Moving to England Forums

England Information · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 22 Home Country: uk

ENGLAND TOURISM GUIDE (SOUTH & SOUTHWEST)

Covering Bath, Bristol, and the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire, plus the Isles of Scilly. Southern Tourist Board (Southeast and East Anglia). South Western Tourist Board (tel: (01392) 360 050; fax: (01392) 445 112; e-mail: post@swtourism.co.uk; website: www.swtourism.co.uk).

Central Southern England and the Southwest contain many of England’s top seaside resort areas, particularly in Devon and Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and along the Dorset coast. Inland, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire are characterized by attractive countryside, pretty villages and significant ancient and historical monuments. The major coastal cities, such as Portsmouth, Bristol and Plymouth, have strong seafaring traditions, while Oxford and Bath are among the most popular English cities with visitors. Off the far southwest tip of Cornwall, the sub-tropical Isles of Scilly attract those looking for a quieter holiday.

Bristol

Major historic port, and boasting many visitor attractions. On the harbourside, At-Bristol is a complex containing an IMAX cinema, the Explore science centre and Wildwalk, an interpretation of natural history. Brunel’s SS Great Britain, the world’s first iron steam passenger liner, is restored and open to visitors. The Empire and Commonwealth Museum, the City Museum and Art Gallery and the Industrial Museum are important attractions, while Bristol Zoo at Clifton is close to Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge. Bristol Cathedral dates from the 15th century, but its origins lie back in the 12th century. Close to the city is the Severn Bridges Visitor Centre.

Oxfordshire

Northwest of Oxford, on the fringes of the Cotswolds, is the impressive Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. The market town of Banbury is an attractive historic location, honoured with a nursery rhyme of its own. To the south is Didcot, whose Railway Centre is popular with steam train enthusiasts. On the banks of the River Thames is Henley, scene of the annual regatta, and possessing no less than 300 buildings of architectural and historic interest, including a fine 18th-century bridge. To the east of Wallingford is Stonor Park, a manor house dating from Medieval times, once a secret Catholic stronghold in times of religious repression.

Gloucestershire

Gloucester is a cathedral city on the River Severn. Many of the streets and parts of the old city wall date back to the Middle Ages. The revitalized docks are lined with massive warehouses which are gradually becoming visitor attractions, among them the National Waterways Museum, the Marina and Tall Ships, plus the Opie Collection of Packaging.

Cheltenham, an elegant Regency spa town, is famous for its National Hunt Racecourse and annual music and literature festival. Malmesbury contains a fine example of Norman building in its abbey, the ruins of a 12th-century castle, a market square and several attractive 17th- and 18th-century houses. Cirencester has extensive Roman remains and is a good centre for exploring the Cotswolds. To the east of the Wye Valley is the Forest of Dean, 130 sq km (50 sq miles) of ancient hunting forest. In the hilly countryside east of Gloucester is the village of Slad, immortalized by Laurie Lee in his book Cider with Rosie.

Wiltshire

Even in prehistoric times, the inland county of Wiltshire proved attractive to early settlers, and evidence of this – at places like Avebury, Old Sarum and Stonehenge – makes it ideal for exploring prehistoric remains. In addition, some of England’s greatest stately homes are in Wiltshire, including Corsham, Lacock Abbey, Longleat, Stourhead and Wilton. Longleat is a very grand Elizabethan mansion, famous for its lions, and Stourhead, built in 1722, has particularly fine lakeside gardens. Salisbury is dominated by its 123m (404ft) cathedral spire, England’s tallest. The grounds of Salisbury Cathedral contain many notable houses open to the public. Mompesson House is a perfectly preserved 18th-century home and Malmesbury House was once sanctuary for King Charles II, fleeing after the Battle of Worcester in the 17th century. The city has a harmonious blend of gabled houses and historic inns, and offers a good choice of hotels, restaurants and shopping. Open-top bus or horse-drawn omnibus tours are available.

The remains of Old Sarum, ancient city and Norman fortress, are visible 3km (2 miles) away on Salisbury Plain but the most important site is the enormous prehistoric stone circle of Stonehenge. The site was possibly in use as long ago as 2500 BC. At the western end of Salisbury Plain, Warminster is a favorite haunt of UFO spotters. The former railway works at county town Swindon house a new museum, Steam, dedicated to Brunel’s Great Western Railway.

Hampshire

This region is one of great natural beauty but also enjoys the benefits of up-to-the-minute shopping, leisure facilities and nightlife. The county is justly famous for the New Forest, 376 sq km (145 sq miles) of open heathland, where ponies, deer and cattle roam freely. The New Forest was decreed a Royal Hunting Preserve in 1079 and is a haven for riders and walkers. Beaulieu, with its stately home and Motor Museum, and Bucklers Hard are major attractions.

Southampton is one of the most rapidly expanding cities on the south coast with new marinas, leisure facilities and shopping malls, including the Bargate, Ocean Village and Waterfront. There is a wealth of maritime history in the neighbouring naval city of Portsmouth – HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose and the Royal Naval Museum. The D-Day Museum at Southsea tells the story of the 1944 allied Normandy landings.

Former English capital Winchester, in central Hampshire, has a magnificent 11th-century Cathedral. Romsey is an attractive market town associated with Broadlands, 18th-century former home of Lord Mountbatten. Lymington is an attractive small town lying on the edge of the New Forest, with its own pretty harbour. Hamble to the east is a mecca for yachtsmen, the Hamble River providing good sheltered moorings, making it an ideal place to start a cruise around its waters or over to the Isle of Wight. The Hampshire Borders, in the north of the county, have some lovely countryside. There are a number of historic houses in the region and lots of military museums.

Isle of Wight

Only 6km (4 miles) off the mainland, the Isle of Wight has beautiful countryside, unspoilt coastline and many sandy beaches. It has one of the best sunshine records in the country. Craft centres, country parks, historic buildings, sporting and leisure facilities abound. Often described as ‘England in Miniature’, the island offers rich contrast in scenery and character in its small area.

Cowes, world famous for yachting, also plays host to many national and international events, from sailing to power boating. There are five vineyards on the Isle of Wight, which also stage the unusual annual Garlic Festival every summer. Osborne House, at East Cowes, was Queen Victoria’s favourite residence – she died here in 1901. Popular resorts on the southeast coast include Shanklin, Ventnor and Sandown.

Parliamentarian forces imprisoned King Charles I at Carisbrooke Castle, in the centre of the island near Newport, prior to his execution in 1649. To the west, the dramatic Needles, chalk outcrops, jut from the sea, while visitors flock to Alum Bay to see the remarkable multicolored sand of its cliffs.

Isles of Scilly

Scilly lies 50km (30 miles) off Land’s End – only five (out of a total of around 100) islands are inhabited. They are a popular holiday destination, as the climate is warmer and more temperate than on the mainland. The tourism industry received a boost when former Prime Minister Harold Wilson bought a holiday home there.

Horticulture is now the islands’ second-largest industry. Boat trips to visit smaller islands are popular, particularly from Hugh Town on St Mary’s, largest of the islands, where Star Castle dominates the skyline. Tresco, especially, has the magnificent sub-tropical Abbey Gardens and the Abbey, which draw many visitors. Air and sea services connect Scilly with the mainland. Bryher has two small fortresses and the wild Hell Bay.

Dorset

The resort of Bournemouth has fine sandy beaches, excellent shopping, top-class entertainment and comfortable hotels and flats, making the town a popular holiday venue. Nearby, Poole has the world’s second-largest natural harbour, in which is the island nature reserve of Brownsea. Boat trips make the short crossing from Poole Quay. The Tower Park leisure complex offers varied entertainment and activities. The quayside retains its 18th-century atmosphere – Poole Pottery and the Waterfront Museum stand on it.

Immediately west of Poole is the Isle of Purbeck. The coastline is scenic, also offering the resort of Swanage. A little further west is Weymouth, with its beach, panoramic bay and historic harbour. There are entertainments and activities for all the family, plus many top attractions and events including the Brewer’s Quay leisure and shopping development. Portland, joined to Weymouth by Chesil Beach causeway, is a fascinating peninsula. Famous for its stone, it also has several castles, a lighthouse and small, sheltered coves. Lying inland, northeast of Weymouth, is Shaftesbury, Dorset’s most ancient hilltop town, characterized by steep cobbled streets. Slightly to the south is the handsome 18th-century Blandford Forum. Distinguished by one of the county’s most unusual churches is Wimborne Minster, a small market town to the southeast.

Somerset

Another attractive rural county, Somerset has three fine coastal resorts, Burnham-on-Sea, Minehead and Weston-super-Mare. Much of west Somerset lies within Exmoor National Park. Attractions in this region include the tiny Culbone Church, the clapper bridge at Tarr Steps, the idyllic villages of Selworthy and Dunster, and Dunkery Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor. The town of Taunton lies to the west of the county, near the southern end of the wooded Quantock Hills. The county’s northern boundary is emphasised by the limestone Mendip Hills. Along the southern edge are the cave attractions of the Cheddar Gorge, Wookey Hole and the great cathedral at Wells. The southeastern corner of the county around Yeovil has many historic houses open to the public. At Yeovilton, a short distance north, is the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Somerset has mystical connections, notably around the town of Glastonbury, where nearby Glastonbury Tor has long been a site of pilgrimage.

Devon

The area, known as the English Riviera, comprises Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. The major city is Plymouth, seaport for over 500 years and where Sir Francis Drake famously finished his game of bowls in 1588 before defeating the Spanish Armada. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers set out for the New World from Plymouth on the Mayflower, and parts of the town dating from this period still survive.

Inland on the Cornish border is the stark wilderness of the Dartmoor National Park, where wild ponies roam freely across a beautiful landscape dotted with prehistoric remains. The park is popular with walkers. The county town, Exeter, has a long history and there are remains of Roman walls, underground passages, a beautiful cathedral and the oldest Guildhall in the Kingdom. To the north of the county, resorts such as Ilfracombe and Lynton line the coast, and in the northeast is another National Park, Exmoor, which straddles the Devon/Somerset border.

Cornwall

England’s southwesternmost county, Cornwall is a Celtic land of rugged coastline, disused tin mines, attractive fishing villages and small seaside resorts. In the city of Truro, the county town, the Cathedral and the Royal Cornwall Museum and Gallery are the main sights. The nearby south coastline bears the name of the Cornish Riviera, and is lined with resorts including Mevagissey, Looe, Polperro and Falmouth, where Pendennis Castle houses the National Maritime Museum’s Cornwall branch.

Close to St Austell is one of Britain’s most ambitious new tourist developments, the Eden Project, whose huge geodesic domes house flora from all over the world. Cornwall is famous for its gardens, which benefit from the benign effects of the Gulf Stream; highlights among these include the Lost Gardens of Heligan and numerous National Trust properties like Cotehele, Lanhydrock and Trelissick.

Newquay, on the Atlantic coast north of Truro, is a mecca for surfers, while, further east, Bude offers sweeping sandy beaches. Near here is Tintagel, steeped in Arthurian legend, with a castle perched on top of large cliffs, reached only by towering steps.

Outside Penzance, in the far west, is St Michael’s Mount, an island castle which mirrors that of France’s Mont St Michel. St Ives, on the southwestern tip, is also popular, both with families and artists. Both find much to admire in St Ives's large sandy beaches, cobbled streets and plenitude of craft shops and art galleries, including the impressive Tate Gallery. Land’s End, mainland Britain’s most westerly point, features a Heritage Center and various other family attractions.