Stratford-upon-Avon

Follow the Shottery Footpath back through the meadow — 1.4 km past grazing horses and hawthorn hedges that drops you onto Greenhill Street in 25 minutes, the most pleasant approach in Stratford. The half-timbered Tudor house on Henley Street is where John Shakespeare worked his gloves and where Will was born in 1564; it survives because his daughter Susanna refused to sell it to the Earl of Suffolk. Walk Henley Street's full Tudor row — costumed players often perform in the courtyard, free to watch — and photograph the famous oriel-window facade.

Tip: Best exterior angle: cross to the south side of Henley Street and stand by the bench opposite — the full timber frame fits in frame without overhead wires. The Jester statue at the Henley Street/High Street junction is the unmissed photo prop. Avoid the official photographers offering 'free' polaroids near the gate — they're £20.

Walk 300 m west along Henley Street to the corner of Greenhill — the thatched roof is impossible to miss, three minutes from the Birthplace. Stratford's oldest thatched pub (1470s, predating Shakespeare himself) keeps low oak beams, an inglenook fireplace lit even in May, and a kitchen that turns out the steak-and-Purity-ale pie (£17) and beer-battered haddock with mushy peas (£16) at proper pub speed. Pair it with a half of Purity Mad Goose, brewed 15 km away.

Tip: Walk in by 13:00 sharp — by 13:20 every coach-tour table is gone and the wait stretches to 40 minutes. Ask for the small snug room behind the bar with the inglenook, not the front by the door. Order the pie, not the burger — the pastry is suet-crusted and made in-house, the burger is frozen.

Head south down Rother Street, cross High Street and Chapel Street, then descend Church Street and Old Town — 12 minutes through Tudor almshouses, the Guild Chapel, and the grammar school where Will once parsed Latin. Approach the church not by the road but through the avenue of lime trees by the river — the arching green tunnel onto the porch is the iconic image. Inside the chancel, the man himself lies beneath a flagstone, his curse cut into the slab: 'blest be the man that spares these stones, and curst be he that moves my bones'.

Tip: The £4 chancel donation is required to approach the grave — pay it, this is the whole reason you came. Visit between 14:30 and 15:30 when the south stained glass throws cobalt onto the altar floor. The riverside churchyard exit (north gate) is what you want, not the road — it puts you straight onto the Avon path for the walk back.

Leave Holy Trinity by the riverside gate and follow the Avon footpath north for 12 minutes — past the Theatre Gardens, past resident mute swans, past punts and rowing skiffs sliding under willow shade. The Royal Shakespeare Company's brick home theatre (2010 redesign) carries a 36 m tower with a free public lift to a viewing platform — climb it for the only aerial view of Stratford, with Holy Trinity's spire to the south and Tudor rooftops below. Continue into Bancroft Gardens for the 1888 Gower Memorial — seated Shakespeare ringed by Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff and Prince Hal.

Tip: The Tower lift closes at 18:00 — go up before 17:30 for golden-hour light on the Avon bend. Best photo of the theatre itself: cross the chain ferry (50p, the only one of its kind in Britain) to the opposite bank, late afternoon sun lights the brick face. The £15 rowboats at Bancroft Boatyard are the real photo prop — even if you don't take one out.

Step off the Bancroft path and turn south along Waterside — the green-painted pub with the twin-swan sign appears 80 m on, two minutes from the theatre door. Officially The Black Swan, but every RSC actor for 140 years has called it the Duck; signed portraits of Olivier, Dench, Branagh and Tennant cover every wall. Order the Black Swan steak-and-Hook-Norton-ale pie (£19) and the sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream (£8); ask for the riverside Actors' Bar, not the larger Saloon.

Tip: Reserve before you board your train to Stratford — every performance night fills the place by 19:30 and walk-ins get the Saloon. Sit at the bay window facing the Avon; the actors come in after curtain at around 22:00 if you linger. Pitfall warning: ignore the Waterside pubs north of Bancroft Gardens advertising 'Shakespeare specials' on chalkboards — they're frozen pies at double price preying on day-trippers. The Duck is the only Stratford pub where the actors actually drink, which is why it's the only one worth your last hour in town.