Enjoy a taste of luxury

I hope so anyway, as we are the couple who live just 30 minutes outside of Stratford-on-Avon yet have never really done it justice. My skewed logic was ‘We can always do that after we’ve done the Great Wall of China’.

So, what a wonderful chance to make amends then, with an invitation to enjoy a two-night stay at the grand Hallmark Welcombe Hotel a couple of miles out of the centre, and see this cultural honeypot from a visitor’s point of view. As we made our way up the long tree-lined driveway, driving further and further into the wood, we peered into the distance for our first glimpse of our weekend bolthole.

And there it was, our massive country mansion looming out of the twilight, lights all ablaze. The reception area of this imposing Jacobean-style building was buzzing with fellow guests, underlining the popularity of the place, which had been owned by several chains over the years.

However glossy today’s clientele however, they rather lose their sheen to the sheer sparkle of others who came to stay when the hotel was a private house. Large framed photos just inside the front door show the Queen visiting in June 1985 and former president of the United States Theodore Roosevelt in 1910.

This sense of history and formality is all-pervading with wide doors, panelling and many original features – even in the bedrooms – alongside all the conveniences you would expect from a country mansion hotel.

Rather taken with the welcoming bar area, we decided to eat there, enjoying food that was decidedly not your typical bar food. We ate Caesar Salad and Black Rice and Quinoa Salad as we admired the ornate chandeliers, sky-high ceilings and pondered just how much had been spent on curtains.

Next morning we breakfasted like royalty as we looked out on a vista of Italian gardens with miles of countryside stretching into the horizon. Staff could not be more attentive as we planned our day of art and merriment.

First stop was Shakespeare’s Birthplace, where we joined an excited queue bursting with anticipation to see the place where our greatest playwright and poet was born.

Whether a scholar or not, it is fascinating and rather emotional to fill the space once taken up the Bard. As well as room sets, there are books, documents, sculptures and continuous theatre both inside and outside the building. The garden troupe do requests, and nicely obliged us with a little Twelfth Night – even in the rain.

What better place to head after that than a rainforest, courtesy of the Stratford on Avon Butterfly Farm, a short walk across the green by the glorious RSC theatre itself.

And what a delight it was. Huge, multicoloured butterflies played hide and seek in the tropical blossoms as we made our way past splashing waterfalls and ponds, enjoying the heat and the spectacle.

Walking back to the town, we came across The Attic Theatre, a fringe theatre venue in Cox’s Yard, which just happened to have two spare tickets for their matinee performance. It seemed only right to soak up some drama, and at a very reasonable price, so perfect.

Then it was back to the sophistication of the Welcombe and a splendid three-course meal served in the grandeur of the dining room. We chose delicious chicken liver parfait and home smoked duck and candied walnut salad to start, before enjoying grilled tarragon and lemon chicken supreme and sea trout.

The taste and piquancy was only surpassed by the ever-alert service. For dessert, we opted for caramelised plum cake and rhubarb creme brulee – both dishes pleasing in not being oversweet and cloying.

Alongside the dining room is a wonderful drawing room for visitors to relax, read or have coffee which adds to the country weekend vibe.

Next morning, one of the staff, proudly took us on a little backroom tour of the hotel, showing us the conference area and grand corridors and staircases. Attached to the building is a recently upgraded spa and swimming pool, which offers a wealth of treatments, while for the more sporty the hotel boasts an 18-hole golf course and even a football pitch.

Before we took ourselves back home over the county border, we had one last dip into the Bard’s life with visits to Hall’s Croft, Shakespeare’s daughter’s house back in the town centre and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in the nearby village of Shottery, where his wife grew up.

Both were not only fascinating but restorative. Who can care about the troubles of the day when you are taken back to the sixteenth century, with guides so spellbinding, you are left in awe. Pair that with staying in a hotel rich in its own history and beauty, and you have a weekend to remember. And only down the road.