Whether its our great bedrooms, fantastic location or free onsite parking (we’re too modest to mention the hospitable hosts!!) more and more guests are booking Avonlea to meet up with friends and family.

If booking Avonlea for exclusive use we have discovered the perfect way for friends and family to start their time together – with a bespoke wine tasting in our dining room.

For as little as £27.50 per person (for a minimum of 6 people) Tomelier (who call themselves wine pilots) will host a down to earth wine tasting with the emphasis on fun – so you enjoy being educated whilst also being entertained. Since they don’t sell the wines that you’ll taste you can relax and enjoy the 90-minute tasting without it turning in to a sales event.

Tomelier will theme the event to suit you there’s an introduction to wine, they organise a cheese and wine pairing, or choose from a quiz theme or even a games night – a bit of fun, tasting six wines interspersed with semi wine related quiz games.

As a couple who have been known to drink the occasional glass of wine we think it’s the perfect way to start your stay.

For more information visit: tomelier.co.uk

Swan Theatre re-opening season continues with four extraordinary human dramas which offer new perspectives on familiar narratives:

Tanika Gupta’s The Empress; a new production directed by Pooja Ghai opening in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon with a transfer to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Falkland Sound; a new play by Brad Birch directed by Aaron Parsons telling the story of a rural community turned upside down through an international crisis.

The Merchant of Venice 1936; Watford Palace Theatre’s ground-breaking production of Shakespeare’s classic relocated to London’s East End. Directed by Brigid Larmour and featuring Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shylock.

Cowbois; a rollicking queer cowboy show from the writer of I, Joan and Bitch Boxer; Charlie Josephine, co-directed by Charlie Josephine and Sean Holmes.

Live at the RSC also returns, in association with Underbelly and Orchestra of the Swan featuring a mixed bill of live comedy, music and discussion including Fern Brady, Nina Conti, Ivo Graham, Jessica Fostekew, Sarah Keyworth and improv comedy troupe; Austentatious.

Why limit Valentine’s Day to the 14^th February?

Avonlea’s Valentine offer runs throughout the whole of February.

Book three consecutive nights in February using the code VAL22 and we’ll give you a complimentary copy of The Complete Sonnets and Poems of William Shakespeare (arguably the most romantic work in the English language) and another surprise treat.

Please just give us 3 days’ notice to make sure we have your gifts ready for you.

Stratford-upon-Avon isn’t just about Shakespeare – and it isn’t just a summer destination: There’s plenty to do all year round, whatever the weather. Here’s just a few ideas for your winter break at Avonlea, including walking routes, antique hunting, shopping, gin making, historic castles and art galleries. 

Walking around Stratford

There are a couple of ways to do it – either on your own there’s a lovely walk along the riverbank past Holy Trinity Church (where Shakespeare is buried) and back through the historic town centre

… or sign up for one of the award-winning, daily guided walking tours – they’re interesting, entertaining & informative.

www.stratfordtownwalk.co.uk

For entertainment with a difference, join the magical evening Ghost Walk. Hear stories of ghosts, witches, murder & misery. Good old-fashioned storytelling delivered in the guide’s own unique style

Walking a little further afield

Although we favour a potter round Vern’s favourite spots we have heard great things about KOMOOT, Visit the Komoot website and you can download the top 20 walks and hikes around Stratford-upon-Avon – each one gives a summary of distance, timing and difficulty so you are guaranteed to find one that suits you.

Mixing walking and culture

Visit Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park: enjoy the stunning lake and parkland (there’s 120 acres to explore) and visit the award-winning art gallery and join in creative workshops.

www.comptonverney.org.uk

Mixing gin

Spend time at the Shakespeare Distillery – take a guided tour followed by a gin tasting, or better still join the Gin School where you’ll have your own miniature copper still and an array of botanicals to choose from alongside expert tuition to help you craft your ultimate gin.

If you want to become a mixologist, you can even sign up for a cocktail masterclass.

www.shakespearedistillery.com

Gin traps, man traps and torture

We love visiting Warwick Castle during the winter – it’s a genuine year-round attraction. There’s over 1000 years of history – including The Kingmaker experience, The Princess Tower and The Castle Dungeon which reveals the Castle’s darkest, ghoulish secrets as well as action-packed live shows and experiences including the UK’s largest birds of prey show and over 200 special event days.

www.warwick-castle.com

ENJOY A CHRISTMAS CAROL AT THE RSC THIS WINTER

Adrian Edmondson will play Ebenezer Scrooge in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s revival of David Edgar’s adaptation of Dickens’ much-loved classic story A Christmas Carol.  The production, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 26 October 2022 – 1 January 2023.

Talking about A Christmas Carol, Adrian Edmondson said:

“A Christmas Carol in an extraordinary book. It’s been in print continuously since 1843, so it must be saying something very important that catches our imagination. A lot of people think it’s about Scrooge and ghosts, which of course it is, but at the heart of it, it’s about poverty and our individual reaction to it. So it couldn’t be more relevant today than it has been in the past 30-40 years. Not since rationing really. Actual poverty in our streets. People at food banks. That’s the driving force of it for Dickens.  He’d read a report on poverty and was considering writing this as a dry pamphlet, but wrote it as a story because he thought it would connect more. And, of course, it does. So it’s hard to find a play that’s more relevant, especially one you might enjoy.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Scrooge. Why, you might ask, would you watch a show about a really horrible person? You watch it because you’re cheering him on, urging him to become a better person. You’re on his side, you want him to turn. I think that makes him one of the most fundamentally interesting characters in literature, and a great part to play.”

Adrian returns to the RSC after making his debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night in 2017.  His other theatre credits include: The Rocky Horror Show (Piccadilly Theatre), Waiting for Godot (Queens Theatre), Bits of Me Are Falling Apart (Soho Theatre), The Boy Friend (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Once Upon A Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (Almeida).

Click here to book your tickets for A Christmas Carol now and click here to book your stay online at Avonlea.