莎翁故里：值得一去的旅遊勝地

To see, or not to see? That is not the question, because Stratford-upon-Avon is a perennial must, whatever the weather.

And what more apt time to visit William Shakespeare’s home town than around the time of The Bard’s 450th birthday on April 23?

This glover’s son transcends the centuries, with his great friend and fellow playwright Ben Jonson describing him as “not of an age, but for all time”.

But whether you know a lot or a little about the English language’s greatest writer, you soon discover a wealth of information here, beginning with Shakespeare’s Birthplace, on Henley Street.

See in fascinating detail how Elizabethans lived, from his father’s workshop to the little beds they slept in. Why so small? Partly because the Elizabethans were shorter than us, but also, we’re told, because they feared if they lay flat, the Devil might think they were dead and take their souls, so they slept upright against bolsters.

Shakespeare’s christening would probably have been on April 26 – three days after his birth – and the font in which he was baptised is at Holy Trinity church, a short walk from the town centre.

The church, dating from 1210, is also where he is buried, in a 15th-century chancel. His grave carries a warning, that cursed be he who moves his bones.

Equally worth a visit, particularly for children, is Mary Arden’s Farm.

Shakespeare’s mother’s home, a short distance away by car and celebrating its 500th anniversary this year, is a working Tudor farm, where people “live” – and even speak – as they would have done in the 16th century.

From the farm – where Shakespeare is thought to have stayed from the age of nine, to avoid an outbreak of plague – we went to his future wife’s home, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, where, as a teenager, he would have courted her.

Again, there is much to enjoy at this beautiful thatched farmhouse in the nearby village of Shottery, with its ornate gardens.

Other attractions worth viewing include Nash’s House and the site of New Place – the home where Shakespeare died, but which was demolished in 1759 by Reverend Francis Gastrell after a dispute with locals.

The Bard’s town has a variety of hotels and guest houses and one of the most impressive is the Holiday Inn, with riverside grounds close to Clopton Bridge, over which Shakespeare would have ridden.

The stylish hotel, whose staff are the epitome of helpfulness, has recently had a £2million revamp, but its prices won’t leave you feeling Shylock has taken his pound of flesh.

Alternatively, if you are aiming for more of a romantic stay and fancy playing Romeo (or being pampered as Juliet), you could try the Church Street Townhouse, directly opposite where Shakespeare went to school.

It’s a charming, 12-room boutique hotel from which, indeed, parting is such sweet sorrow.

If you don’t believe music is the sole food of love, there are plenty of ­restaurants and watering holes.

High among them – in elevation and quality – is the rooftop restaurant above the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. A great time to go is after the theatre crowd have taken their seats. You can enjoy the quiet, relaxed ­atmosphere where the excellent Shawn Bennett and staff were as attentive as a lead character waiting for his cue.

The food is first-class and they supplied the freshest starter I’ve tasted, a wonderful goat’s cheese and pistachio roulade.

And, even if the view may make you giddy, the menu prices won’t.

On a fine spring day, you can emulate The Merchant of Venice and take to the River Avon by gondola. Avon Boating provides the world’s oldest working gondola, a calming experience as you glide along the gentle waters.

Also on the waterfront is actors’ pub the Dirty Duck, where Sir John Gielgud and Richard Burton, among others, donated signed photos for the wall. If you fancy rubbing shoulders with stars of current productions – Henry IV Pt I and II – it’s the place to go after curtain down, around 10.30pm.

All in all, celebrate the Bard’s 450th and unwind, exactly As You like It.《鏡報》2014年4月16號報道，看，還是不看？這不是個問題，因爲埃文河畔斯特拉特福無論天氣如何，一年四季都是旅遊必須一去的勝地。

還有什麼時候比4月23號莎士比亞450歲誕辰這段期間參觀他的故鄉更合適的時間？

這位手套商的兒子超越了世紀，就像他的好朋友、戲劇家本·瓊森說的，他“不是一個時代，而是永恆” 。

不過，不管你對這位英語語言巨匠瞭解多少，從莎士比亞的出生地亨利街開始，你很快就會發現大量有關信息。

從他父親的作坊到他們睡的小牀，你會詳細瞭解伊麗莎白時代的人生活的生動細節。爲什麼牀這麼小？一部分原因是伊麗莎白時代的人比我們要矮小，不過，我們聽說，還因爲他們害怕如果躺平了，惡魔會認爲他們死了，帶走他們的靈魂，所以他們靠着枕墊直着睡覺。

莎士比亞可能是在出生3天后，即1564年4月26號在聖三一教堂接受洗禮，那兒離鎮中心不遠。

聖三一教堂可以追溯到1210年，莎士比亞就安葬於教堂內15世紀的聖壇上。他的墓碑上寫有一行警告，誰移動他的屍骨，誰就將受到詛咒。

同樣值得參觀的，尤其是對小孩來說，還有瑪麗·阿登的農場。

駕車不久即可到達莎翁母親的故鄉——瑪麗·阿登的農場。今年農場迎來500週年慶，這一都鐸時代的農場至今仍在運行，這裏的人們依舊按照16世紀的生活方式“生活”、說話。

據說爲了躲避瘟疫，莎士比亞9歲時開始住在這個農場。我們從農場出發前往莎士比亞妻子故居——安妮·海瑟薇祖屋，年少的莎士比亞可能就是在這裏追求的她。

附近休特瑞村花團錦簇，村裏美麗的茅草屋也很值得欣賞。

其它值得遊覽的景點包括納什故居和新居，這是莎士比亞去世時住的房子，但是牧師弗蘭西斯·加斯特里爾與當地人發生爭執，於1759年拆毀了這所房子。

詩聖的故鄉有很多酒店和賓館，最有名的是假日酒店，臨江靠近古石橋，莎士比亞或許也在橋上走過。

這家風格時尚現代的酒店裏的員工十分友好、樂於助人，酒店近期投入了兩百萬英鎊進行整修，不過價格不會讓你覺得“被夏洛克割了一磅肉”。

或者，如果你想要一次浪漫之旅，想要扮演羅密歐（或者做衆星捧月的朱麗葉），你可以去教堂街酒店，正位於莎士比亞求學學校的對面。

這家酒店精緻時尚，有12間房，在這裏分別，真的是一種甜蜜的憂傷。

如果你認爲音樂不是愛的唯一食糧，這裏還有很多餐館和酒吧。

從高度和格調上，這些餐館中最出類拔萃的是皇家莎士比亞劇院上的屋頂餐廳。去那裏最好的時間是等觀衆都坐好之後。你可以享受這裏安靜放鬆的氣氛，劇場裏演技一流的肖恩·班尼特和其他演員都聚精會神地等着他們的出場提示，準備一展演技。

這裏的食物都是一流的，他們供應的開胃菜是我吃過最新鮮的，山羊奶酪和開心果肉卷都很美味。

而且，即使景色會讓你眼花繚亂，菜單上的價格還是很合理的。

在明媚的春日，你可以效仿《威尼斯商人》裏的場景，坐貢多拉小船去埃文河。埃文船行提供世界上最古老的貢多拉，在平緩的河水上划行讓人心曠神怡。

在碼頭還有一家演員酒吧——髒鴨子酒吧，約翰·吉爾古德先生、理查德·伯頓和其他演員將簽名照送給了酒吧，貼在牆上。如果你想看到最新版《亨利四世》第一、二部裏的明星的話，夜幕降臨後，10:30左右，可以到這裏來。

總而言之，到這裏慶祝詩聖450週年誕辰，順便放鬆一下心情，真是“皆大歡喜”。