Places to visit and things of interest in South West England. The South West of England is often seen as England’s holiday destination: Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, with their dramatic cliffs and family-friendly beaches; Bath and the pretty Cotswolds – top destinations for overseas visitors, along with Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Dorset is home to the Jurassic coast and, in fact, there is a coastal path stretching 630 miles between Dorset and Somerset. Our prehistoric ancestors have left their mark in many places besides Stonehenge, and the region also has more than its fair share of castles, stately homes and world-class museums, including the Tank and Fleet Air Arm Museums and Tate St Ives. There are two national parks – Dartmoor and Exmoor, upland areas consisting almost entirely of dramatic moorland.
The water flows red from a natural spring at the foot of Chalice Hill in Glastonbury. It is said to be infused with, or at the very least represent, the blood of Christ: or maybe it was rusty nails from the Cross; you decide. It was here, at the Chalice Well, so the stories tell, […]
From the moment we stepped into its kitchen garden, everything about Barrington Court made me want to linger. But don’t visit to savour the great moments that took place at this beguiling Somerset estate, because, so far as I know, none did. Nor should you go to take a peek at the sumptuous interiors and
Barrington Court: bring on the empty mansion Read More »
South West
We wanted to walk along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast and hunt for fossils. No, that’s not quite right: I wanted to walk along the Jurassic Coast and hunt for fossils; Head Office wanted to find a sun-drenched beach to lie on. Influenced by the fact that parking in National Trust car parks is included in our
Between Golden Cap and Charmouth Read More »
South West
Silbury Hill is so regular in shape, so obviously artificial; yet it is large enough to be a natural feature. It stands some 130 feet (39.6 metres) high with a circumference at its base of about 1,640 feet (500 metres) – and is Europe’s largest manmade prehistoric mound. You will find Silbury in the midst
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South West
Legendary Britain is a more illusive place than it once was. But there are still places where it is sometimes hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins. Mysterious Glastonbury Tor, a natural feature rising some 500 feet above the watery Somerset Levels, has been a sacred site since before the Romans came. It
A journey to Glastonbury Tor Read More »
South West
It couldn’t decide whether to shower or shine, the day we went to Montacute; so it compromised and did a little of both. A tour of the grounds was on offer, which started well enough until rain stopped play. Our party initially huddled together by mutual agreement, near the café, sheltered from the weather; but
A visit to Montacute House Read More »
South West
Is Berry Pomeroy one of the most haunted castles in Britain? It seems that either the white or the blue woman-spirit will get you. The White Lady is reputed to be the ghost of the beautiful Lady Margaret Pomeroy, imprisoned by her jealous (and less attractive) sister Eleanor for the crime of being in love
Berry Pomeroy Castle Read More »
South West
Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague. However, Lacock is one of those places that are almost frozen in another time; it really is. In this small Wiltshire village of about 350 souls, there are few overt trappings of the 21st century: no satellite dishes or TV aerials, very few yellow lines, and only a
The Victorian novel, “Lorna Doone – a Romance of Exmoor”, is generally assumed to be a work of fiction, set in a stunning location on the borders of Devon and Somerset and against the turbulent historical backdrop of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Yet some believe that the author, R D Blackmore, drew upon illusive
The dastardly shooting of Lorna Read More »
South West
Tumuli, tombs or burial chambers, in varying shapes and sizes, litter the British Isles. Long barrows are (roughly) rectangular tumuli, ranging from about 60 feet to more than 300 (28 – 100 metres) in length, usually with a stone (or wood) burial chamber at one end, the whole covered with soil and rubble dug from
West Kennet Long Barrow Read More »
South West
The Devil was a busy little bee in days gone by. Some might say he still is, but in any event he crops up all over the British landscape – including at the Tarr Steps, a famous clapper bridge over the river Barle, Somerset, in the Exmoor National Park. Clapper bridges, river crossings of dry-stone
Lulworth & Durdle sounds like a law firm. Commissioners for oaths; adversarial specialists; rip-off fees; incompetence guaranteed – that sort of thing. I have known at least four firms that should have been called Bungle, Overcharge & Obfuscate. Anyway, close by the Dorset village of West Lulworth on England’s Jurassic south coast is Lulworth Cove.
