It's been almost exactly nine years, since I was last in Stratford-upon-Avon. Back then, I was 13, in Year 8 at Gymnasium Schwertstrasse Solingen (Germany) and lucky enough to score a place on the one-week Girls' Exchange between my school and Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls. It was my second trip to the Kingdom, and our English was not good enough to read or undestand Shakespeare yet.

That didn't stop our teachers back then to take us to all the locations associated with the playwright, who was born and lived in Stratford. My exchange partner lived outside of town, and I barely saw the city or the river for that matter. We did, however, go sleighing at a SnowDome (in Royal Leamington Spa, I think it was?), horse riding and swimming.

As my placement in Windsor came to an end, I decided I'd stop in Stratford-on-Avon on my way back to Southport, pretty much as a fuel stop on the way from Oxford. However, my plans changed slightly.

After two weeks apart, my boyfriend decided he wanted to surprise me, and come down for the last night and then drive back to Merseyside with me. However, I am glad I found out beforehand, as he would have gone to the wrong YHA. As Jordans is booked for the weekend, I would have de-camped to Oxford, which he didn't know. But Oxford didn't have any spare private rooms left for the two of us, so in the end, we booked into the YHA just outside Stratford for our rendezvous.

It was really sweet, although it meant long travels for both of us. We decided to get take-away food from town and drive back to the hostel to watch some TV and then have an early night. The next morning, however, I insisted on having a look around. Shakespeare is not my favourite playwright, nor am I a history buff, but I wanted to see the place again, and see whether my memories were correct. Also, I have lost most of my photos from 2001, so I used the chance for photo stops.

Our first stop was Anne Hathaway's Cottage (see above) in Shottery, just around the corner from the Grammar School for Girls I attended for a week. It wasn't open yet, and I didn't need to go in. The gardens and the house are viewable from the street. Granted, you don't get to walk around a 16th century farmhouse, but then again, it doesn't really matter. Anne was William Shakespeare's wife, and legend has it that William proposed to her on a wooden bench inside (which I saw in 2001). However, I also heard rumours back then from the locals, that Anne's cottage was actually a small cottage next door to the famous building, in which case the association with Shakespeare would be incorrect.

After a few early morning shots (it was 9am on a Sunday and my boyfriend - who isn't into Shakespeare's work - was not too impressed) we headed back into the town centre, where we walked over to Shakespeare's Birthplace (top picture). Again, we did not go in, as everything associated with the bard seems to be quite expensive. Also, in 2001 I did see the inside. Decorated with furniture and household items from the 1580's it's worth a look, but probably not worth the money if you're not fanatical about Shakespeare. With an hour to spare until the parking ran out, we strolled down to the Avon, saw the narrowboats and Royal Shakespeare Theatre, before returning to our car. It's a nice place to stroll around on sunny days, with it's medieval market town flair and Tudor buildings, but you should be into Shakespeare or at least history to fully enjoy it... unless of course you look for curious little shops like the year-round Christmas Store opposite the bard's birthplace.....