Worcester Cathedral overlooking the magnificent River Severn, Greyfriars and Commandery and Royal Worcester Pottery; Arley Arboretum; Tardebigge Locks – the UK’s longest flight of canal locks; the hippos of West Midland Safari and Leisure Park; the ancient Wyre Forest; medieval and Elizabethan moated Harvington Hall; Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings…and Worcestershire Sauce.
Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare’s birthplace, Holy Trinity Church, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Hall’s Croft, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Mary Arden’s House and Shakespeare Countryside Museum; Warwick Castle, with its Great Hall, State Rooms and Armoury; Charlecote Park – an architectural gem; Kenilworth Castle –England’s largest castle ruin; the world famous Twycross Zoo and Warwick Doll Museum.
Explore Oxford, the ‘city of dreaming spires’ – Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church, Ashmolean Museum, Sheldonian Theatre and 36 colleges. Marvel at the Long Library and gardens of Blenheim Palace; travel the Vale of the White Horse and the Cotswolds; stroll through Burford and Great Tew and along the Isis and the Oxford Canal…and enjoy ‘jolly boating weather’ at Henley-on-Thames.
The medieval splendour of St Albans Abbey and Cathedral; Verulamium (Roman St Albans) with its museum and Roman theatre; the Jacobean gem, Hatfield House, and the Tudor Hatfield Palace; Knebworth House, another Jacobean masterpiece; Shaw’s Corner, the home of George Bernard Shaw; the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre and the Tring Natural History Museum.
Mappa Mundi (the Map of the World) – drawn in 1290 and Hereford Cathedral’s greatest treasure; the city’s Old House, furnished in 17th century period-style; magnificent views of the Wye Valley from Ross-on-Wye cliff top gardens; Ledbury’s famous timbered houses; Elgar’s inspiration – the Malvern Hills; Hergest Croft Gardens – four separate gardens and fine trees; 14th century Brockford House and Estate; Burford House Gardens; Croft Castle…and Hereford’s Cider Museum.
The Cotswolds and Bourton-on-the-Water, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden and the ‘capital of the Cotswolds’, Cirencester. The magnificent Gloucester Cathedral; Severnside Tewkesbury; Slimbridge’s Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust; Westonbirt Arboretum; the ancient Forest of Dean and its wild boar and deer; Berkeley Castle…and view the River Wye and the falcons from Symonds Yat Rock.
The stunning landscaped gardens of Stowe; the great art collections of Waddesdon Manor; the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery; Bletchley Park – the codebreakers’ home, Station X; Chenies Manor House; the gardens and woodlands of Cliveden; John Milton’s Cottage with rare editions of his work; the beautiful Burnham Beeches…and Olney Pancake Race.
Woburn Abbey – one of the first English stately homes to be opened to the public – with its safari park. Whipsnade Wild Animal Park – part of London Zoo – has 2,500 species in 600 acres. John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress in Bedford Prison – visit the Bunyan Museum and the Bunyan Meeting Free Church. The R101 airship disaster memorial is at Cardington and the Shuttleworth Collection of aircraft is at Old Warden Park.
The flatlands and the floodplains of the Vale of Evesham have thrown up the inspirational Malvern Hills. Some see the outline of a sleeping dragon in the four ranges of hills with their views south, across the Severn estuary, to Devon, and north to Shropshire and even north Wales. The hilltops – a walkers’ and horse riders’ paradise – with their drovers’ trails, ancient hill forts and Victorian carriageways, lead down to traditional orchards and farmland and their special wildlife. It’s [...]
Mention the Cotswolds and most potential visitors think of the tourist honeypots of Bibury, Castle Combe and Bourton-on-the-Water. The Cotswolds are, in fact, the gentle hills nestling on the steep slopes running down the western edge of Gloucestershire. Away from the crowds, the Cotswold Way takes you to many stunning views across the River Severn to Wales. History litters the path with highlights including the Neolithic burial sites of Belas Knap and Uley, also known as Hetty Pegler’s Tump, and the [...]
Like battlements defending London’s north west flank, the rounded chalk hills of the Chilterns are a treasure house of walks, views, history and fun. With its beech woods and bluebells, the Chilterns inspired artists and writers such as Jerome K. Jerome, Stanley Spencer and Roald Dahl, whose children’s work is celebrated at a story centre in Great Missenden. Near London but “far away in the hills” the nobility built fine houses. Hughenden Manor, West Wycombe Park and Cliveden all have stories [...]
17th century National Trust farmhouse
Windsor Castle – the largest occupied castle in the world – with St George’s Chapel and the State Apartments; Windsor Great Park; Ascot racecourse; the civil war battlefields of Newbury; the Kennet and Avon Canal; the fascinating Cole Museum of Zoology; the Museum of English Rural Life; the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore; Legoland; Magna Carta Island… and the glorious River Thames.
New traditionally built farmhouse overlooking fishpond and waterfall within Cotswold Water Park
Converted farm building in tranquil countryside
