The electric boat whispered along the Avon past willows and swans, then through a park fluorescing with petunias and marigolds. After a sharp turn under a bridge we pulled up right by the imposing red brick buildings of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where generations of actors from John Gielgud and Richard Burton to Judi Dench and David Tennant have trodden the boards.
It was an appropriately dramatic way to arrive in Stratford-upon-Avon, and we had a YHA staff member to thank for the tip about the river taxi service from the Stratford Parks caravan site. The jetty is a short walk from the hostel, a Georgian mansion in the village of Alveston, two miles from the town centre. A one-way ticket cost £3 per person and the service runs from 1 April to 31 October. Alternatively you can catch the number 15 bus, or walk in about 45 minutes, which takes you past a children's book swap in a repurposed phone box in Tiddington, opposite the SPAR shop.
During term time many groups of young people make YHA Stratford-upon-Avon their base for trips to theatre performances that bring their GCSE and A-level Shakespeare studies to life, and to take part in drama workshops run by long-standing YHA partner Dreamshed Theatre. There's plenty of room to run around in the grounds, under the cedar and monkey puzzle trees, and even an all-weather xylophone.
We didn't go to a play, but there were several other things to enjoy in and around the RSC, including The Play's the Thing, a permanent exhibition which features an eclectic selection from their archive of costumes and props, and lots of interactive fun such as digital dressing-up. A vibrant temporary installation by artist Lisa Curtis, inspired by The Two Gentlemen of Verona, continued through the foyer and as a trail through the public riverside gardens that lead to the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare and his family are buried.
Much of central Stratford is pedestrianised, and there are many lovely walking routes through the water meadows along the banks of the Avon. You can watch the old chain ferry being slowly wound across the river by its passengers, and people rowing boats with names like 'Portia' and 'Ophelia'. Leaving my family picnicking in Bancroft Gardens, near the steel swan fountain, I did a quick gallop around other sites associated with Shakespeare, including his birthplace, which faces a cafe called The Food of Love, and a garden on the site of another house where he lived, Shakespeare's New Place.
Legend has it that as a young man Shakespeare had to leave Stratford-upon-Avon for London in a hurry, because he was caught poaching in the grounds of Charlecote Park. Now owned by the National Trust, it's a five-minute car journey from the hostel. The Summer of Fun featuring outdoor sports and games was in full swing during our visit, and there was an extensive secondhand bookshop, an orangery cafe with a leafy mural, and an exhibition of old coaches, including a late 19th century spider phaeton, the fashionable sports car of its day.
In the late afternoon sunshine we climbed up to the Welcombe Hills Obelisk, from where there were great views of the Warwickshire countryside. A large community of snails clustered together along the iron railings protecting the monument. We had no explanation for this behaviour, but I've since found out that it's a survival strategy called aestivation, or dormancy, that helps them to conserve moisture in hot, dry conditions, and escape ground predators.
A good day trip or stop off en route to Stratford is Chastleton, a Jacobean house near Chipping Norton. Built between 1607-12 of rusty-looking local stone, it has been preserved more or less as it was when it came into the National Trust's possession in 1991, giving it the atmosphere of a time capsule. It has wonderfully lumpy box hedges and a productive kitchen garden: we bought greengages and Patty Pan squash from the honesty shop. It was at Chastleton that the rules of croquet were codified by Walter Whitmore-Jones in the late 19th century, and visitors can try out the game on the lawn.
We packed a lot into our late summer mini-break of three days and two nights. Stratford is only an hour's journey from home and I reflected that it's easy to overlook interesting destinations that are almost on your doorstep.
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