Spent the weekend being a local tourist: went to Warwick Castle and Stratford Upon Avon which is famed as Shakespeare's birthplace. Early morning start to get to Warwick, which is about 1.5-2hours away. It was on the same line as Bicester North, which reminded me of my shopping expeditions! I was surprised that Warwick Castle was actually quite 'quiet', as in there weren't many visitors like all your big star tourist attractions. Rather nice difference actually.

Warwick Castle ranks amongst the most popular of all Britain’s many historic attractions due to its size, picturesque location and turbulent history. The castle was created as a fortification in AD 914, to protect the small hilltop settlement from Danish invaders who posed a threat to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and was later enlarged by William the Conqueror who turned it into a motte and bailey fort in 1068. Fortifications were added by King Richard III up until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. One noticeable difference was that this castle allows you to roam around the buildings and compound yourself. We went explored the varied history of the castle’s dungeons, fortifications and living quarters, as well as the Rose Garden and the formal gardens. The Private Apartments contain a display of waxwork figures (as appropriately owned by Tussauds), showing how the rooms would have looked in the late 19th century. Across the River Avon is the Island where camps and archery arena were set up.

After lunch we headed for Stratford Upon Avon. The bus trip took a scenic route and 45mins later we arrived across the river at the town centre to beautiful sunshine. Spent the afternoon strolling around town and scabbing freebie Hershey Reeese's buttercups near Shakespeare's birthplace. Didn't pay to go in since a few people have mentioned that it wasn't worthwhile. The town is actually quite beautiful, like a typical English town. It was busy, but not to the extent you want to get out (I think it's mainly filled with tourists though!) The best part was definately the waterways, especially since it was a nice sunny day.