Warwickshire trades on two things above all: a playwright and a pair of castles. Stratford-upon-Avon gave the world William Shakespeare, and keeps his memory beautifully — the house he was born in, the cottage he courted his wife in, the church he lies in, all within an easy walk. A short drive north stand Warwick and Kenilworth, one a working fairy-tale of a castle and the other a magnificent red-sandstone ruin where Elizabeth I was once entertained for nineteen days. This is a gentle two-day weekend that takes in both.
The Stratford sights are compact and mostly level; the castles involve some steps, uneven ground and the odd tower climb. We note access where it's confirmed and say "not yet checked" where it isn't, rather than guess.
Warwick Castle is run as a full day-out attraction and is busiest — and priciest — in the school holidays. Book online ahead for the best price, and arrive at opening to enjoy the ramparts before the crowds.
Day one — Shakespeare's Stratford
The whole Shakespeare story in one walkable town. The half-timbered house where he was born, his wife's picture-book cottage on the edge of town, the riverside theatre of the RSC, and the church where he is buried.
Shakespeare's Birthplace
The half-timbered Henley Street house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564, cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
This is where it all starts: the timber-framed house on Henley Street where Shakespeare was born in 1564 and grew up above his father's glove workshop. Inside you'll find recreated Tudor rooms, costumed guides who genuinely know their stuff, and often actors performing speeches on request in the garden. It is compact, so allow an hour or two rather than a whole morning, and arrive close to opening time before the coach groups fill the smaller rooms. Henley Street itself is pedestrianised and level, which makes it an easy, unhurried start to a Stratford day. Check open days and book ahead in high summer.
Our tip Go at opening time, by mid-morning the tour groups arrive and the little rooms get crowded fast.
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access Accessible parking
Henley Street is pedestrianised, level and paved, and the modern visitor centre offers step-free entry. The Tudor house itself has small rooms, uneven floors and steps between levels.
For blind & low-vision visitors Shakespeare's family home, a timber-framed house of small rooms and uneven floors with some steps; an accessible visitor centre, atmospheric interior.
Sensory A busy, popular heritage site with tour crowds in season; the garden and visitor centre are calmer, the house can feel tight.
Access last checked 5 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
- Visit Shakespeare's Family Homes Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
- Exploring Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon 🇬🇧 Those Two Brits UK
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Anne Hathaway's Cottage
The thatched Shottery farmhouse where Shakespeare courted his future wife, wrapped in one of England's most photographed cottage gardens.
A mile or so out of town in the hamlet of Shottery stands the thatched farmhouse where Anne Hathaway lived before she married Shakespeare in 1582. The house is charming, but the gardens steal the show: billowing cottage borders, an orchard, sculpture trail and willow arbours that look their best from late spring through summer. Rather than moving the car, follow the signed footpath from Stratford town centre, it is a pleasant, mostly level walk of around a mile and turns the visit into a proper outing. There is a tearoom for the return leg. Check open days before travelling, especially in winter.
Our tip Walk out from town on the signed Shottery footpath rather than driving, it's the nicest approach and parking in Shottery is tight.
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access
The main garden paths are firm and there is some level access, but the cottage interior has uneven floors and steps. The signed footpath from Stratford is a mostly level walk of around a mile.
For blind & low-vision visitors A thatched cottage and gardens with some level access and firm main garden paths, but uneven cottage floors and steps; strong garden scent.
Sensory A calm, pretty cottage-and-garden of birdsong - gently busy with visitors, peaceful in the wider grounds.
Access last checked 6 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
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Royal Shakespeare Theatre & Waterside
The RSC's riverside home, worth visiting even without a ticket for the Bancroft Gardens, tower views and canal basin.
Seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company on home ground is one of England's great cultural experiences, and tickets for big productions go quickly, so book well ahead. Even without a show, the Waterside is a delight: Bancroft Gardens and the Gower Memorial, narrowboats mooring in the canal basin, and a seasonal hand-wound chain ferry across the Avon. The theatre building itself usually offers tours, a café and, when open, a tower with wide views over the town and river; check availability on the day. Evening performances pair beautifully with a pre-show riverside picnic in summer. Lifts and level access make the public areas easy to enjoy.
Our tip Matinees are usually easier to book than evening shows, and you still get the riverside atmosphere afterwards.
Visiting — good to know
Step-free / wheelchair access
Level, step-free public areas with lifts inside the theatre. Outside, Bancroft Gardens and the canal basin are flat, with surfaced riverside paths.
For blind & low-vision visitors A modern theatre with level access, lifts and a riverside terrace; accessible and navigable, with a tower viewpoint.
Sensory A calm arts venue between performances, busier around show times; the riverside terrace is pleasant and open.
Access last checked 6 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
- Tour the RSC's new Stratford home The Telegraph
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Holy Trinity Church
The beautiful riverside parish church where Shakespeare was baptised and buried, reached along an avenue of limes.
Stratford's loveliest quiet corner. Holy Trinity sits right on the Avon at the southern end of town, approached along an atmospheric avenue of lime trees. Shakespeare was baptised here in 1564 and buried in the chancel in 1616, beneath the famous verse warning against moving his bones; his funerary monument gazes down from the wall nearby. It remains a working parish church, so visiting arrangements flex around services, check before travelling, and expect an invited donation towards upkeep for the chancel. Pair it with a riverside stroll back along the Avon past the theatre gardens, which is the prettiest route into town.
Our tip Walk back to town along the river path past the theatre, it's far nicer than retracing the street route.
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access
Approached along a level avenue of lime trees, with a largely level interior but some uneven historic flooring. The riverside path back towards the theatre is level.
For blind & low-vision visitors Shakespeare's burial church, largely level and accessible with echoing space and some uneven historic floor; a riverside setting.
Sensory A calm, echoing, historic riverside church - contemplative and quiet, busier around the grave.
Access last checked 6 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
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Day two — the castles of Warwick and Kenilworth
Castle day. One of the most complete medieval castles in England above the Avon, a jewel of a Tudor almshouse in the town, the romantic ruins of Kenilworth, and a moated manor with a Catholic hiding-place past.
Warwick Castle
One of Britain's great medieval castles, rising over the Avon with towers to climb, state rooms and big seasonal shows.
Warwick Castle is the county's heavyweight attraction, and it earns the fuss: a genuinely magnificent medieval fortress above the Avon, seat of the Earls of Warwick, wrapped in centuries of kingmaking history and now run as a polished full-day experience. Climb the towers and ramparts for superb views (the spiral stairs are steep and narrow, not for everyone), tour the state rooms, and catch the seasonal shows, including a spectacular birds-of-prey display. It gets very busy in school holidays, so book online in advance and arrive at opening. Warwick's lovely town centre is right outside the gates, easily combined with the castle for a single-parking day.
Our tip Book online before you go and arrive for opening, you'll beat both the queues and the coach parties.
Memberships and passes
- Merlin Annual Pass — restrictions apply: Standard admission may be included, depending on pass type, restriction date and attraction rules. Pre-booking can be required; extras may cost more. Official terms (checked 8 Aug 2026)
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access
Cobbled courtyards and sloping ground, with steep, narrow spiral stairs to the towers and ramparts. The ground-floor state rooms and main courtyard can be experienced on the level.
For blind & low-vision visitors A busy, theatrical castle with cobbles, ramparts with open drops and many steps; the ground-floor state rooms are level. Loud shows give audible landmarks but crowds disorient.
Sensory The most sensory-intense castle - loud staged shows, birds-of-prey displays, crowds and bangs; those sensitive to noise should check show times and seek the quieter ramparts and gardens.
Access last checked 5 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Seasonal events
- Christmas at the Castle — 2026 confirmed: 21 November 2026–3 January 2027. Official event information Watch: Christmas at the Castle - Warwick Castle | Christmas Food Market, Magical Light Trail and ICERINK! (Solo Sarah’s Wonderland) · Christmas at the Castle - Warwick Castle (Warwick Castle)
Worth watching
- Warwick, England: Medieval Castle - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide - Travel Bite Rick Steves' Europe
- Warwick Castle Tour 2026 | Complete England Travel Guide | Great Britain Sticks-World
- How easy is Warwick Castle to get around as a wheelchair user? Having a wheelie great life
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Also featured in Great British castles · UK Merlin attractions
Lord Leycester Hospital
A breathtaking huddle of medieval timber-framed buildings by Warwick's West Gate, home to retired servicemen since 1571.
Many visitors rate this above the castle, and it costs a fraction of the fuss. The Lord Leycester is a gorgeous tumble of medieval guild buildings leaning over the town's West Gate, founded as a home for aged soldiers by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1571, and remarkably, retired servicemen (the Brethren) still live here. Recently restored, it offers a galleried courtyard straight from a costume drama, a chantry chapel perched on the town wall, the tranquil Master's Garden and a very good café in the old kitchen. It is compact, so pair it with St Mary's church and a stroll through Warwick's streets. Check open days before travelling.
Official information: Official website not yet identified.
Our tip The courtyard is the most photographed corner of Warwick, visit late afternoon for the best light and fewest people.
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access Accessible parking
Medieval buildings with uneven floors, steps and an uneven galleried courtyard. Only parts of the site are step-free, and the chapel sits up on the town wall.
For blind & low-vision visitors A stunning medieval timbered almshouse of courtyards, uneven floors and some steps; atmospheric, partly accessible, with a chapel and garden.
Sensory A calm, hushed, atmospheric medieval courtyard and garden - peaceful and rarely crowded.
Access last checked 5 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
- Lord Leycester Hospital (England) Medieval Richard
- Exploring the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick & meeting ‘The Brethren’! Viral History
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Kenilworth Castle & Elizabethan Garden
Vast red sandstone ruins where Robert Dudley wooed Elizabeth I, with a faithfully recreated Elizabethan garden.
Kenilworth is everything a ruined castle should be: vast, red, romantic and steeped in stories. It withstood one of the longest sieges in English medieval history in 1266, hosted John of Gaunt's great hall, and reached its glittering peak in 1575 when Robert Dudley staged nineteen days of legendary festivities to woo Elizabeth I. The recreated Elizabethan garden, complete with aviary and carved fountain, brings that summer vividly back, and you can climb Leicester's gatehouse and tower viewpoints for the full sweep of the ruins. Ground surfaces are uneven in places, so sensible shoes help. Walk in across Abbey Fields from Kenilworth's old town for the nicest approach, and check open days.
Our tip Approach on foot across Abbey Fields from the old town, the first view of the ruins is far better than from the car park.
Memberships and passes
- English Heritage — entry included: Standard admission to Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden is included. Advance booking is optional but guarantees entry. The limited-capacity English Heritage car park is free for members displaying a valid member car sticker; nearby Abbey End parking is not managed by English Heritage. Bring the valid membership card, or the accepted confirmation email plus identification while awaiting it. Event admission and booking are event-specific and can be free or reduced rather than universally free. Official terms (checked 11 Jul 2026)
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access
Uneven, gently sloping grass throughout the ruins, with steps up the gatehouse and tower viewpoints. The recreated Elizabethan garden has firmer, better-defined paths.
For blind & low-vision visitors Extensive red-sandstone ruins on gently sloping grass with uneven ground and open drops from the towers; the Elizabethan garden has firmer, more defined paths.
Sensory A spacious open ruin that stays calm even when busy, with room and birdsong; the garden is a quiet retreat.
Access last checked 6 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
- Kenilworth Castle with Dan Snow English Heritage
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Also featured in Great British castles
Baddesley Clinton
A dreamy moated medieval manor that sheltered persecuted Catholic priests in hidden priest holes, with gardens and lake walks.
Hidden down a lane in what was once the Forest of Arden, Baddesley Clinton is the moated manor of your imagination, grey stone reflected in still water, a courtyard garden, and interiors little changed for centuries. Its most gripping stories are the hidden ones: as a refuge for persecuted Catholic priests in Elizabethan times, the house acquired ingeniously concealed priest holes, including one reached through the old sewer, which guides reveal with relish. Outside there are walled and lakeside walks and a good tearoom. It sits two miles from Packwood House, and the two are made to be visited together, quiet weekday mornings are the loveliest time. Check open days.
Our tip Pair it with Packwood House two miles away, the two together make one of the best half-days in the county.
Visiting — good to know
Partial wheelchair access
Firm paths in the courtyard and walled gardens, and some level ground-floor access in the manor, with uneven floors and stairs beyond. The moat is unfenced open water and the lakeside walks are longer and less even.
For blind & low-vision visitors A romantic moated medieval manor with some ground-floor access but uneven floors, stairs and priest holes; the moat is open water, the gardens firm.
Sensory A calm, hidden, atmospheric moated manor in a wooded setting - deeply peaceful and rarely feels crowded.
Access last checked 6 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
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Before you set off
Stratford fills up fast on matinée days and in summer; the town car parks are well signed but go early. Warwick and Stratford are only eight miles apart, so this is an easy weekend with little driving. And if you'd like to add the Shakespeare-country houses — Charlecote, Compton Verney, Ragley — or apply your own access needs across the trip, open it in the planner and make it yours.