Tudor World
BEST FOR
Ages 0-16
ENTRY
from £4.50
SETTING
Indoors
WHERE
Stratford-upon-Avon
What it’s like
A creaky old Tudor building packed with hands-on history, a quiz for the kids and, after dark, a proper ghost tour by lantern light.
This is a museum you poke about in rather than march round. The exhibits are close-up and interactive, exploring what life was actually like in Shakespeare's Stratford, and there's a children's quiz thrown in with entry to give them something to chase. Most families are in and out in 20 to 30 minutes, though the site says some visits stretch to an hour if the quiz grips them.
On Saturdays a costumed Shakespeare turns up to walk you round the town, which is a nice way to make the history stick rather than just reading it off a wall, and it runs a proper 90 minutes to two hours. The building itself is the obvious catch: it's 400 years old, with narrow passageways, uneven floors and steps up to the first floor, so pushchairs genuinely do not work here. They will store yours for free while you look round, which is a fair trade.
After 6pm the ghost tours take over, by lantern through the same old rooms, and they're clear this one is not for under-14s or anyone nervous of dark corners. It is not somewhere to bring dogs to that particular tour either, even though pets are welcome round the rest of the place. Given the low beams and the atmospheric lighting, younger children who spook easily at a mannequin in a doorway might find parts of the daytime museum a bit much too, so it's worth thinking about who you've got with you before you go in.
There's no café on site.
What’s on here
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- School-age kids; under-14s are kept off the ghost tour
- Parking
- On-road on Sheep Street free after 6pm
- How long to allow
- Average visit 20-30 minutes
- Pushchairs
- Not practical to navigate museum with prams/pushchairs
- Wheelchairs
- Ground floor accessible with ramps
- Dogs
- Guide/assistance dogs and family pets welcome free of charge
- Getting there by bus or train
- Stratford-upon-Avon railway station 1 mile away, about 15 minute walk
- Bags and luggage go in the store room for £1, though museum visitors aren't charged for it.
- A carer goes in at the concession rate of £7 with a carer's card.
- Halloween brings a trail and an overnight ghost hunt on top of the usual tours.
- The railway station is about a 15 minute walk, and the park-and-ride stops on Bridge Street and Wood Street are handy if you'd rather not drive into town.
Plan your visit
How much does it cost?
£8 for an adult, £4.50 for a child aged 5 to 15, or £20 for a family of two adults and two children. The Shakespeare Tour and Ghost Tour are booked separately on top of that.
How long do we need?
The museum itself is quick, most people are done in 20 to 30 minutes. The Shakespeare Tour runs 90 minutes to two hours and the Ghost Tour is about an hour.
Can we bring a pushchair?
It's not really practical, the floors are uneven and there are steps up to the first floor. They'll store your pushchair for free while you look round.
Is it suitable for a toddler?
The exhibits are close at hand and some of the figures and lighting can startle little ones, so it's more one to judge by temperament than a strict age cut-off.
What age is the ghost tour for?
Under-14s aren't allowed on it, and it's not aimed at nervous visitors either. It runs by lantern light in the evening, 6pm daily with extra slots on Saturdays.
Is there food on site?
No café here, but Sheep Street where the museum sits has places to eat nearby.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
The ground floor has ramps and there are Blue Badge spaces round the back, but the upper floor needs stairs with assistance and the courtyard is cobbled. The Ghost Tour isn't suitable for wheelchair users, though the Shakespeare Tour is.
Can children visit without an adult?
Young people aren't allowed to visit unaccompanied.
Are dogs allowed?
Family pets are welcome free of charge round the museum and the Shakespeare Tour, but not on the Ghost Tour.
Where do we park?
On-road parking on Sheep Street is free after 6pm, or use one of the town's numerous car parks. There are four Blue Badge spaces in the service yard at the rear.
Is it open all year round?
364 days a year, closed only on Christmas Day. It occasionally shuts for BBC filming, so it's not a fixed certainty every single day.
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