A most historical weekend!

Every summer, Reach Cambridge students visit many exciting tourist destinations across England on our weekend excursions. One of our favourites is the excursion which combines a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon with an exploration of Warwick Castle. But did you know, we are also lucky enough to visit these historic places with our school groups who attend Reach Cambridge programs year round! On Sunday our excited group from Singapore rose early to enjoy full English breakfast to prepare them for the big day ahead. We then hopped on a coach and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon, passing some lovely rural scenery en route. We walked through the quaint English town until we reached our destination: the birthplace of world famous English playwright and poet William Shakespeare! Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 26^th April 1564 – that’s a long time ago – and all those years of history are reflected in the architecture of the house in which Shakespeare once lived. Feeling thoroughly inspired, the group had some time to soak up the history of the area, explore the museum located at Shakespeare’s birthplace, visit the church yard in which ‘the Bard’ is buried, and, of course, pick up some souvenirs and gifts at the local shops! A short coach ride later and we arrived at our second destination of the day – Warwick Castle. Everyone was impressed by the sheer scale of the Castle – its looming walls and sky high towers. We were greeted at the Castle by a re-enactment of a duel – a sword fight between two men dressed up in medieval attire. Being February, and being England, it the air was crisp, so after watching the amazing dramatisation many of the group headed inside the Castle to warm up by the log fire – delightful! We then proceeded to explore the inside of the Castle which is truly awe-inspiring! The space itself is incredible – huge halls with high ceilings display amazing artworks and suits of armour where Knights and Earls would’ve once lived, dined, and held parties. Those students with lots of energy rose to the challenge of climbing the many stairs up to the Castle towers, and enjoyed the spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. Before heading home there was time for one more event – the much anticipated bird of prey show! And believe me, it did not disappoint! Several birds of prey are kept in the Castle grounds, and have been for many years. We were lucky enough to witness the bird handlers flying the birds all around the grounds, soaring gracefully up to even the tallest towers. Amazing! All in all it was a fantastic day out – and there was even a scattering of snow to make these historic locations even more magical. We can’t wait to go back in summer!