There’s something magical and exciting about watching Hamnet the film (based on Maggie O’Farrell’s celebrated novel) and then stepping out into the ancient streets of Stratford upon Avon, the very place where Hamnet was born, lived and died.

The film breathes life into the imagined world of Shakespeare’s family, but Stratford upon Avon provides the living backdrop: a bustling market town with timber‑framed buildings and the soft curve of the River Avon that holds echoes of the past.

What makes Hamnet so compelling on screen is its intimate focus on the people behind the legend. Agnes (Anne) Hathaway emerges not as a footnote to Shakespeare’s genius, but as a force of nature – earthy, intuitive, and deeply human. The film’s emotional core rests on the family’s love, loss and resilience, themes that feel even more poignant when explored in the town where the real events unfolded centuries ago.

Stratford itself becomes part of the experience. Visitors can wander from Shakespeare’s Birthplace, where William Shakespeare and his children were born, to the Schoolroom, imagining the rhythms of daily life that shaped the young playwright. A short walk leads to Holy Trinity Church, where Hamnet and members of the Shakespeare family were buried. A stroll back into town following the curve of the sparkling River Avon passes the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre.  Visitors from all over the world delight in William Shakespeare’s plays.  Perhaps Shakespeare’s son Hamnet was in mind when the play Hamlet was being written and performed.

Watching Hamnet and then exploring Stratford upon Avon feels like stepping through a doorway between past and present. The film gives emotional depth to the history; the town gives physical form to the emotion. Together, they create a lasting memory that lingers long after the credits roll.

The award-winning Stratford Town Walk has been leading daily guided walking tours around Stratford upon Avon since 2002. Join one of the amazing Town Walk guides to discover Stratford and the Shakespeare connections. “We like this place and willingly could waste our time in it” 

Stratford Town Walk – www.stratfordtownwalk.co.uk