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‘Shakespeare Country’. Like millions of others, do you associate those two words solely with Stratford-Upon-Avon? If so, I’ll do my usual idiosyncratic bit to make you think again. I’ll not enthuse about the world-renowned trio of Stratford, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Warwick Castle; my aim is to lead you to a series of not-so-obvious spots.

Day One

Start at Ashow, north of Warwick and just off the B4115. Park by the church; walk past a tiny cottage with a delectable garden; shimmy through the kissing gate under a huge yew; on through the churchyard; and continue to the footbridge over the Avon. The view west is a watercolour of medieval Warwickshire; the Bard himself must have relished similar Avon vistas 400 years ago.

Don’t bypass Kenilworth Castle, to the north-west. Today the castle is no more than a ruin; but the massive sandstone walls and towers will stir your dormant imagination back to the centuries when Kenilworth played such a vital part in our turbulent history. Imagine the scene, during the Middle Ages, when the palace was surrounded by a lake.

Now south-west to Hatton and the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ - in reality the Grand Union Canal and 21 locks, each with distinctive paddle gear and gates, which in two miles climb 146½ft, almost as high as the tower of St. Mary’s, Warwick.

From the canal detour south-west to Hatton Country World - a shopping village of 30 craft and 19 antique shops crammed into 19th century farm buildings; an Aladdin’s Cave of unusual bargains. Children will love the Farm Park, with dozens of animals. (Closed: 25-26 December.)

Finish your first day in Warwick, atop a low hill on the Avon’s north bank. First, call at the Tourist Information Centre in Jury Street for the Warwick Town Trail leaflet (for which there is a small charge). The trail, marked on a map, leads you to 17 historical treats; the map also shows the extent of the devastation caused by a horrendous fire in 1694 which destroyed a vast swathe of medieval Warwick.

Visit at least two of the 17 sites, plus a couple of gardens not included in the leaflet. First seek out the majestic Lord Leycester Hospital and the adjoining West Gate and chapel. Various medieval architectural gems sparkle: the chapel (note the superb small stained glass window by William Morris), courtyard, Great Hall and Guild Hall. Enjoy, too, the fascinating museum of the Queen’s Own Hussars. (Closed Monday.)

At the rear is The Master’s Garden. During the last five years Susan Rhodes, the Master’s Wife, has masterminded the restoration of this previously derelict medieval garden into a tranquil oasis of contentment. (Open Tuesday to Sunday, Easter to the end of September.)

The fire destroyed the tower (the new one is 174ft high), nave and both transepts of St Mary’s Church; thankfully, the Norman crypt and the breathtaking Beauchamp Chapel, completed in 1464, escaped the flames. The chapel is a richly endowed ecclesiastical splendour.

Finish with a walk to the bottom of Mill Street and Arthur Measures’s Mill Garden, beside the Avon and beneath the castle walls. The cottage garden is both peaceful and romantic and, I can guarantee, will provide a large dose of rejuvenating tonic. The cost? Just £1.00. Arthur died two years ago but over the years those fees enabled him to pass almost £100,000 to charities. (Open Easter to mid-October.)

Day Two

I’ll lead you to a variety of surprises. Start at Hampton Lucy and the Gothic revival church of St. Peter and Vincula (St. Peter in Chains). The interior hides thrilling sight: the spectacular 19th century east window, depicting the life of St. Peter, described as “the most magnificent stained-glass produced in modern times.”

Now to a quiet backwater in an otherwise mundane Wellesbourne. Park behind the Kings Head and walk through St. Peter’s churchyard; across the River Dene is a not-to-be-missed working water-mill with a gigantic 10-ton wheel and shaft, pools, stunning oak-beamed barn (now a tea room) and grounds where children can feed swans, ducks, hens and pigeon (grain supplied). The mill, 10 years ago a derelict ruin, was brought back to life by the superhuman efforts of Andrew and Anthea Hamilton. Watch the intriguing before-and-after video in the tea room, buy some of the couple’s stone-ground flour and relish the growling grandeur of the working wheel and complex milling machinery. (Open March and October: Sunday 1-4pm; from Easter to the end of September; Thursday to Sunday and Bank Holidays, 10am-4pm, Summer school holidays; every day except Monday.)

Next, due east to the 100-acre Burton Dassett Hills Country Park, high above the M40 and overlooking the Vale of the Red Horse and Edgehill. The park provides many vista-packed walks and climbs, the best of which is to the observation table atop the 630ft-high Magpie Hill. See, too, the 12th century All Saints Church, ‘The Cathedral of the Hills’, built on a slope with a rise of 15ft from the west to the east, altar end.

Five miles to the north-west is Chesterton with a trio of pleasures. First the windmill, a startling Renaissance structure built in 1632 by Sir Edward Peyto, Cromwellian governor and defender of Warwick Castle. Next to the 12th century St. Giles’ Church, south of the hamlet and once part of a now ‘vanished’ village, where a somewhat churlish motto over the doorway advises: “See and be gone about your business.” Vanished too, apart from an Inigo Jones arch behind the church (also built in 1632 and restored in 1990), is the Peyton mansion which once dominated the hill to the north. Then walk south, up the dead-end lane alongside several ponds - rural Warwickshire at its best.

Finish in Royal Leamington Spa which, less than 200 years ago, was a village of just 300 souls. Today’s town, with a population of over 55,000, is a sparkling delight with a real buzz and is famed for its handsome Regency houses. Walk the eye-pleasing Jephson Gardens, alongside the River Leam. Cross The Parade and admire the reborn Royal Pump Rooms, newly-reopened after a £7 million restoration project; once an eye-sore, the now-striking structure houses a tourist information centre, café, assembly rooms, art gallery, museum and town library. Continue west, then over a pedestrian bridge and follow the riverside walk to the bowling greens and Victoria Park.

For something quite different enjoy the newly-rebuilt Grand Union canal towpath walk from Old Leamington (near the railway station) westwards towards Warwick: an invigorating mix of trees, houses and flats, new pubs, gardens, fields and bridges over both a railway line and the River Avon. I promised you a day of surprises; this will be a satisfying, self-effacing finale, passing, on your way, Chandler’s House and The Moorings.

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