by Richard Smith

Created on: September 07, 2008

Growing up in one of the main tourist attractions in the UK does have its advantages and also its disadvantages but one thing it does mean is that I'm pretty well qualified to advocate itas one of the best attractions to visit in the UK.

I resided in Stratford for the first 18 years of my life and also a five year spell in my early thirties and it is a town I still visit as my parents and old school friends still live there. Like most residents the only time I ever visited any of the tourist attractions was when we had guests visiting but the great thing about Stratford is that it is surrounded by some of the finest countryside in the country in the form of the Cotswolds and is a great location to explore some other attractions near by.

xxA Brief Historyxx

Located pretty much slap bang in the middle of the country Stratford Upon Avon grew up originally as a crossing point for the River Avon (the clue is in the name) and traces of a Roman settlement have been found in the area however it rose to prominence as a tourist attraction due to it being the birth place of William Shakespeare in 1564, scourge of the teenage English student and famous writer of plays that have exerted an influence over popular culture for the last few centuries. The fact that Bill spent very few years in Stratford itself is neither here nor there, such is the revenue generated from the tourist trade and the number of people whose employments relies on it then any attempt to claim him otherwise is likely to get a visit from the local Womens Institute and they are a scary bunch.

xxGetting Therexx

Road is probably the easiest way to get to the town as it is 20 miles from the M40 junction 14 however that in itself creates a problem as the town is not that big and the approach roads do get really clogged up especially in the summer months when day visitors head to the town to join the tourist coaches. Add to that local commuter traffic in a quite affluent town that likes its Chelsea tractors (SUV's for our American cousins) and tour bus operators and you have some pretty bad congestion problems. Personally I avoid the town on Bank Holidays and also at weekends in the summer and timing your visit is important to avoid the crowds, midweek in March is a pretty good time.

There is a lot of parking in the town and a couple of park and ride schemes but it does get very busy and car parks get full quickly in the summer.

There is a train station however from memory it takes over an hour to get to Birmingham

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