Arden Hotel; www.thearden hotelstratford.com
IF YOU GO
July 16, 2011 at 9:18PM
Barnsley House; www.barnsleyhouse.com
Landmark Trust; www.landmarktrust.org.uk
Royal Shakespeare Theatre (including booking via the box office) and Company; www.rsc.org.uk
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; www.shakespeare.org.uk
Note: Rural boutique hotels can be pricey, and most qualify as a short-stay splurge. For some more gently priced rooms in the Cotswolds consider Cotswolds 88 in Painswick (www.cots wolds88hotel.com), the Chester House Hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water (www.chesterhouse hotel.com) and Fosse Manor Hotel in Stow-on-the-Wold (www.fossemanor.co.uk).
RAPHAEL KADUSHIN
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Here's how to pick the right shovel, from the classic to the crack-jumper, back-saver or the plow.