Brush Up Your Shakespeare in Stratford-Upon-Avon

Anyone visiting England has to see Shakespeare Country, not only for the birthplace of The Bard, but for its other attractions, ranging from Kenilworth Castle to the Cotswolds, all on my personal A list, but check out Stratford-upon-Avon first. It's easily reached from London by rail, train, and bus. (By the way, like the locals, I often abbreviate the name of the town to just Stratford, mindful that the low-end London suburb of Stratford will soon become more famous than it is now, due to having the 2012 Summer Olympics there.)

Until the completely rebuilt Royal Shakespeare Theatre is ready, supposedly by 2010, you can see performances by the local thespians in the Courtyard Theatre nearby when they are in town, and the rest of the time in London. The new theater, keeping the 1932 building shell for the most part, will reduce the distance from the farthest seat in the improved auditorium from about 81 to 45 feet, they say. (Prince Charles laid a brick in the riverside façade in September of 2009, one workman claiming "he got it backwards.") The new hall will seat about 1,000 people and the stage will be thrust out into the audience. There will be a new rooftop restaurant with good garden and river views. Women will be glad to hear that the new facilities will include 47 women's toilet stalls, seven for men (and 24 urinals), double the number of the old theater. You can follow the RSC on Twitter at twitter.com/theRSC.

Meanwhile, check out the Royal Shakespeare Company while it plays in the Courtyard Theater. I was entranced by a production of Twelfth Night, despite its convoluted and basically idiotic plot. The direction was superb, the lead actors magnificent, the scenery outstanding, especially a fancified box tree. I was surprised to see audience members bringing in bottled water, drinks and snacks. Perhaps we are returning to Shakespeare's time in that respect, where the audience carries on without regard to fellow patrons' attempts to see and hear what's happening onstage. The 2010 repertory (February 18 to August 26) includes King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and The Comedy of Errors, among others. Prices range upwards from £20, more for the stalls and circle, and you can get Superseats in those two areas for an extra £10 each. The ticket hotline is tel. 011/44 844 800 1110, but you can also buy before leaving the States at www.rsc.org.uk.

You pass through a depressingly modern, Disney-like Exhibition, titled Life, Love & Legacy, at the Birthplace Center (Henley Street; tel. 011/44 1789 204016; www.shakespeare.org.uk) before going through a small garden before entering the house, timber framed and white plastered, where guides dressed in replica Tudor clothing welcome you. (In the Introduction, incidentally, aside from the cheap-looking displays, there are actual treasures, behind glass, mostly, including a First Folio.)

The "birthroom" upstairs is said by tradition (since the mid-18th century) to be the room in which the Bard was born. Note the truckle bed replica under the main bed. Everything in the room is a copy of originals dating from Shakespeare's time. Next door, note also the old window on which 19th-century visitors such as Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Carlyle scratched their names. (Mark Twain, Longfellow, and Emerson were also visitors then.) The building was lived in by Shakespeare's descendants until 1806. In 1847 the house was sold at auction and passed to the Shakespeare Birth Trust for preservation. Note just across the street the Patisserie Valerie (good for tea and éclairs), symbol of Anglo-French friendship after hundreds of years of enmity. Admission £11 to £16 for ticket admitting you to several sites, including Anne Hathaway's Cottage.

The Bard was baptized at Holy Trinity Church, where he now lies buried in the Chancel, near a chained Bible that dates to 1611. Reconstruction work may keep you from the Chancel itself, but the work is expected to be done by early 2010, a volunteer here said.

This marvelously thatched farmhouse (Shottery, near Stratford-upon-Avon; tel. 011 44 1789 292 100; www.shakespeare.org.uk), just one mile from Stratford, is sited in a gorgeous garden. Occupied by Hathaway descendants until its purchase by the Shakespeare Trust in 1892, it includes many family items dating back to Anne's time, including the nicely carved Hathaway Bed. Be sure to see the "Shakespeare chair" in the upstairs bedroom, dating to the early 1600s and bearing details from the Bard's coat of arms. It was lost for 200 years until purchased in 2002 and returned to the house. Note also the 16th-century oak chest in the kitchen for storing bread and flour. At times, you can enjoy apple scones or cider in the gardens, too.

Perhaps Stratford's most famous restaurant is Lamb's (12 Sheep Street; tel. 011 44 1789 292554; www.lambsrestaurant.co.uk), where I had lunch. I can recommend the broccoli & Stilton soup at £4.75 and the Open Ravioli at £11.25. It's in one of the town's oldest buildings, dating from the early 16th century (before the Bard's time), perhaps from the time of Henry VIII.

I was late arriving, so I had a hurried sandwich at the Dirty Duck (Waterside; tel. 011 44 1789 297312), the first name of a favorite pub much utilized by the RSC performers and audiences. The other name is the Black Swan, and it's said to be the only pub in England licensed under two names. Among famous actors who have had a pint or two here are Laurence Olivier and Peter O'Toole. I had a fine local ale, Old Speckled Hen, at £2.75 per pint. The Dirty Duck owns the brewery that makes this, but it is not on site.

You will enjoy dinner at the stately Menzies Welcombe Hotel (1867), I'm sure, as it has a long tradition of good service and food, especially in its imposing Trevelyan Restaurant (Warwick Road; tel. 011/44 1789 295 252; www.menzieshotels.co.uk). It has been given an award from the AA (Automobile Association). I enjoyed the cream of celeriac and wild garlic soup (£8.50) and a vegetarian dish of wild mushroom, leek and potatoes with white onion cream (£16.50). The hotel, which has its own golf club, is set on 157 acres, along with its own spa, heli pad and tennis courts.

The Stuart Restaurant at the Billesely Manor Hotel has earned awards and praise from the AA also, as well as from one of England's high pooh-bahs of cuisine, Egon Ronay. See hotel listing, below.

The Billesley Manor Hotel (Billesley Manor Hotel, Alcester nr. Stratford-upon-Avon; tel. 011 44 1789 279 955; www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk) is a good place to stay, though it is not in the center of town, but not far outside. Now owned by a Spanish chain, the Billesely is an attractive Elizabethan house set in 11 acres, with luxurious rooms, a good breakfast buffet and many facilities (including a spa) for visitors. I had never before seen a night-light built into the bathroom, underneath the sink, in fact, a very useful device. You may be amused, as I was, by the comic topiary in the garden (over 100 years old), based on characters from Alice in Wonderland, I was told. The property's original house, long gone, dates back to 705, I was told, though the present building is said to date from the 16th century and has been a hotel only since 1980. There is no lift, sadly. 72 rooms, from £81.

More information on Shakespeare Country can be had at their website; www.shakespeare-country.co.uk or by phoning in the UK tel. 0870 160 7930.

As to all of Britain: For free maps, brochures, vacation-planning advice and a wide selection of passes and transport tickets, go to www.visitbritain.us.