64 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England, England

The most picturesque of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties, this thatched cottage on the western outskirts of Stratford is the family home of the woman Shakespeare married in 1582. The "cottage," actually a substantial Tudor farmhouse with latticed windows, is astonishingly beautiful. Inside, it is surprisingly cozy with lots of period furniture, including the love seat on which Shakespeare reputedly conducted his courtship and a rare carved Elizabethan bed. The cottage garden is planted in lush Edwardian style with herbs and flowers. Wildflowers are grown in the adjacent orchard (a nod to what was grown in the garden in the Hathaways’ time), and the neighboring arboretum has trees, shrubs, and roses mentioned in Shakespeare's works.

The best way to get here is on foot, especially in late spring when the apple trees are in blossom. The signed path runs from Evesham Place (an extension of Grove Road) opposite Chestnut Walk. Pick up a leaflet with a map from the tourist office; the walk takes 25–30 minutes.

Built in 1785 by George Steuart (architect of the church of St. Chad in Shrewsbury) for the first Lord Berwick, this elegant stone mansion has a three-story portico, with a pediment carried on four tall columns. The building overlooks a sweep of parkland, part of which is home to around 300 deer. Inside the house are painted ceilings and delicate plasterwork, a fine picture gallery designed by John Nash (1752–1835), and 19th-century Neapolitan furniture. Attingham Park is four miles southeast of Shrewsbury.

The eminent architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described this as “the perfect late medieval manor house,” and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. The Tudor mansion, with its elegant Queen Anne brick bridge reaching over the moat, is like something out of a period drama. Set off a winding back-road, this grand manor dating from the 15th century retains its great fireplaces, 17th-century paneling, and three priest holes (secret chambers for Roman Catholic priests, who were hidden by sympathizers when Catholicism was banned in the 16th and 17th centuries). Admission to the house is by timed ticket. Baddesley Clinton is two miles east of Packwood House and 15 miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Part of the University of Birmingham, this museum has a small but astounding collection of European paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture, including works by Botticelli, van Dyck, Gainsborough, Turner, Manet, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, and Magritte. The museum also has a lively program of temporary exhibitions and a weekly lunchtime concert at 1 pm on Friday, as well as occasional evening concerts. The museum is three miles from the city center; to get here, take a train from New Street Station to University Station, which is a 10-minute walk from the gallery, or jump on a No. 61 or 63 bus, operated by National Express West Midlands.

Of the 20,000 courtyards of back-to-back houses (houses that quite literally back onto each other) built in the 19th century for the city’s expanding working-class population, this is the only survivor. Three houses tell the stories of families (a clock-maker, locksmith, and glass-eye maker were among the residents) who lived in these charming properties, which were rescued from decay by the National Trust and opened as a heritage site. Each of the properties is decorated for a different period in the courtyard’s history, from the outdoor privies to the long johns hanging over the bedstead. Admission is by guided tour only, which must be booked in advance. Allow at least one hour for the tour and be prepared for steep stairs; ground-floor tours are available for those with limited mobility.

Vast and impressive, this museum holds a magnificent collection of Victorian art and is known internationally for its works by the Pre-Raphaelites. All the big names are here—among them Rubens, Renoir, Constable, and Francis Bacon—reflecting the enormous wealth of 19th-century Birmingham and the aesthetic taste of its industrialists. Galleries of metalwork, silver, and ceramics reveal some of the city’s history, and works from the Renaissance, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the present day are also well represented. One gallery displays part of the incredible Staffordshire Hoard, the greatest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered. The 3,500-strong haul was unearthed in a field 16 miles north of Birmingham; among the hundreds of items on permanent display here include helmets, gold, jewelry, and metalwork. The Edwardian Tearooms are good for lunch, and there is a great play area for kids just outside.

This 26-acre museum on social history gives insight into what life was like centuries ago for the men and women who worked in the coal-producing region known as the Black Country (a term that arose from the resulting air pollution from the region's coal mines), and it’s a little like walking onto a film set. The town of Dudley, 10 miles northwest of Birmingham, was where coal was first used for smelting iron way back in the 17th century. The replicated village is made up of buildings from around the region, including a chain maker’s workshop; a trap-works (where animal snares were fashioned); his-and-hers hardware stores (pots and pans for women, tools and sacks for men); a druggist; and a general store where costumed women describe life in a poor industrial community in the 19th century. You can also sit on a hard bench and watch Charlie Chaplin films in the 1920s cinema, peer into the depths of a mine, or ride on a barge to experience canal travel of yesteryear. For sustenance, there is a café, a 1930s-era fried-fish shop, and the Bottle & Glass Inn for ales and drinks. Peaky Blinders fans will also be pleased to know they now offer special themed nights where you can dress up and step back to the 1920s.

To avoid the numerous school parties, visit on the weekend or during school vacations. The museum, three miles from the M5, is best reached by car. Leave M5 at Junction 2 by the A4123, and then take A4037 at Tipton. Trains from Birmingham New Street to Tipton Station take 17 minutes; buses from the train station run past the museum, which is one mile away.

Tradition has it that, in Roman times a church of some sort stood on the site of what is now Chester Cathedral, but records date construction to around AD 900. The earliest work traceable today, mainly in the north transept, is that of the 11th-century Benedictine abbey. After Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 16th century, the abbey church became the cathedral church of the new diocese of Chester. The misericords in the choir stalls reveal carved figures of people and animals, both real and mythical, and above is a gilded and colorful vaulted ceiling. Cathedral at Height tours (£10) take you to parts of the building usually off-limits to visitors, including the roof—from which you can see two countries (England and Wales) and five separate counties.

On paper this museum might not be the obvious choice for a fun afternoon on your vacation, but it’s actually a very lovely time capsule of an interesting and important part of Birmingham’s industrial history. It was on this very site that Alfred and Edwin Newman (the Newman Brothers, who previously had been accomplished brass fitters) first started making coffins in the late Victorian era. The company quickly established itself as the area's best coffin-makers and was soon making coffins for the likes of Queen Mary, King George V, and Winston Churchill. Though the company fell into decline starting in the 1960s, eventually closing in the 1990s, guided tours now let you clock in as workers once did before taking you behind the scenes in the manager's office (where you can listen to spooky audio of one of the most prominent figures in the company’s history), onto the factory floor, and even into the shroud room. Guided tours occur at 11 am from Friday through Sunday, with self-guided tours every half-hour from noon to 3 pm. There are also guided tours at 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 3 pm on Thursdays.

Just outside the village of Much Marcle, four miles southwest of Ledbury, lies the beautiful 17th-century manor of Hellens, which is kept like a time capsule in virtually unspoiled condition. The gloom and dust are part of the experience of visiting: at times candles illuminate the interior, and there’s no central heating. Part of the house dates from the 13th century and contains an unbelievable collection of fine Old Master paintings. Take a walk in the gardens and, if you have time, be sure to check out the 13th-century village church. Entry is by a guided tour from one of the wardens who live on site; tours take place at 1, 2, and 3 pm on Wednesdays, Sundays, and bank holiday Mondays from Easter through early October. There is also a rather charming tearoom on site, an old cider house, and an excellent events program.

Built of local red sandstone, Hereford Cathedral is a treasure trove of historical artifacts, including Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval map to survive in the world, and the largest chained library in Britain (a sort of medieval security system), which still has all its locks and chains intact. The cathedral itself retains a large central tower, and while much of the interior was restored in the 19th century, original 11th-century Norman features remain, including many intricate stone carvings. There are some exquisite contemporary stained-glass windows in the Audley Chapel and a 12th-century chair that is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in the country and was reputedly used by King Stephen (1092–1154). The Mappa Mundi is undoubtedly the biggest draw here. Drawn in about 1300, it’s a fascinating glimpse of how the medieval mind viewed the world: Jerusalem is shown dead center, the Garden of Eden at the edge, Europe and Africa are the wrong way round—and, of course, there are no Americas. In addition to land masses, the map details 500 individual drawings, including cities, Biblical stories, mythical creatures, and images of how people in different corners of the globe were thought to look—the last two frequently overlapping in a wildly imaginative fashion.

The map can be found just outside the Chained Library, which contains some 1,500 books, among them an 8th-century copy of the Four Gospels. Chained libraries, in which books were attached to cupboards to discourage theft, are extremely rare: they date from medieval times when books were as precious as gold. The cathedral also holds a copy of the 1217 revision of the Magna Carta. Tours of the cathedral (without the library and Mappa Mundi, which both require an extra fee, though volunteers are on hand to answer your questions) run daily throughout the year (except Sundays). Garden tours run in summer and tower tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This 13th-century church on the banks of the River Avon is the final resting place of William Shakespeare. He was buried here not because he was a famed poet but because he was a lay rector of Stratford, owning a portion of the township tithes. On the north wall of the sanctuary, over the altar steps, is the famous marble bust created by Gerard Jansen in 1623 and thought to be a true likeness of Shakespeare. The bust offers a more human, even humorous, perspective when viewed from the side. Also in the chancel are the graves of Shakespeare's wife, Anne; his daughter, Susanna; his son-in-law, John Hall; and his granddaughter's first husband, Thomas Nash. Also here is the christening font in which Shakespeare was baptized.

The 11 sites that make up the Ironbridge Gorge Museum—a World Heritage Site spread over 6 square miles—preserve the area’s fascinating industrial history in spectacular fashion. The best starting point is the Museum of the Gorge, which has a good selection of literature and an audiovisual show on the history of the area. In nearby Coalbrookdale, the Museum of Iron explains the production of iron and steel. You can see the blast furnace built by Abraham Darby, who developed the original coke process in 1709. The adjacent "Enginuity" exhibition is a hands-on, feet-on interactive exploration of engineering that’s good for kids. From here, drive the few miles along the river until the arches of the Iron Bridge come into view. Designed by T. F. Pritchard, smelted by Darby, and erected between 1777 and 1779, this graceful arch spanning the River Severn can best be seen—and photographed—from the towpath, a riverside walk edged with wildflowers and shrubs. The tollhouse on the far side houses an exhibition on the bridge’s history and restoration.

A mile farther along the river is the Jackfield Tile Museum, a repository of decorative tiles from the 19th and 20th centuries. Another half mile brings you to the Coalport China Museum. Exhibits show some of the factory’s most beautiful wares, and craftspeople give demonstrations; visit the restrooms for the unique communal washbasins. A short walk from Coalport is the Tar Tunnel, part of a 1787 tar mine; note the black bitumen still seeping through the walls. Nearby is Ironbridge’s star attraction: Blists Hill Victorian Town, where you can see old mines, furnaces, and a wrought-iron works. The main draw is the re-creation of the "town" itself, with its doctor’s office, bakery, grocer, candle maker, sawmill, printing shop, and candy store. At the entrance you can change some money for specially minted pennies and make purchases from the shops. Shopkeepers, the bank manager, and the doctor’s wife are on hand to give you advice. If you don't fancy the refreshments at the Fried Fish Dealers, you could drop into the New Inn pub (in Blists Hill) for a traditional ale or ginger beer and join one of the singalongs around the piano that take place a couple of times every afternoon; or, for something more formal, try the Club Room restaurant next door. Allow at least a full day to appreciate all the major sights and perhaps to take a stroll around the famous Iron Bridge or hunt for Coalport china in the stores clustered near it. On weekends and national holidays from April through October, a shuttle bus takes you between sites.

For more than two centuries, jewelers have worked in the district of Hockley, northwest of the city center. Today, hundreds of manufacturing jewelers continue the tradition in the Jewellery Quarter, producing more than a third of the jewelry made in Britain. It’s a fun area to explore, with many of the jewelers working out of pretty redbrick houses. In the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, you can tour a former workshop and see how unique pieces are made.

A free booklet from the tourist office gives you the lowdown on shopping in the area.

The city’s Assay Office hallmarks 12 million items each year with the anchor symbol, denoting Birmingham origin. The ornate green and gilded Chamberlain Clock, at the intersection of Vyse Street, Warstone Lane, and Frederick Street, marks the center of the district. The quarter is two stops on the Metro from Birmingham New Street, and although it is a lot calmer than the city center, it has a hip café and restaurant scene.

The romantic ruins of Kenilworth give some sense of the turbulent times the castle has witnessed in its 900-year history. In 1326, King Edward II was imprisoned here and forced to renounce the throne before he was transferred to Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire and allegedly murdered with a red-hot poker. Here the ambitious Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, one of Elizabeth I’s favorites, entertained the queen four times, most notably in 1575 with 19 days of revelry. It was for this extended visit that Dudley created the elaborate Elizabethan garden in which to woo the queen; the garden has since been restored to its original splendor with arbors, an aviary, and an 18-foot-high Carrara marble fountain. The top of the keep has commanding views of the countryside, one good indication of why this was such a formidable fortress from 1120 until it was dismantled by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War in the mid-17th century. Still intact are its keep, with 20-foot-thick walls; its great hall built by John of Gaunt in the 14th century; and its curtain walls, the low outer walls forming the castle’s first line of defense. You can climb the stairs to the viewing platforms for the vista that Queen Elizabeth would have had when she stayed and visit the restored gatehouse where an excellent exhibition explores her relationship with Dudley. The fine gift shop sells excellent replicas of tapestries and swords.

The 14th-century half-timber Lord Leycester Hospital at Warwick's Norman gate is a genuine hidden gem. The Lord Leycester has effectively been a retirement home for soldiers since Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, dedicated it to that purpose in 1571. Within the complex, there is a 12th-century chapel, an impressive beamed hall, and a fine courtyard with a wattle-and-daub balcony and 500-year-old gardens. It's currently undergoing a major renovation, and you should expect improved visitor experiences when it reopens as the project has attracted major investment. Hopefully tours with one of the guides dressed in Elizabethan robes will still be available, along with the chance to enjoy a cream tea in the very friendly Brethren’s Kitchen, where food has been served for centuries.

The "very perfection of decay," according to author Daniel Defoe, the ruins of this red sandstone castle date from 1085. No wonder the massive structure dwarfs the town: it served as a vital stronghold for centuries and was the seat of the Marcher Lords who ruled "the Marches," the local name for the border region. The two sons of Edward IV—the little princes of the Tower of London—spent time here before being dispatched to London and before their death in 1483. Follow the terraced walk around the castle for a lovely view of the countryside.

Overlooking Bancroft Gardens and with views along the River Avon, the Stratford home of the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company is undoubtedly one of the best places in the world to watch a Shakespearean play. The company has existed since 1879 and today boasts three Stratford venues: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre (on the site of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre), and The Other Place. There's a great rooftop restaurant at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, plus a popular Behind the Scenes tour. You can also ascend to the theater’s tower, for free, for a panoramic view of Stratford.

A half-timber house typical of its time, the playwright's birthplace is a much-visited shrine that has been altered and restored since Shakespeare lived here. Passing through the modern visitor center, you are immersed in the world of Shakespeare through a state-of-the-art exhibition that includes evocative audio and visuals from contemporary stagings of his plays. The house itself is across the garden from the visitor center. Colorful wall decorations and furnishings reflect comfortable, middle-class Elizabethan domestic life. You can view his father’s workshop and you can see the very room where Shakespeare was born. Mark Twain and Charles Dickens were both pilgrims here, and you can see the signatures of Thomas Carlyle and Walter Scott scratched into the windowpanes. In the garden, actors present excerpts from his plays. There’s also a café and bookshop on the grounds.

This is the spot where Shakespeare lived for the last 19 years of his life and where he wrote many of his plays, including The Tempest. Though the actual 15th-century building he inhabited was torn down in the 18th century, the site was imaginatively reinterpreted in 2016 as an outdoor space where the footprint of the original house can be traced. Each of his 38 plays is represented by a pennant in the Golden Garden, and his sonnets are engraved into the stone paving. Highlights include a mulberry tree that some believe was given to Shakespeare by King James I and a restored Elizabethan knot garden. A permanent exhibition inside the neighboring Nash’s House tells the story of the New Place and Shakespeare’s family life within it; there's also a roof terrace, which provides views of the gardens. Nash’s House was once home to Thomas Nash, the husband of Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall.

On a hilltop west of the town center, this church designed by George Steuart, the architect of Attingham Park, is one of England’s most distinctive ecclesiastical buildings. Completed in 1792, the round Georgian church is surmounted by a tower that is in turn square, octagonal, and circular, as well as topped by a dome. When built, it provoked riots among townsfolk averse to its radical style. The interior has a fine Venetian east window and a brass Arts and Crafts pulpit.

Six miles south of Ross-on-Wye, outside the village of Symonds Yat (a local dialect word for "gate"), the 473-foot-high Yat Rock commands superb views of the River Wye as it winds through a narrow gorge in a great five-mile loop. It's best approached from the south on B4432, and from there, it's a short walk. A small, hand-pulled ferry takes passengers across the river from the Saracens Head pub (£1.20). About a mile northeast of Symonds Yat is King Arthur’s Cave, although any link to the legendary monarch is, well, just a legend. Several important Paleolithic finds have been made in the cave, including flint tools and the bones of a woolly mammoth and a saber-toothed cat. Today, it is home to a colony of bats. To find the cave, take the exit marked Symonds Yat West from the A40. Park at the rest area just before Downard Park campsite, and follow the path a short way into the woods.

The composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in the village of Lower Broadheath, eight miles north of Great Malvern, in this tiny brick cottage. Set in a peaceful garden, the museum contains personal memorabilia, including photographs, musical scores, and letters. Be sure to take a seat next to the statue of the musician as he admires the Malvern Hills that so inspired him.

Based in an incredible historic building in a forgotten part of the city, this heritage center, a joint enterprise between the National Trust and the Canal and River Trust, has seen 19th-century stables once used to house Birmingham's hard-working horses brought back to life. Inside the horseshoe-shaped brick building, you can learn about the history of the building, as well as how integral both horses and the canals have been to the city's fortunes. Now essentially a hub for city tours—on foot, bike, kayak, and boat—it's also a font of knowledge for those interested in Birmingham's industrial past. The visitor center is free to visit, and there's a good café on site, but most people come here to book a kayak tour, take a guided tour on foot through the city, or take a cycle tour along the canals. There are also tours of the building itself.

The vast bulk of this medieval castle rests on a cliff overlooking the Avon River and is considered "the fairest monument of ancient and chivalrous splendor which yet remains uninjured by time," to use the words of Sir Walter Scott. Today, the company that runs the Madame Tussauds wax museums also owns the castle, and it has become more theme park than an authentic heritage site, but it is still a lot of fun. Warwick’s two soaring towers, bristling with battlements, can be seen for miles: the 147-foot-high Caesar’s Tower, built in 1356, and the 128-foot-high Guy’s Tower, built in 1380.

Warwick Castle’s monumental walls enclose an impressive armory of medieval weapons, as well as staterooms with historic furnishings and paintings. Other exhibits explore the castle’s history through the ages, display the sights and sounds of a great medieval household as it prepares for an important battle, and tell the story of a princess’s fairy-tale wedding. Elsewhere, a working trebuchet, falconry displays, and rat-throwing (stuffed, not live) games add to the atmosphere. Below the castle, strutting peacocks patrol the 64 acres of grounds elegantly landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century. Each summer the castle also hosts one-off immersive experiences.

Arrive early to beat the crowds. If you book online, you save 30% on ticket prices. Lavish medieval banquets take place throughout the year, and plenty of food stalls serve lunch. For the ultimate castle experience, you can "glamp" in a medieval tent, stay in a wooden lodge in the Knight’s Village, or spend the night in your own luxury suite in the 14th-century Caesar’s Tower.

Just six miles southwest of Ledbury, this cider mill is a fantastic way to get a (quite literal) taste of the drink Herefordshire is famous for. They've been making cider on this very site since the late 19th century and many of the ciders are familiar brands. Tours (offered daily at 11 am, 12:30 pm, 2 pm, and 3:30 pm) take about an hour and 20 minutes and conclude with a tasting of about five different ciders. Make sure you factor in a stop at the very good on-site restaurant the Scrumpy House to try one of the excellent pies.

There are few more quintessentially English sights than that of Worcester Cathedral, its towers overlooking the green expanse of the county cricket ground and its majestic image reflected in the swift-flowing waters of the River Severn. A cathedral has stood on this site since 680, and much of what remains dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. Notable exceptions are the Norman crypt (built in the 1080s), the largest in England, and the ambulatory, a cloister built around the east end. The most important tomb in the cathedral is that of King John (1167–1216), one of the country’s least-admired monarchs, who alienated his barons and subjects through bad administration and heavy taxation, and, in 1215, was forced to sign that great charter of liberty, Magna Carta; it's worth joining one of the expert talks by his tomb.

Don't miss the beautiful decoration in the vaulted chantry chapel of Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's elder brother, whose body was brought to Worcester after his death at Ludlow in 1502. The medieval library (accessible only by pre-booked tour) holds around 300 medieval manuscripts, dating from the 10th century onwards. Worcester is eight miles north of Great Malvern.

You can see old architecture typical of Worcestershire at this 19-acre open-air museum, which is situated 15 miles outside the city center and which has rescued more than 30 structures from destruction. Alongside half-timber buildings are Victorian chimneys, a collection of phone booths, a three-seater "earth closet" (lavatory), a 1946 prefabricated house, and a working windmill. During the week, school groups usually arrive at the museum in the morning, making afternoons a less crowded time to visit. Wear good walking shoes.

Between the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Clopton Bridge lie these well-tended expanses of lawns and flower beds. The swans gliding gracefully along the river are permanent residents, coexisting with the pleasure craft on the river and the nearby canal. The centerpiece of the gardens is the Gower Memorial statue, designed in 1888 by Lord Gower and adorned with bronze figures of Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff, and Prince Hal—symbols of philosophy, tragedy, comedy, and history, respectively.

The early-18th-century Cathedral Church of St. Philip, a few blocks from Victoria Square, contains some lovely plasterwork in its elegant, gilded Georgian interior. The stained-glass windows behind the altar, designed by the Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones (1833–98) and executed by the firm of William Morris & Company, glow with sensuous hues. There are regular free guided tours (most Monday at 12:30 pm and Wednesday at 11:30 am) where you can find out about how this church became a cathedral.