Baby Friendly Shopping – Stratford-Upon-Avon Town Centre

Unfortunately for a tourist town, there are not many facilities for babies and young children in Stratford.

Places to Park

Getting a baby in and out of the car can be very difficult if there is no space between you and the next car, not to mention dangerous if you have to put the pushchair up in the route of passing cars. So parent and toddler spaces can make it much easier. These are designed for those with babies or toddlers, some people seam to think that having a teenager in the car counts as a child. If the child doesn’t need a push chair or similar and doesn’t need to be lifted in and out of the car then you do not need to be using a parent and child parking space.

I’m not aware of any parking facilities with parent and child spaces in the town centre.

The car park I normally use is the multi-story car park on Bridgeway. Recently I’ve been very disappointed by the condition of that car park. See: Statford Upon Avon – Filthy Car Park Lift.

Baby Changing Facilities in the Town

There are very few places with baby changing facilities. The ones I know of are in Debenhams (very small, but adequate), and BHS / Mothercare.

Getting around shopping Centres and larger shops

There are not many multi-story shops or shopping centres in Stratford, so generally it is easy to get around with a pushchair. Cars are allowed to drive through most places in the town centre, which means that you do have to cross the road quite a bit, and it’s not as safe to allow toddlers to walk alongside you. There is a pedestrianised area which goes past Shakespeare’s birthplace, but most of the rest is on public roads.

Where to Eat

Places with high chairs, baby changing and non-smoking.

Debenhams restaurant has high chairs and baby / child menus. They do have their own baby changing facility, but it is on a different floor.

There are also a couple of family friendly pubs on the edge of the town centre, which are a good option for eating with a child or baby.

Baby Shops

There is a Mothercare located within the BHS store.

There are also a number of tourist shops that cater for children and babies.
Including a Teddy Bear Shop
Address: 32 Sheep Street, Stratford-upon-Avon

Conclusion

Although there are some facilities for children and babies, they are not many and they are hard to find. Stratford-upon-Avon is not a particularly good place for baby and children facilities.

If you disagree with any of this review, or have your own suggestions please leave a Comment.