Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buckingham Palace, from April to July, Monday to Saturday at 11am (off-season
hours differ slightly—see p. 199). Wander through
St. George's Chapel,
where some monarchs are entombed; and stroll through
Jubilee Gardens.
You'll need at least 2 hours, and maybe a bit more as you should have a quick
look around the riverside town.
Head back to London, probably in the late afternoon, and you might want to
have a quiet walk in
Hyde Park
(p. 94). It's a tranquil spot at any time of year,
with the long lake, the Serpentine, cutting across the middle like a rural river.
It's an easy walk into
Kensington Gardens
(basically it's the same park, the
other side of the road) for a look at the Albert Memorial, Queen Victoria's
monumental tribute to her late husband. Now you're in the Kensington/Knights-
bridge area and it's not finding a restaurant that's the problem, it's the choosing.
Days 4 & 5: Stratford-upon-Avon
From Paddington Station, you can be in the lovely riverside town of
Strat-
ford-upon-Avon
in 2 hours. After checking into a hotel for 2 nights, head for
the
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
(p. 452), which owns five Shakespeare-
related properties, and buy a global ticket. Start with
Shakespeare's Birth-
place
(p. 456); pop into
Holy Trinity Church
(p. 454), where he is buried;
and then move onto
Hall's Croft
(p. 454), where his daughter Susanna lived.
At some point you might want a spot of lunch—the riverside terrace at the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
(p. 452) is a good spot. While at the theatre, see
if there are tickets available for tomorrow. Later, for dinner, you don't need to
head farther than the
Black Swan,
generally called the
Dirty Duck
(p. 458).
The old riverside pub is the place for a drink, and you can either eat in the bar
or in its Conservatory restaurant.
On the morning of
Day 5,
continue with the Shakespeare theme, visiting
Anne Hathaway's Cottage
(p. 454), the thatched, childhood home of his wife,
and
Mary Arden's House (Glebe Farm) & Palmer's Farm
(p. 454), his
mother's childhood home.
Don't stop for lunch; instead, grab a sandwich, and get the train to Warwick,
8 miles away. Here is
Warwick Castle
(p. 462), one of England's most perfect
castles. It's now a full-fledged medieval theme zone, but walking around the
place is a singular experience itself.
Return to Stratford, where the glass-walled, Art Deco-tinged rooftop restau-
rant in the 1930s' Royal Shakespeare Theatre serves pre-performance dinners
beginning at 4:30pm. Then you can see the Shakespeare production we know
you managed to get tickets for…
Day 6: Oxford
You can get to Oxford by train in a little over 1
1
⁄
2
hours, changing at Banbury or
Leamington Spa, so you'll be at the university city by mid-morning. Head
straight for the
Oxford Tourist Information Centre
(p. 212), a 5-minute walk
from the station, and sign up for one of the regular 2-hour walking tours. You'll
get a knowledgeable view of the city, and often your small group will go inside
otherwise-closed college gates.
Have lunch at the 17th-century
Turf Tavern
(p. 223), tucked away down an
alleyway; it's where Bill Clinton used to drink while at university.
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