Anne Hathaway's Cottage — Attraction in Stratford-on-Avon

I drove an hour and a half, leaving plenty of extra time, only for heavy rain and traffic to slow things down even further. My friend dropped me off on the street, and based on the posted signs, I ran—soaked to the bone—up a lane I thought led to the entrance so I could still make the last entry. The signage was completely misleading, sending me in the wrong direction. By the time I circled back and ran farther down the street to what turned out to be the actual entrance, it was 3:34.

I fully understood the posted last-entry time of 3:30, but given the circumstances—including their own staff casually mentioning they “will close early because of the rain”—I expected at least a minimal amount of flexibility. It’s baffling that rain is a valid reason for them to shut visitors out early, but not a valid reason to extend even a three-minute grace period to someone who has literally sprinted through a storm just to get in.

Visiting from the US and only in town for the day, I will not have the chance to return. Instead of empathy or basic hospitality, I was met with rigid rules and zero willingness to help. To quote Shakespeare—fitting, given the miserable weather—“I am aweary of this world.” After wandering through sheets of rain, searching for the true entrance, drenched and frustrated, that line felt painfully accurate.

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but...

My wife and I walked here from the Town Centre (approx a mile and a half). It was good to learn about the History and the staff seem to be very knowledgeable about the area and Cottage. The Garden looks nice but is small and the walks around the orchard, in our opinion, is just trees and a few statues. We were charged the full Entrance price even though we are O.A.P's, but that is our own fault and should have checked whether they have a Concessionary price, which they do have, but it was not offered either. Our personal view is that the Entrance price of £14.95 each is expensive for what is there even though the Tickets last for 12 months. I suppose that is how they justify the price, that you can come back free of charge but for us it would involve a 350 mile 'round trip'. So I do not think we will be back. So all in all, a 'one off' experience that we are unlikely to repeat even though we have paid for the next 12 months. To my wife and I it is just an opportunity to 'fleece' the genuine Tourist as in this town we have found that anything to do with William Shakespeare tends to double or even treble the price! We have marked four stars as we did enjoy our visit but as we have now seen it and had the experience we probably will not be back. We visited midweek and outside of...

The first thing you are told as you gather for a short and informative talk is that Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is neither a cottage, or ever belonged to Anne Hathaway. It is in fact a farmhouse in which Anne was born and grew up, and has been extended over the years. The furnishings inside are original, and as you walk through it’s twelve rooms you are taken on a journey from the 15th to the 17th century, the date of the dwelling’s last extension. The floor of the kitchen, in the oldest part of the farmhouse is laid with stone upon which Shakespeare almost certainly walked.

Information signs are sensitively created to resemble books. A nice touch as they blend in with the interiors and don’t interrupt your experience as other more intrusive signs can do in other, similar, museums. Attendants are stationed in various rooms to answer questions.

The extensive gardens feature a sculpture trail. There is a cafe and the inevitable gift shop, although if you are expecting intellectual fayre you would be better off perusing the Shop at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in the centre of Stratford.

The advice from the website is that the average visit time is 2 hours, but if you’re pushed for time the ‘cottage’ can be toured in three...