Anne Hathaway's Cottage

The thatched farmhouse where Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway lived before their marriage sits in the village of Shottery, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon. It's a proper timber-framed cottage with a roof that looks like it's been there since the 1500s - because it has - and the interior feels genuinely lived-in rather than museum-like, even if it is now run as a heritage site.

You walk through period rooms with original furniture, a kitchen that makes you realise how little space people actually had, and gardens that are genuinely pleasant without being fussy. The whole visit takes about an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're the type to read every placard. It's not flashy Shakespeare tourism - no gift shop theatre nonsense - just a building and some history.

Historically minded adults will find it worth the trip from Stratford town centre. The walk from there is pleasant enough, around a mile through fields, though families with small children might find the countryside trek more tedious than the cottage itself. Children under about ten will likely get bored within twenty minutes. Admission is charged, though prices weren't available when checked.

If you're basing yourself at one of the caravan parks nearby - Dodwell Park is closest at just over a mile - this works as a half-day excursion combined with a walk around Stratford proper. Don't expect Instagram moments, but do expect to actually understand why people cared about this stuff four hundred years ago.