So, a quote from Shakespeare on his 450th birthday, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and what could be more apt that to get yourself kitted out with the latest discount outdoor gear from us and get involved with a Shakespeare related walk this weekend. From visiting some of the places mentioned in his plays, to following in his footsteps as he travels across England.

The Blue Boar Inn, where Richard III spent one of his last night’s before the Battle of Bosworth was one of the best known inns in the country, lying on the outskirts of Leicester. Go today and you can still rest your head, but now it is the site of the local Travelodge. Methinks being buried underneath a car park wasn’t so bad after all. Staying in Leicester, King Lear was also laid to rest beneath the Temple of Janus. This roman piece of architecture does still exist in part but is now known as The Jewry Wall.

One wood, or forest that features heavily is The Forest of Arden, in As You Like It, and this did exist close to the Bard’s birthplace in Warwickshire. Most of it is now gone and has been replaced by various suburbs of Birmingham. However, some areas still exist and are accessible, but there is some academic debate that the Arden being referred to was actually The Ardennes in France. This is certainly backed up by the names and setting used in the play, and “thereby hangs a tale” which you can investigate further.

London, Windsor, Milton Keynes and York are other places which are mentioned and can be used as great staring points for walks of all different sorts. However, one place that does not rate a mention is Stratford-upon-Avon itself, but it is hear that many walks can start, or end when following in Shakespeare’s footsteps, whether it’s a walk around the town hitting the tourist trail, or for those with a few days to spare striding out from Stratford, via Halford, Chipping Norton, Oxford, Marlow, Windsor and ending up at The Globe theatre on London’s South Bank. A journey that the man himself must have undertaken several times over his lifetime.

So there you have it, several ideas where you can utilize your discount outdoor gear from us and wander where you will whether you are a Shakespeare fan or not, but remember the British weather because “so foul and fair a day I have not seen’ said one of the witches in Macbeth, and she is isn’t wrong.