"More than just Shakespeare? " a Stratford-upon-Avon Travel Page by YPie

I lived near Stratford for years when I was younger, and went to school in the town for over 5 years. Then I moved away, lost contact with a lot of people and just lost touch with the place. It was about 8 years before I went back to meet up with an old school friend (and, to be honest, I didn't see much other than the inside of bars).

But for the past year or so I've really wanted to go back, so I can be there again without necessarily remembering what it used to be like. Looking at it with fresh eyes maybe.

I'd been considering vaguely going down for the day, and had half looked at hotels, then on Friday afternoon an email dropped into my inbox with a reduced price for a hotel in Stratford that weekend. Was it fate? It feels like the right time to go back, 10 years since I left, so hopefully I can combine my local knowledge (if somewhat outdated) and my tourist eyes to really enjoy the place again rather than just seeing it as "town". Who knows!

I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed myself revisiting my old haunts and discovering some new ones. The funny thing about Stratford is that most of it doesn't seem to change, and then all of a sudden you come across something that you don't remember but still looks like it's been there for years. Maybe it's because there's so much to discover?