Shakespeare's Way

Shakespeare's Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath of 146 miles which celebrtates William Shakespeare and the countryside and towns which inspired him. The route runs through six counties, between Stratford upon Avon and the Globe Theatre in Southwark: the route is intended "to shadow a possible route taken by the Bard of Avon himself when journeying between London where he acted and wrote his plays and his house, wife and children back in Stratford".^[1]

The eastern head of the trail is the modern 'Shakespeare's Globe', the beautiful reproduction of Shakespeare's original Globe theatre (near the site of the original Globe), on the south bank of the Thamjes in Southwark. The northern trailhead is Shakespeare's Birthplace; the house in which the Bard was born in the middle of Stratford.

On it course, the way runs from Southwark in metropolitan Surrey, following the River Thames upstream through Surrey, Middlesex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, then striking out through the Oxfordshire countryside to Oxford and north to Shakespeare's home town; Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire.

The waymarked route opened in 2006.

The route

The route, east to west, follows the Thames Path from London westwards to Kew and up the Grand Union Canal and the Thames Path again to Marlow. Thence it heads over the Chiltern Hills until it reaches the Thames again just south of Oxford, crossing to the Berkshire bank before heading north to the city and north through the edge of the Cotswolds.

Surrey:
Globe Theatre, Southwark to Kew / Brentford	15 miles
Middlesex to Buckinghamshire:
Brentford to Iver	12 miles
Buckinghamshire and Berkshire:
Iver to Cookham to Marlow	20 miles
Oxfordshire:
Marlow to Cookley Green	15 miles
Cookley Green to Stadhampton	12 miles
Oxfordshire and Berkshire:
Stadhampton to Oxford	11 miles
Oxfordshire:
Oxford to Woodstock	11 miles
Woodstock to Chipping Norton	16 miles
Oxfordshire to Warwickshire:
Chipping Norton to Shipston-on-Stour	14 miles
Warwickshire:
Stratford-upon-Avon	17 miles