A Shakespeare Adventure
Nerds Original · Self-Guided
He was born in a half-timbered house on Henley Street, educated in a schoolroom that still stands, and buried fifty-two years later fifty yards away — and in between, he changed theatre forever.
This seven-day journey follows the arc of Shakespeare’s actual life across three cities: Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was born, courted Anne Hathaway, raised his family, and returned to die; Oxford, where he slept on every journey between home and ambition at the inn now called the Golden Cross, in a room where his portrait still hangs; and London’s Bankside, where he wrote and staged the plays in the theatre he helped build, steps from the reconstructed Globe that stands there today.
Shakespeare is not a myth. He was a specific man who lived in specific places, and those places are still there. Standing in the garden at New Place where he died, or on the stage of the Globe where Hamlet was first performed, or in the room in Oxford where he slept on the road between his two lives — something shifts. The plays stop being literature and start being the work of someone you can almost place your hand on.
Why This Trip
The half-timbered house where Shakespeare was born in 1564 is the most visited literary site in the world outside of the Brontë Parsonage. It is also genuinely moving. The signatures scratched into the window glass by previous visitors include Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle, and Charles Dickens. You are in good company.
A twelve-minute walk from the town centre through the same fields Shakespeare walked when he was courting Anne Hathaway. The cottage has been in the Hathaway family since the 15th century. The bed Shakespeare is believed to have slept in is still there. The garden is one of the most beautiful in England.
The reconstructed Globe on Bankside stands 200 yards from where the original stood. Shakespeare was a shareholder. The guided tour of the theatre is exceptional. An evening performance — standing in the yard in the rain, as the groundlings did in 1601 — is one of the great experiences available to any lover of theatre anywhere in the world.
The Crown Tavern on Cornmarket Street in Oxford contains the Painted Room — a chamber decorated with extraordinary 16th-century murals where Shakespeare is documented to have stayed on his journeys between Stratford and London. The room is rarely visited and access is limited, but it is worth every effort to try. If you can get in, you will not forget it. Best chances: Tuesday through Thursday mornings, when the building is quietest.
Travelling as a Group
Solo, couple, or a group of twelve — this trip scales.
Every Nerds Tour itinerary is designed to work for any size party. The intellectual framework stays the same whether you are traveling alone or arriving at the Globe with ten people who have all read the same plays. For groups of 10 or more, We will arrange full transportation and may even be available to be your tour director.
Full transportation will be arranged and Joan may even be available to be your tour director. The itinerary stays exactly the same. Contact us to talk through what your group needs.
What’s Included
Seven nights across three cities at three price points — from a charming B&B steps from Shakespeare’s Birthplace to a boutique hotel on Bankside with views of the Thames. Every option chosen for character and atmosphere.
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust tours, the Globe guided tour, RSC performances, Stratford walking tours, and Oxford literary options for the middle night. All arranged through your Nerds Tour advisor.
Before you travel, Joan will send you a video giving you the intellectual framework for everything you’ll see — why Shakespeare matters, what his Stratford was actually like, and what to look for when you get there.
Planning Your Trip
The moment you choose your dates, the trip becomes real.
Pricing depends on your travel dates, your choice of accommodation, your group size, and your departure city. None of that is fixed until you decide when you want to go — and deciding when is the first step toward actually going.
One note worth knowing: the RSC season in Stratford runs April through November, and Globe performances run April through October. If seeing a live performance is important to you — and it should be — those months are the ones to aim for. We will help you find the right combination for your schedule and budget.
Ready to start planning?
We are already looking forward to talking about this one.