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Gloucester has much to offer the tourist, including the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean and the lovely valley of the River Severn. The spa town of Cheltenham is famous for its Regency architecture and its annual festival. As well as its race course. The city of Gloucester has an impressive Norman cathedral and several fascinating museums.
Not far away is the city of Bristol with its ancient docks and harbour-side, museums, shopping and nightlife. At Clifton there is the impressive suspension bridge, whilst not far away is the Cheddar Gorge and caves and Wookey Hole. A little further down the Somerset coast is the resort of Weston-super-Mare, whilst just inland is Glastonbury, famous for its abbey and its festival. Wells is also an attractive town to visit.
Wiltshire is often called the gateway to the West Country, but it is far more than this. The majestic prehistoric sites at Stonehenge, Avebury and Silbury are among the unrivalled sites to be found here. In addition there is the wonderful city of Salisbury with its famous cathedral boasting the highest spire in England. The Swindon area too has much to offer the tourist from theme parks to stately homes.
Next door is Dorset and more of the country of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex. The county town of Dorchester is surrounded by many interesting villages and old houses. Lyme Regis is a place made famous by novelist Jane Austen and also by John Fowles in “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”. It is still an attractive resort full of old world charm.
Devon is a country of rolling countryside, wild moorland and great beaches. There is also some spectacular coastal scenery and lots of attractive resorts both on the coast and inland. The majesty of Dartmoor and Exmoor, which extends well into Somerset, has to be seen to be believed. In addition, the cities of Plymouth and Exeter have a great deal to offer the visitor, both in shopping and entertainment.
Cornwall is a place of myth and magic, a place where piskies and giants once peopled the impressive landscape, from the sweeping sands of Bude in the north to the Land’s End and The Lizard. Bodmin Moor can still conjure spirits of the past when the mist comes down and the rugged coast reminds the visitor of smugglers and wreckers in those long ago days. Today there is still much to attract the tourist whether in the buzz of Newquay with its surfing beaches or in the twisting alleys of towns such as Looe, Polperro and St Ives.