Gloucestershire - History, Holidays, And Fine Food
|
Gloucestershire, pronounced Glostershire, is a pretty English county located south west of the English midlands yet not south-west enough to be truly part of the English south-west! The capital of Gloucestershire is the city of Gloucester, and that is where we begin our tour.
The city lies at the foot of the Cotswold Hills on the Severn River at its last point before the river widens and becomes the Severn estuary. There are still docks down on the river, yet today they are mainly used for pleasure and leisure boats. The huge stone warehouses and mills have for the most part been converted into sought after apartments and shops, particularly antique shops. The city is ancient, once Roman named Glevum, and that was by no means its earliest history.
Dominating the skyline is the majestic grey-stone Cathedral. You cannot visit Gloucester without visiting this stunning building. Oddly these days Gloucester is not the biggest town in the county, that honour belongs to nearby Cheltenham, a fast growing bustling town located just a few miles away. Only in England can the city be smaller than the town, but that is how it is here.
Cheltenham is famous for its Regency architecture, outside of the capital second only to Bath in quantity and splendour. The town is also rightly renowned for its National Hunt horse racing meeting, four days in March when half of Ireland seemingly evacuate their blessed isle and trek across the Irish sea to cheer on their favourites to victory (more often than not!) Visit in Cheltenham Gold Cup week and you will be fortunate to find vacant accommodation anywhere within 25 miles of the track. National Hunt racing is for races over jumps, and you won't find a celebration of jump racing anywhere to match the Cheltenham Festival.
Gloucester is a rugby city, rugby and cricket, Cheltenham for the racing and football, for they possess the only professional soccer team in the county.
Journey half an hour's drive north of the twin towns and you will come to Tewkesbury, another ancient town with a rich history. It is situated on a gravel spit just above the flood level close to where the rivers Severn and Avon merge. Particularly heavy rainfall makes the inhabitants nervous, and with good reason.
The Abbey dominates this town, the second senior church in the county, and another must see for those interested in such things. The Abbey was founded at the end of the 11th century. Today Tewkesbury still boasts an impressive array of half-timbered houses. Indeed remove the traffic and you could almost believe you were stepping back in time a century, or two, or three, or four!
Tewkesbury has another grizzly piece of history for which it is remembered. The Battle of Tewkesbury fought south of the town on May 4th 1471, a bloody affair in the War of Roses, Lancastrian against Yorkists, the Crown of England at stake. Edward, the Prince of Wales, son of Henry the Sixth was slain, and the Lancastrian cause was fatally wounded with his passing.
But enough of history, and fearsome battles from long ago. Venture south west of Gloucester and follow the Severn River to the Slimbridge Wild Fowl trust. This is a bird sanctuary where thousands of birds are fed and provided for everyday. It was established by the late Sir Peter Scott and is probably the most famous bird reserve in all of England. If you have any interest in bird watching, no matter how slight, a visit to Slimbridge is a treat in store for you.
Venture further east and south of Gloucester and you must climb the Cotswold Hills, a huge limestone ridge that runs diagonally across England almost from Bristol to Oxford. Take the steep road up to Birdlip and turn right at the Air Balloon pub. Look out for the fantastic views from the right as you journey further up and over. The stone is an easy on the eye cream and gold, and the houses, rarely thatched here, preserve the traditional stone colour throughout the county.
Once over the Cotswolds you descend to Cirencester, another ancient town, known as Corinium in Roman times. You can still follow the ancient perfectly straight Roman road from here all the way southeast to Sarum (Salisbury). Today it is a fast four-lane highway, but somehow you just know the ancient Roman road builders would have approved of the new modern highway that follows their route.
Within the Cotswold district you will find umpteen picture postcard villages and small towns with poetic sounding names, such as Bourton-on-the-water, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, and the more oddly named Upper Slaughter, and Lower Slaughter. In summer these towns become crammed with tourists and day-trippers alike. Perhaps you may prefer quieter sleepier places, perhaps explore some of the lesser known and smaller villages, there are plenty to choose from, and all within easy drives.
The Cotswolds is a very pretty area, rolling lush pastures, rich farmland and no surprise then that Royalty choose to live here. Prince Charles and Princess Anne both keep their main residences in Gloucestershire. Gloucester and Cheltenham boast fast road and rail links to London, two to three hours with a following wind, the local produce is fine cheese, excellent meat, and local lush fruit and vegetables.
Continue your journey across the Severn westwards towards Wales, but before you reach there, explore the Forest of Dean that lies between the Rivers Severn and Wye. Hilly and thickly forested it is home to deer and more recently re-introduced wild boar, not to be trifled with, especially when they are chaperoning youngsters.
Then you descend into the Wye Valley, and once you cross the river, you are in a different country, Wales, home of the Celts. The huge ancient castle at Chepstow and another at Monmouth are reminders of wars gone past, and of the very fact that you are leaving Gloucestershire behind.
If you visit Britain for two weeks, and decide to spend one week in London, a second week in the Cotswolds will come as a welcome change. A chance to wind down. To do some walking, contemplating a slower pace of life, and none the worse for that. Enjoy.
You will find more than 6,000 holiday cottages, villas and apartments worldwide on my web site www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk
David Carter has written hundreds of articles published in a wide variety of publications. His latest work is SPLAM! A 240+ page property letting manual. Check out http://www.splam.co.uk for details. He also runs a holiday cottage website, http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk where you can choose from over 6,000 fantastic holiday cottages, apartments and villas throughout the world. You can contact David directly at supalife@aol.com on any matter.
|
|
|
You Have To Love The Location, Say These Owners Of Orlando Florida Villas
It has been said that in real estate there are three things that count the most: location, location and location. I recently discovered how powerful this concept can be.Not long ago, I wrote an article about owning a vacation rental and what to consider before making the plunge ( http://www.seo-writer.net/clients/villa-ownership.html ). Like every decision, there are pros and cons, and it also depends on an individual's temperament, comfort with risk and many other factors.I asked a few dozen villa owners who were listed at an Orlando Florida villas rental listing site at http://www.lastminutevillas.net...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Thailand Golf Packages And Thailand Hotels Reservation
Thailand is a popular golf paradise and home to many world class designed golf courses. There are many reasons for golf lovers to golf in Thailand... such as the many challenging and exciting golf course, the reasonable playing fee, the excellent club-house, beautiful course lay-out and the cheerful atmosphere with the charming caddies. Thailand is the best golfing holid...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Five Affordable World Travel Destinations
FiveAffordable World Travel Destinations
LocationsThat Offer More But Cost LessSo you want to travel the world but you have a tightbudget? Are you tired of readingabout everyone else's exotic adventures and ready to have some of your own? Have you always wanted to take an international vacation but thought youcouldn't afford it? There arenumerous travel destinations across the world that are both exciting andaffordable. Five of them aredescribed here to give you ideas and get you started planning your own getaway.The...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Caribbean Pearl Secret, Margarita Island Is Not So Much A Secret Anymore
Margarita Island is one of the lesser known Caribbean islands. It is unspoiled by commercialization but not that far behind. When I first read information about Margarita I was very surprised to know that it was part of Venezuela. Sure everyone has heard about Caracas, Venezuela but not much is known about la isla.Of course you know now-a-days it's not that difficult to find out more details on just about anything, thanks to the Internet. Island tours, excursions, duty free shopping... why you can even come to this island and swim w...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Rent A Town Home In Orlando, Florida For Less Than Hotel
When you venture to Orlando, Davenport, or Kissimmee, Florida, why mess with crowded hotels, dirty rooms, and tons of tourists? You are coming to see the theme parks of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World, not to compete with the many other people who will be visiting the Central Florida area as well. That' why you need to look into booking a reservation for home town suites! Not only are they comfortable and easy to live in, they are low cost and a luxury to come back to!Why you should rent them:1. Home town suites are roomy ? Think about stuffing yourself and your kids and your spouse in one or two rooms at...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Vacation Getaways And Healthy Living Tips
Going away on a vacation brings numerous benefits. It refreshes our enthusiasm, helps us to know ourselves a little better, and makes us, upon our return home, happier, healthier, and much more effective in coping with stress. The key to reaping the benefits of traveling is in the going away. Hardly anyone reaps a benefit from spending a vacation time at home to work around the house.Want a reason or two to go away on vacation? Here are fifteen:1. Relaxation: Vacations break our day-to-day routine.2. Stimulation of new sights: New sights give us new insights.3. Meeting new people: Seeing how other people live broadens our perspective on our own live.4. Fellowship and camaraderie: Shared hardships and good times form long-lasting bonds ...(related: Vacation Rentals)
European Car Rental - Top Ten Tips For Europe Travel - Tip #2: The Price Is Right
When it comes to shopping for something on-line, we tend to become naturally more focused on a singular aspect of the product or service we desire. There is so much information to be absorbed while browsing sites that it is nearly impossible to factor everything in. This is very true of the travel industry, which happens to be the second largest on-line market (I'm sure you can guess what the first is) and the one thing most customers tend to zero in on is that magical of all numbers: price.Thi...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Seven Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Vacations
This may seem like a very strange title for an article. After all, a vacation is supposed to be? a vacation. The title seems to imply that we should strive to make our vacation, somehow strategic or productive. In a way, that is what I am suggesting, but maybe not in the anal-retentive way you might have first guessed.I write this during a week of my vacation, because I have a weekly writing quota so I don't disappoint my loyal newsletter readers. I could have run a repeat article, or I could have written the article before I left, but since I had already decided to write something about vacations, and because I do like to write, I decided it might be best to write about vacations while on vacation.Vacations are important to our mental, physical and emotional health. They provide us a chance to relax, change ou...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Peru-lima, Miraflores Vacation Rentals Deals
Miraflores is the turistic district of Lima. The main hotels are located in this nice city by the Pacific ocean. During the last years, there have been a development of a huge offer of amenities, since fine cousine, fast food, cyber cafes (internet for less than a dollar per hour), until casinos, dancing, handcrafts, antiques flea markets, original paintings, cinemas, and much more.The traditional Miraflores beach joins a lot of surfers as well as the riffs attracts windsurfers.Miraflores also has an archeological site called Huaca Pucllana, which is a turistic place to visit and have a flavor of ancient cultures in the middle of the western culture.For the modern mainstream...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Apartments Are Good For Your Health
Work-rate, health and even personal relationships may be affected if you stay in hotel accommodation for longer than 4 nights on business. Natalie Wakefield of The Apartment Service states her case.Business Travellers will spend significantly more to secure a seat in the First Class cabin of an aircraft and the reasons are beyond question: they can catch up on work or stretch out and relax - and besides, haven't you heard of Economy Class Syndrome? Yet when they arrive at their destination, they will often stay for several nights, weeks or even months confined within the same four walls. "Let's call it Hotel Accommodation Syndrome."When work takes you away from home for even longer periods - training courses, temporar...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Amazon Lodges
I had always been told that if you wanted to see wildlife do not go to the Amazon.That the jungle was so dense that you could never see the wildlife and that the wildlife was mostly nocturnal.Well, I recently decided to venture into the Jung...(related: Vacation Rentals)
Amazon Expeditions With Time Magazine ?hero Of The Planet Year 2000? - Dr. Marc Van Roosmalen
The Amazonat Jungle Lodge is offering in addition to her standard programming combined land/water expeditions in which the guests will stay part of the time at the lodge...(related: Vacation Rentals)
What Are The Lodging Options When Visiting Orlando Florida For Our Family Vacation
Lodging Hotels in Davenport, FLThere are numerous choices for lodging hotels in the Kissimmee, FL area. Vacationers most often think of the standard hotel with smaller sized room when booking travel accommodations, but considering a vacation villa could prove much more accommodating for you and your family. Island Club Resort and Spa in Davenport, FL offers villas and suites of all sizes, as well as the amenities you would expect from a five star resort. The two bedroom suites are three times the size of a normal hotel room! You can...(related: Vacation Rentals)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved. | Vacation Rentals