SOUTHWEST ENGLAND – World Travel

Bristol

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

For years gritty, grimy old Bristol has been the ugly sister of Britain’s cities, outclassed by Bath, outsmarted by London and upstaged by the rejuvenated cities of Newcastle and Manchester to the north. But the fortunes of this old industrial city have changed dramatically in recent years, and the transformation that’s taken place over the last decade is pretty astonishing. There’s a new sense of swagger and self-belief around Bristol these days; while the once-great trades of shipbuilding, manufacturing and the railways have long since sailed upriver, the city has steadily reclaimed its rightful place as an economic powerhouse, gastronomic centre and a cultural force to be reckoned with. The crumbling docks have been prettified and polished up; the streets are packed with cutting-edge restaurants, designer bars and world-class museums; and the city’s music, media and nightlife scenes are all showing the rest of the country how things should be done. It’s real, raw and just a little rough around the edges, but if you really want to know exactly where Britain’s at right now, then Bristol is hard to beat.

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Lacock

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

With its geranium-covered cottages, higgledy-piggledy rooftops and idyllic location next to a rushing brook, the medieval village of Lacock seems to have been preserved in aspic since the mid-19th century. The village has been in the hands of the National Trust since 1944, and is almost entirely untouched by modern development – there are no telephone poles or electric streetlights, and it’s kept largely free of traffic thanks to the main visitor car park on the outskirts of the village. Unsurprisingly, it’s also a popular location for costume dramas and feature films – parts of the Harry Potter films, as well as BBC adaptations of Moll Flanders and Pride and Prejudice, were all filmed here.

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Sherborne

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

All streets in the honey-stoned town of Sherborne lead to its majestic abbey, set at the centre of a grassy green and once the most important church in Wessex; both of Alfred the Great’s elder brothers, Ethelred and Ethelbert, are buried beneath the abbey’s flagstones. Sherborne was the capital of Wessex until the end of the 11th century, when the bishopric moved to Old Sarum, but continued to be a town of strategic and religious importance throughout the Middle Ages. These days it’s a quiet and attractive market town, filled with antique shops, haberdashers and estate agents; reminders of its former status remain in its twin castles, which stand on either side of the silvery sheen of Sherborne Lake.

Sherborne’s tourist office (815341; sherborne.tic@westdorset-dc.gov.uk; Digby Rd; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat Apr-Oct) stocks the free All About Sherborne leaflet with a map and town trail. Walking tours (£3; 11am Fri May-Sep) depart from the tourist office and last 1½ hours.

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Wells

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

Tiny Wells is England’s smallest city, and only qualifies for the title of ‘city’ thanks to its magnificent medieval cathedral, which sits in the heart of town beside the grand Bishop’s Palace – the main seat of ecclesiastical power in this part of Britain since the 12th century, and still the official residence of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Medieval buildings and cobbled streets radiate out from the cathedral green to the main marketplace, which has been the bustling heart of Wells for some nine centuries. These days Wells is a quiet provincial city, with some good restaurants and busy shops, and makes a good launch pad for exploring the Mendips and northern Somerset.

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Cornwall

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

You can’t get much further west than the ancient kingdom of Cornwall (or Kernow, as it’s often referred to around these parts). With the longest stretch of continuous coastline in Britain, this is a land whose history is intricately bound up with the sea, and all around the county’s shores you’ll discover remnants of its maritime heritage. There are tiny fishing ports, old smuggler’s inns and sturdy granite breakwaters, not to mention countless beaches and sweeping bays once filled with pilchard boats, gill netters and seagoing schooners. Although fishing is still an important industry, these days tourism is by far the biggest trade, and it’s not hard to see what keeps the visitors coming back year after year. From the secluded coves and tree-clad creeks along the county’s southern coast to the wild grandeur of the north coast cliffs, Cornwall is one of Britain’s most breathtakingly beautiful counties. It’s also an intriguing mix of old and new, where futuristic greenhouses and world-class galleries meet crumbling mines and ancient market towns. Although many of the old industries may be gone, there’s a real buzz in the Cornish air these days – after years of economic hardship, this is definitely a county on the up.

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Looe

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

The twin villages of East and West Looe stand on opposite sides of a broad river estuary, linked by a seven-arched Victorian footbridge, and there’s long been a sense of friendly rivalry between the two communities. In previous centuries Looe was a thriving shipyard and fishing port, but these days tourism has taken over as the town’s biggest industry. Victorian bathing machines rolled up to the water’s edge off Banjo Pier throughout the 19th century, and the small beach in East Looe is still a popular spot for sandcastle-building and sunbathing, although the town itself is almost invisible beneath a jumble of pubs, tearooms and bucket-and-spade shops.

The tourist office (262072; www.southeastcornwall.co.uk; Fore St; 10am-5pm Easter-Oct, noon-5pm Mon-Fri & 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Oct-Easter) is in the Guildhall.

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Somerset

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

With its landscape of knotted hedgerows, hummocked hills and russet-coloured fields, sleepy Somerset is the very picture of the rural English countryside, and makes the perfect escape from the tourist hordes of Bath and the big city hustle of Bristol. The county’s agricultural image and distinctive Somerset burr have long made it the butt of yokel jokes, and while things certainly move at a drowsier pace around these parts, that’s all part of what makes this charming county tick. From the elegant streets of the cathedral city of Wells to the hippie chic of Glastonbury and the open fields of Exmoor, this is a place to wander, ponder and drink in the sights at your own laid-back pace.

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West Cornwall

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

West Cornwall contains some of the county’s wildest scenery, a classic landscape of sea-battered cliffs, churning surf, crumbling mine-workings and wheeling gulls. The West Penwith area was one of the oldest Celtic settlements in Cornwall, and the area is littered with prehistoric sites.

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Dartmoor National Park

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

After spending a few days exploring the gentle coastline of south Devon, Dartmoor comes as something of a shock to the senses. The largest stretch of open moorland in the southwest, Dartmoor covers an area of 365 sq miles between Plymouth and Exeter, stretching for around 22 miles between Yelverton in the east and Dunsford in the west. It’s a stark, wild and bleakly beautiful place, dotted with granite-topped hills, marshy bogs and patches of purple heather, as well as many weirdly shaped tors – rock pillars sculpted into strange forms by the wind and weather.

Dartmoor is named after the River Dart, which has its source here; the West and East Dart merge at Dartmeet. Most of the park is around 600m high – the highest spot is High Willhays (621m) near Okehampton. About 40% of Dartmoor is common land but 15% (the northwestern section, including High Willhays and Yes Tor) is leased to the Ministry of Defence and is closed for firing practice for part of the year.

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Lyme Regis

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:59:57 +0000

Nestled at the edge of the Jurassic Coast, the genteel resort of Lyme Regis is famous for two things: fossils and The French Lieutenant’s Woman. John Fowles’ classic tale of a seaside love triangle was set in Lyme Regis and the Hollywood film starring Richard Gere was later filmed here, providing a briefly lived boost to both the town’s tourist industry and the local housing market. But the town is perhaps better known for its archaeological attractions; some of the first dinosaur skeletons ever discovered in Britain were found here during the 19th century, and the town has been a magnet for fossil-hunters ever since.

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