William Shakespeare's nature park gets Lottery cash

The reserve's former owners are said to have inspired characters in Shakespeare's plays

A nature reserve said to have inspired William Shakespeare has received £40,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Welcombe Hills and Clopton Park Nature Reserve was the former home of the Clopton family, friends of Shakespeare.

The money will be spent on a series of audio trails to help visitors understand the reserve's connections with the Bard.

The project will involve volunteers creating boards and audio, which can be downloaded via an app.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust said it would use the grant, along with £2,000 from Stratford District Council, to create a year-long project with a theatre company.

A trust spokesperson said: "The project will explore this connection as well as local stories about Shakespeare and the surrounding area. Three sections of the audio trail will relate to Shakespeare."

The trust and the volunteers will work with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Stratford-upon-Avon Library, among others, to create the material.