Enjoy an eggcellent Easter in Shakespeare Country
Experience a whole host of fun activities for all the family in Shakespeare Country during the Easter holidays. Search for clues to win prizes with Easter trails and egg hunts, visit the new MAD Museum, experience a spring extravaganza at Mary Arden’s Farm, watch a siege encampment at Warwick Castle or simply enjoy an Easter lunch with friends and family. The MAD Museum is open from the 23rd of March.
Visit The MAD Museum in Stratford-upon-Avon for an exciting family day out with a weird and wonderful twist! The MAD (Mechanical Art and Design) Museum is the only permanent museum of its kind in England. Children can enjoy fascinating moving machines and a wealth of interactive fun. For adults it’s a chance to be amazed by incredible, mind-blowing designs and intricate workings. The MAD Museum consists of two floors full of astonishing Kinetic Art, Automata and Steampunk machines gadgets and gismos. Think crazy inventive contraptions and Victorian-inspired mechanisms consisting of rolling balls, churning cogs, nuts and bolts. Visit the MAD Garden, which exhibits interactive wacky wind and water sculptures! The MAD Museum is a wonderful place to experience and interact with an extraordinary assortment of both modern and old fashioned, yet highly innovative, machines!
Warwick Castle will be transformed into a siege encampment, culminating in a magnificent battle from the 6 - 9 April. Re-enactors will spend four days eating, sleeping and living the conditions of a real battle. From 31 March - 15 April enjoy Castle favourites including the Flight of the Eagles, the Mighty Trebuchet and the outstanding Warwick Warriors show.
View the latest Life, Love & Legacy exhibition at Shakespeare’s Birthplace from 31 March – 15 April. Sample the delicious menu in the brand new cafe and visit the newly refurbished gift and book shop. Family Archaeology takes place at Nash’s House & New Place with special family-friendly activities in the marquee. Take part in an Easter Egg hunt on the 8 April at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and complete the Shakespeare-themed trail to win a chocolate egg. Celebrate Easter, spring and new life at Mary Arden’s Farm with a holiday schedule of themed activities, animal attractions and entertainment.
Take part in an Easter Family Fun Trail at Kenilworth Castle from 31 March - 7 April. Crack the clues to complete the ‘egg-citing’ trail and find the missing eggs around the grounds to be rewarded with a yummy Easter prize. See Medieval Knights fighting for their honour in spectacular combat displays on the 8 & 9 April. Discover more about the weaponry of the period with fascinating displays and demonstrations. Soak up the atmosphere of times gone by in the Living History encampment.
Step back in time at The Falstaff Experience Tudor World. Walk down the ancient cobbles and visit the multi-award winning museum that brings the Tudor period back to life with its recreations and live shows. The Tudor Crime and Punishment shows are included with entry to the museum from the 9 - 13 and 16 - 20 April. Children can take part in an Easter Egg Quiz Hunt around the museum. Stratford's notorious tour guide Dashing Jack will lead his Pub Ghost Tour around Stratford taking in the most haunted places as well as three haunted pubs. The tour costs £17.50 per person including 3 drinks. Every Saturday join Shakespeare for a tour around town and listen to him muse on his work, life and loves.
The Heritage Motor Centre is continuing with its record breaking theme at Easter. From 31 March – 15 April, children can join in with record breaking egg-citing fun and make and race their own egg car, plus quizzes, crafts and activities. Craft days will take place on 5 & 12 April. Normal museum admission prices apply and children can take home what they make.
Enjoy the annual ‘Easter Eggstravaganza’ at Hatton Farm Village from the 31 March – 22 April. Take part in Easter Bunny Hunts to win prizes and Easter Egg Hunts in the Easter Garden. Hidden amongst the flowers and bunnies are little colourful eggs which children have to find and exchange for chocolate eggs. Enjoy a range of shows featuring falconry, sheep racing, daft duck trials and children’s entertainer. Tristan the Tractor will take families for rides around the Farm. The funfair rides will be operating all day plus the regular activities, from bouncy castles to panning for gold and the animals both indoors and out.
Children can enjoy ‘Easter in the Gardens’ with wildlife, horticultural and craft activities at Hill Close Gardens in Warwick on the 5 April at 10.30am or 2pm. On the 8 April take part in an Easter egg hunt and Easter bonnet Parade. Follow the garden trail to win a chocolate egg and bring an Easter bonnet to join the Parade.
Find the eggs hiding around The National Herb Centre with an Easter Egg Hunt from 6 - 13 April with a free yummy treat when returning the form. Take part in ‘Really Wild Activities’ on the 11 April, venture into the woods and build a secret shelter or see what is lurking in the pond and discover what creeps, crawls, flies and slimes underneath.
Take part in family craft activities at Compton Verney from 6 – 9 April, from 11am – 4pm. Use recycled materials to make an Easter animal. Will it be a rabbit, a chick, or a lamb? Hop along to Hidcote Manor and join in with the Easter fun. Hunt for clues, solve the puzzle and win an egg-tastic prize on the 8 & 9 April from 10am - 4pm.
Find all the different patterns at St John’s Museum in Warwick on 13 April. Follow the trail and make a model of the house. Join the History Detectives and help them investigate the past. With a different case each day the museum needs help to unravel the clues from history using real and replica objects and documents from the History Detective's vault.
Have a magical family Easter three course Sunday luncheon with an Easter Egg Hunt for the children at the Menzies Welcombe Hotel on Sunday 8 April. Enjoy a traditional Sunday lunch served in the Waterside Brasserie at The Arden Hotel on Sunday 8 April with an Easter egg for every child. Get together with family and friends and catch up over a traditional three course lunch at The Kings Hotel on Sunday 8 April followed by an egg hunt. Get into the holiday mood and spend quality time with family and friends over a lazy three course lunch at the Mallory Court Hotel on Sunday 8 April. Entertain the children with an afternoon searching for treats and treasures in Mallory's gardens on Monday 9 April then enjoy a leisurely bank holiday menu in the Brasserie.
For accommodation, special offers and more information visit the official website: Shakespeare-Country.co.uk.
