# Methods for a Perfect Day Out Avon

Stratford upon Avon is Britain's number-one travel destination outside London. Even lacking any curiosity about native son Will Shakespeare, there's plenty here to see and do. Within a day you are able to catch a day train direct from London's Marylebone Station and take Stratford in only two hours, ready to take in the sights.

From the red-brick Victorian railway station, where drivers can park for your day, construction of the brand new station means it's a slightly dusty five-minute stroll south into the town centre. Once you're there, everything [Avon rep online](http://yourmakeupcatalogonline.com/shop-avon-without-representative) improves. Depending on your preference, have a pint at the half-timbered White Swan Hotel, Stratford's oldest, or bear left along Meer Street to Mistress Quigley's for a late breakfast, light lunch or welcome cup of tea.

Fortified, you might want to continue along Henley Street to The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and spend an hour roughly in this engaging, relaxed museum where actors come in Shakespearean costume to show how people lived and worked in Tudor England. If you've had your fill of Will, and fancy a bit of shopping instead, head south once again. You'll find sets from books to haute couture in the fascinating muddle of period buildings that occupies the zigzagging lanes between the pedestrian zone and the River Avon. (Architecture fans, please note.)

Now - for the river. If it's a wonderful day, you are able to hire a ship for an hour or two. Pick up the ingredients for an extravagant picnic from Carluccio's on Waterside, then have a lazy paddle between the bridges and islands, dodging the ducks and the swans. If it's not so nice, head over the bridge, turn right, and try to find the signs to the Stratford Butterfly Farm.

For arts-buffs, no stop by at Stratford will be complete without heading to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, recently rebuilt - and its company revitalised - under artistic director Michael Boyd. (To avoid disappointment, make sure to pre-book your theatre tickets online; but if you haven't remembered, it's worth asking at the box office. You can find returns sometimes.)

For the less-arty, you can find lots of good restaurants and bars. If you like first-rate modern English cuisine, you can look at dinner at Edward Moon's, Lamb's or my local, The One Elm, all in town - or take a ten-minute taxi ride over the river to The Baraset Barn. If your allowance is more limited, there's a choice of good Indian, Thai, and Chinese restaurants - or if you can't make your mind up, try Jimmy Spices's for [Avon representative](https://www.facebook.com/theavonbrochure/posts/4642431125778238) a moderately-priced buffet offering fresh-cooked fare that may please the most diverse group of travellers. Those who prefer pub food and a glass or two in the sun by the river should head for Cox's Yard - and there's a great choice of open-air snacks to be tried in the canal basin next to the theatre.

What you may choose, after your day in Stratford, you'll head home or to "the Smoke" having enjoyed a great outing, a welcome change of pace, and a tantalising taste of another England. Aspire to see you here - soon.