Why is "world-class Stratford-upon-Avon" such a dump?

[Lex]

It's what the council do best - cheap gimmicky tat to try and tempt the tourists in.

[rebbonk]

Sadly it doesn't work: as Coventry Council has found out.

I've not been to SOA for quite a while. Maybe a trip next summer?

[Lex]

Frankly, don't bother. The parking's extortionate (that's if you don't get arrested for hitting a tourist who's stepped out into the road without looking/stood in the middle of the road taking a photo), the tourist attractions are a rip off, and the pubs/cafes/restaurants are expensive due to the high rents & rates they have to pay.
Plus there's the increasingly tacky Shakespeare attractions - I was talking to a shopkeeper in town today who had already had enough of the noise created by the Shakespeare Birthplace light show, and it had only been going for 20 minutes!

[rebbonk]

I used to park (free) in one of the back-streets, though I agree about idiot pedestrians that don't look where they're going. As regards the pubs, I learned a long time ago to follow the locals!

I used to run Stratford in with a run into the Cotswold's, usually designed (to Mrs Rebbonk's disgust) with a look around book shops. In fact, I got it so wrong one day, the earache was so deafening, that I forked out over £200 for a sheepskin coat for her. I think she wore it twice before losing weight! Still, it does fit her these days, but she doesn't like it now!