Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
blessed with many castles and stately homes (exquisite
Leeds Castle,
Chartwell,
where Churchill lived) but also the dockyards that Nelson sailed from. Sussex has
many coastal beauty spots (such as West Wittering beach) and lovely towns, includ-
ing Chichester. Beyond all of these is the South Downs Way, a wild walk across the
chalk hills that lie just inland. Surrey, on the edge of London, is often overlooked by
visitors, yet has Thames-side towns, the wonderful Surrey Hills (with Leith Hill, the
highest point in the Southeast), the city of Guildford and a spread of forest and
heathland that offers splendid walks.
HAMPSHIRE & WILTSHIRE
Southwest of London, these counties possess two
of England's greatest
cathedrals,
Winchester and Salisbury, and Europe's most sig-
nificant prehistoric monument,
Stonehenge.
Hampshire is bordered on its western
side by the woodlands and heaths of the
New Forest.
The towns of
Portsmouth
and
Southampton
loom large in naval heritage; the former's historic dockyard is
where you can see Nelson's flagship, HMS
Victory
. The
Isle of Wight,
once Queen
Victoria's favorite retreat, is a seaside haven trapped in time. Wiltshire is the begin-
ning of the
West Country;
here you'll find Wilton House, the 17th-century home of
the earls of Pembroke, and Old Sarum, the remains of what is believed to have been
an Iron Age fortification.
THE SOUTHWEST (DORSET, SOMERSET, DEVON & CORNWALL)
These four counties are the country's great trip getaways. Dorset, associated with
Thomas Hardy, is a land of rolling downs, rocky headlands, well-kept villages, and
rich farmlands. Somerset—the Somerset of King Arthur and Camelot—offers such
magical towns as
Glastonbury.
Devon has both
Exmoor
and
Dartmoor national
parks,
and its northern and southern coastlines are peppered with famous resorts
such as Lyme Regis and villages such as Clovelly. In Cornwall, you're never more than
20 miles from the rugged coastline, which terminates at
Land's End.
Among the
cities worth visiting in these counties are
Bath,
with its impressive Roman baths and
Georgian architecture;
Plymouth,
the departure point of the
Mayflower;
and
Wells,
the site of a great cathedral.
THE COTSWOLDS
A wonderful region to tour, this is a pastoral land of
honey-hued limestone villages where rural England unfolds before you like a story-
book. In the Middle Ages, wool made the Cotswolders prosperous, but now they put
out the welcome mat for visitors, with famously lovely inns and pubs. Start at
Burford, the traditional gateway to the region, continuing on to Bourton-on-the-
Water, Lower and Upper Slaughter, and Stow-on-the-Wold.
Cirencester
is the
uncrowned capital of the south Cotswolds, and
Cheltenham
is still an elegant
Regency spa town.
STRATFORD & WARWICK
This region encompasses both Shakespeare coun-
try and the Midlands. The Midlands was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
Its foremost tourist town is
Stratford-upon-Avon,
but also drawing visitors are
Warwick Castle,
one of England's great castles, and the ruins of
Kenilworth
Castle.
BIRMINGHAM & THE WEST MIDLANDS
The area known as the West
Midlands embraces the so-called “Black Country.”
Birmingham,
nicknamed
“Brum,” is Britain's largest city after London. This sprawling metropolis was once
known for its overpass jungles and grubby suburbs, but is becoming the heart of new
Britain with its urban makeover. The English marshes cut through
Shropshire
and
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