Old castles and Shakespeare's birthplace. The UK at its best

Hello, fellow Steemians and followers. The end of the week again. Time for another blog!

In my last blog, I wrote a bit about my experience with studying abroad in the UK, in Coventry to be more specific. During the time I lived in Coventry, I did some trips together with some friends I met during my stay. Some of the trips were to nearby villages and some other trips were further away. The further away ones were usually organized by the Coventry University Students' Union. First I'd like to show and tell you a bit about villages that are pretty nice and are pretty near Coventry.

First up is Warwick
This charming town is the county town of Warwickshire. and lies 18 km south of Coventry upon the river Avon. It's a really old town and human activity has been on the side for ages. Around the year 1068, William the Conqueror founded the castle. Later the town became walled. Nowadays you can still visit the castle (which is later also fortified) and some parts of the walls. Because the town was struck by a huge fire around the year 1684, most of the buildings you will find nowadays are of late 17th- and early 18th-century origin.

View of the castle from the fields

View of Warwick from the castle walls

We all really love this town and visited it multiple times during our stay in the UK. We just took a local bus from Coventry directly to Warwick. This bus will also take you across the Warwick University campus site. This university is one of the better ones in Britain. Warwick itself is just a really nice town to just wander around in. Visit some old shops with antiques and used books and they also have a really nice cheese shop with cheeses from all over Europe.

The main tourist attraction of Warwick is the medieval castle. Originally a wooden motte-and-bailey castle built as a reaction to the Norman conquest. Later in the 12th century, it was rebuilt in stone. You can find the castle inside the town. It has a huge courtyard, many quarters, a dungeon and even a water-powered mill.

We bought a ticket and waited for the place to open up. Someone gave a little show whilst opening the door, made us feel like some knights. Pretty funny. Inside the castle, we roamed around freely, checking out the quarters and walking on the towers. There are signs everywhere with information about the room and the surroundings. The castle has more than 1.000 years of history to offer so it's really interesting to read them. It is also possible to walk in the fields surrounding the castle. The castle is situated on a bend of the River Avon, so you can shoot some really nice photos from a distance. They even have a huge trebuchet installed in one of the fields. It's the largest siege machine in the world.

Also, fun to do in Warwick is to visit the Collegiate Church of St Mary. This lovely church has a beautiful chapel and also Robert Dudley and Thomas Beauchamp are buried here. For a few Pounds, you can climb the tower which offers a good view of the surroundings, including the castle. Especially on a clear day.

Another nice town nearby is: Stratford-upon-Avon
This town, officially a market town, is the birthplace of Shakespeare, so it's yet another well-known tourist attraction. You can find it 13 kilometers south west of Warwick. The town was given a status as a market town in the year 1196 and as a result of that, the town experienced a strong increase in trade and commerce which subsequently led to urban expansion.

The birthplace of Shakespeare

Typical view of an old English house

Because it's the birthplace of Shakespeare, this town is really popular among tourists. The whole place literally breaths Shakespeare. It's possible to buy a ticket to visit all the different places that are connected with Shakespeare. Like the home where he was born on Henley Street, or the place where he later lived and died (the actual house is demolished and now a garden). Also, you can visit the house where his daughter lived, the house where his wife lived or even the farm where his mother lived. Like I said: the place literally breaths Shakespeare. Pretty interesting and all, but in my opinion, it's still just a guy and I'm not always sure why it should be interesting to see the interior of the house someone used to live in. Even if his name is Shakespeare.

The bay Window from the birthplace	Church of the Holy Trinity

Anyway, the town also has a lot to offer for the people who are slightly less interested in Shakespeare. It has some pretty historical architecture to behold. Or you can just relax in the Bancroft Gardens near the river Avon. Watching some rowing-boats pass by practicing. Or drink some tea in the many tea houses.

Church Street