stratford-upon-avon is known for its history of literature and plays written by william shakespeare. as well as this it also has a vast number of coffee shops. they seem to be the only businesses that thrive and survive here! it has independent coffee shops as well as international corporations such as starbucks so the choice really is endless. i thought i'd share some of my favourite smaller businesses that i think deserve lots of love and visits. 

stalls lifestyle – http://www.stallslifestyle.co.uk/

my mum showed me this little hidden gem that had been revealed to her by a friend. it’s in the middle of the countryside surrounded by fields and sheep and is the best setting to have a coffee and a cake. it has a relaxing summer house vibe which i love. it also has a shop attached to it that sells little knick-knacks and pretty items (my favourite kind of shop!). after going with my mum i couldn’t wait to tell more people about it and take them there with me so it gets the love and attention it deserves! (p.s you will need a car as it's a bit of a drive out of the town centre). 

orange mabel - https://www.facebook.com/orangestratford/

this place is a relatively new one to the town. it's old fashion design and sit down restaurant service makes it unique to any of the other coffee shops in stratford. the staff are so lovely, the food is great and is reasonably priced too. i recommend the cake shakes where they let you pick which piece of cake from their large and ever-changing selection you want on top of your milkshake. very yummy. 

boston tea party – http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/our_cafes/stratford.php

this one's more of a well known and grown business than all the others but i'll still include it. i love coming here for breakfasts with friends. they have so much choice for brunch food but i always end up with the pancakes with yoghurt and fruit as i'm not much of a full english breakfast girl. i tried their white chocolate milkshake last time i went and can confirm it was a good one. they also allow dogs! 

hoorays – http://hooraysgelato.com/

this place is actually an ice cream parlour but it also does coffee, cakes and warm light lunches too so i think it counts! i have been here endless amounts of times for ice cream, waffles and crepes. their flavours of ice cream are so exciting and unique and they change with the seasons which means there are always new ones to try. the picture below is of one of their craft shakes that i definitely wasn't able to finish by myself! 100% a place to go if you're as much of an ice cream fan as i am.

the other place – https://www.rsc.org.uk/restaurant-cafes-bars/susies-cafe-bar

last but not least, the place i'm currently sat writing this. my absolute favourite place to come and do work and probably the reason i passed my a-levels. this cafe is run by the rsc and is one of their performance venues but the cafe that's attached to it is such a nice quiet place to sit and do work. i'll continue to come here and buy a hot chocolate to sit and drink while i do work either with friends or on my own. the sweet potato fries are also incredible. and they allow dogs here too!

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