens; Canal Basin; and the Gower Memorial.

• Download Stratford-upon-Avon£5

Zip file (includes PDF map): 21.5Mb
Tracks: 12
Audio length: 31 mins
Walking time: 1 hour (approx)

The history of the Kennet and Avon Canal began way back in 1626 when an Oxford don named Henry Briggs decided it would be good idea to construct an artificial waterway joining the Avon and Thames rivers. However, legal wranglings, a lack of cash and logistical problems all conspired to delay the completion of the canal until 1810.

In the late 19th and early 20th century the canal fell into disrepair as the railways grew in popularity and importance, but it was largely restored by volunteers in the late 20th century, to become an important heritage destination. Visitors to the city of Bath can walk along the stretch that runs through the city, affording glorious views over its famous Georgian terraces and parks.

Other visitors come and stay for days or weeks, hiring a canal boat and exploring the canal as it winds its way through the glorious countryside in this part of England. Equally impressive is the huge array of navigable locks and weirs along the way, which made it possible to travel across England by boat, from east to west, for the first time.

Find out more about The Kennet and Avon Canal on our Bath tour. Click here for more information.

Clarendon Street, in Cambridge, has some of the most sought-after houses in the city; just minutes away from the town centre but in a quiet area with little through-traffic and plenty of peace and quiet. What’s more, one of Cambridge’s biggest and most popular open spaces – Parker’s Piece – is right on the doorstep.

However, this area has not always been quite so salubrious. In fact, much of the area around you resembled something of a slum for many decades in the 19th century, and was frequented by a large number of prostitutes.

The university saw these women as a threat to the well-being of the student population and, until the late 19th century, maintained the right to imprison anyone it considered to be a ‘loose woman’.

‘Crimes’, which often led to several weeks in prison, included wearing a “dropped neck” or exposing “bare arms”. However, certain accounts of the period suggest that what the university referred to as prostitution was more likely to have been a form of child abuse, with Cambridge’s students taking advantage of young girls who had no choice in the matter.

Find out more about Parker’s Piece on our Cambridge tour. Click here for more information.

Holy Trinity Church is known as one of York’s true hidden gems, nestled in a quiet space away from traffic and overshadowed by the enormous bulk of York Minster behind it. Whether or not you have any religious leanings, this small, dark, atmospheric church is well worth a visit.

Inside you’ll find an astonishing array of stained glass dating from the 15th century, and amazing box pews from the 17th century. There is no electric lighting or modern heating, and the floors and walls are all at slightly unusual angles! In fact, the church is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, though most of what you see here dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.

The ancient houses in front of the church (pictured below), facing on to Goodramgate, are known as Our Lady’s Row and are generally considered to be the oldest surviving houses in the entire city. The houses were originally built within the church yard, and their rental was used towards the church’s running expenses. About 200 years ago, there were plans to demolish the row of houses, but these plans were abandoned. Most residents and visitors to York agree that this was the best decision, leaving Holy Trinity Church hidden from view.

Find out more about Goodramgate on our York tour. Click here for more information.

Sydney Gardens were conceived in the early 1790s, when planners put forward suggestions for a hexagonal series of gardens that were to form part of the Pulteney Estate, part of which you will see later in the tour.

The first tree was planted here in 1793 and two years later the gardens were opened to the public. Sydney Gardens were reportedly a favourite haunt of the author Jane Austen, when she spent time in the city. She is said to have appreciated concerts here, adding: ‘The gardens are large enough for me to get pretty well beyond the reach of its sound.’ Perhaps Ms Austen was commenting on the quality of the musicians that played here!

The railway cutting you are looking at was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous engineer who worked extensively in this part of the country. This section of line is the last as trains approach Bath from the east, and was ostensibly designed as a stage set – to provide a picturesque scene for both passengers on the train, and train enthusiasts alike.

Find out more about Sydney Gardens on our Bath tour. Click here for more information.

You’ll also pass the former Billingsgate market building (below), famous for its fish markets – and easily identified by the huge fish sculptures adorning the weathervanes on top of the building. There was a fish market on the site for nearly 700 years – from 1297 until 1982, when it moved to the Docklands area, further downstream.

One thing that visitors to this area will not experience these days is the all-encompassing smell that used to pervade this area. Historical descriptions suggest that fish juices, which seeped into the cobbled streets over many centuries, created a permanent stench right up until the market moved away a couple of decades back.

Find out more about Billingsgate on our City of London tour. Click here for more information.

Just off Borough High Street, in south London, is The George Inn, a magnificent black and white, galleried coaching inn.

This amazing building is London’s only surviving galleried coaching inn and would have catered for pilgrims to Canterbury in medieval times. It is not known exactly when the original inn was built – what you see today was rebuilt in 1677 after a huge fire swept through this part of London, destroying many buildings. Both Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare, two British literary giants who both spent much of their lives in this area, are both said to have frequented the inn.

Originally the inn would have taken up all four sides of the courtyard, creating an enclosed space that was used for entertainment for travellers staying here. The other parts of the inn were demolished in the 19th centuries after the advent of the railway led to declining trade. The Great Northern Railway used the site as a storage depot, replacing the historic construction with warehouses.

Fortunately, the pub is now owned by the National Trust – though, as you can see, it still operates as a flourishing business. The restaurant, upstairs, is in the galleried part of the building, which still has many of the original features. While it is a shame that the inn was partially demolished, residents of this part of London are lucky indeed to have this as a local pub!

Find out more about The George and the Borough area on our Canterbury tour. Click here for more information

The area around Canterbury’s magnificent cathedral was heavily bombed during the second world war, with huge areas of the city destroyed by German strikes.

However, the restoration of central Canterbury has been nothing short of astounding, and in many places it is extremely difficult to tell which buildings are original and which are replacements.

Butchery Lane, one of the narrow passageways that leads to the famous cathedral precinct, is a mixture of new and old – but retains an authentic and traditional atmosphere and is a huge draw for tourists.

A series of boutiques, cafes and restaurants line the narrow thoroughfare with its overhanging buildings, perfectly framing the dramatic outline of the cathedral itself.

Find out more about the cathedral and Butchery Lane on our Canterbury tour. Click here for more information

Cambridge’s Trinity College has a plethora of famous alumni – Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage and Francis Bacon among them.

In many ways the most infamous was Lord Byron, who was less than impressed when he arrived at the college in 1805, writing: ‘This place is wretched enough – a villainous chaos of din and drunkenness, nothing but hazard and burgundy, hunting, mathematics and Newmarket, riot and racing.’

He was reportedly reluctant to return to Trinity after his first year, but was persuaded to do so – not least because some of his poetry had been published by this point and he had become something of a celebrity in university circles.

Byron was also a member of a remarkable group of friends including the novelist Virginia Woolf, who dubbed them the neo-pagans. Also in the ‘Grantchester Group’ – so-called because they spent a great deal of their time in the nearby village of Grantchester – were the poet Rupert Brooke, the economist Maynard Keynes and the artist Augustus John.

On one occasion Byron and Woolf are reputed to have swum naked in what is now known as Byron’s pool (below), a couple of miles further into the south Cambridgeshire countryside.

Byron’s eccentricity is further illustrated by his choice of pet while at Cambridge. At the time, the keeping of dogs by college students was banned, but Byron had a perfect solution – he turned up with a pet bear in tow!

Find out more about Byron on our Cambridge tour. Click here for more information

Just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is a courtyard entrance by the name of Deacon Brodie’s Court – and, just a few yards on, a pub also bearing the same name (pictured below). Deacon Brodie lived in the 18th century and was a respected cabinet-maker in the Lawnmarket area. He was also a member of the town council – but Brodie had a reputation as a playboy and a gambler. With several mistresses and five illegitimate children, Brodie soon began to run out of money – and, to finance his lifestyle, turned to crime.

Brodie’s modus operandi was to make wax impressions of keys in houses where he was working as a carpenter, returning later to steal items he had previously identified as valuable. His downfall reportedly came after he teamed up with accomplices, one of whom turned traitor and reported Brodie to the police. Brodie fled to Amsterdam and was on the verge of sailing to America when he was caught. He was extradited back to Britain and received what is colloquially known as a ’suspended sentence’ – that is, he was hanged.

Find out more about The Royal Mile on our Edinburgh tour. Click here for more information