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See also our Cotswold Villages article There’s no doubt the county of Gloucestershire occupies some of England’s loveliest landscape. Here are the Cotswold hills, the Royal Forest of Dean, and the Severn Vale. The River Severn is noted for its Severn Bore, a natural tidal wave. It’s a natural attraction viewed at different times and places during the year. The Forest of Dean consists of 24,000 acres of ancient forest and the River Wye. The Forest of Dean was once a mining area, which is reflected in its villages and towns, but there are some attractive winding roads and walking trails. Be sure to include a visit to the Forest of Dean Heritage Centre. It’s a fascinating museum chock full of information and displays. Westbury Court Garden, in the Forest of Dean, is a water garden. It was created by Maynard Colchester I and dates from 1696-1705. He planted thousands of yew trees and holly bushes and began the pattern of hedges and topiary. It was designed to be productive and vegetable and fruit trees were intermingled with flowers that included tulips, irises, and hyacinths. A warren supplied rabbit meat and the canals were stocked with fish. The garden was neglected over the centuries as well as having flooding problems. It has been restored and although small is perfectly formed and a lovely peaceful place to relax in. The Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty extending from Chipping Campden in the North to Bath in the south, have justly earned their reputation for delighting visitors. The mellow Cotswold stone is used in the construction of field fences as well as in the village homes and properties. Wool brought prosperity to the Cotswolds and that money is reflected in its wool churches. Don’t miss the 28 medieval stained glass windows in the church at Fairford. Cotswold towns and villages in Gloucestershire include Lechlade, Fairford, Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water, Northleach, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Chipping Campden, Cirencester, Tetbury, Moreton- in-Marsh, Winchcombe, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Stroud. For details on all Cotswold villages see our Cotswold villages article. The Severn Vale towns include Tewkesbury where the rivers Avon and Severn meet. The town has black and white Tudor buildings and narrow alleyways, a 12th century abbey, and a market. A major battle of the War of the Roses took place here. Winchcombe existed as a walled town in Saxon times, raked in the money trading in wool, and then grew tobacco. This monied past shows in the 16th and 17th century homes. Visit the museum for full details of the town’s past. Winchcombe’s church of St Peter is the place to see gargoyles. Near Winchcombe is Sudeley Castle, famous as the home of Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII. She is buried in the church in the grounds. Royalty who paid visits to the castle include Elizabeth I and Henry VIII. The castle apartments show off the furniture and paintings. There is also a costume exhibition. The grounds highlight a topiary garden, old-fashioned roses, a Tudor knot garden, and a tithe barn. The extensive remains of Hailes Abbey, founded in 1246, are found near Winchcombe; there’s a museum at the site. Gloucester is the main city of the county and a very busy commercial centre. Visit the cathedral, which was used in the filming of Harry Potter. A religious community was founded on the site in 678; in 1017 it became a Benedictine monastery. The abbey church was begun in 1089, and there was continued building and rebuilding over the ensuing centuries. King Henry III’s coronation was held in the cathedral in 1216. There’s a tower to climb, a treasury to see, and the “whispering gallery” to try out. Architectural highlights include the Norman nave, the east window of medieval glass, and the fan-vaulted cloisters. King Edward II is buried here. Gloucester’s other attractions are a city museum, a folk museum (a fascinating building with an interesting collection of artefacts and information), the Victorian docks and warehouses, the National Waterways Museum (5000 items on display), the Gloucester Transport Museum, and the House of the Tailor (site of Beatrix Potter’s story of the same name). Cheltenham was a spa town. Visit the pump room, have a look at the Edwardian architecture, then visit the Art Gallery and Museum to see the arts and crafts collection. Cheltenham is also the home of the famous racecourse. Near Cheltenham are the remains of the Chedworth Roman villa, comprising one of England’s largest Roman ruins. For starters, there’s a mile of walls, bath houses, and mosaics. Uncovered objects are on display in the museum, which shows an AV presentation. The Corinium Museum at Cirencester is a must-see. The town was Roman Britain’s second largest, and the museum collection reflects that past. Of special interest are the mosaic floors. Cirencester’s parish church of St John the Baptist and the abbey (demolished) were founded in Norman times. Displayed in the church is the Boleyn Cup, a gilt cup made in 1535 for Anne Boleyn. Berkeley Castle has been in the same family for 850 years. It was the scene of the infamous murder of Edward II in 1327 and also came under attack by Cromwell’s troops. On view in the state apartments are the centuries of collections: furniture, paintings, tapestries, and silver. Check out the stained glass windows in the main hall and the oak room’s panelling. The grounds include terraced gardens, a bowling green, and lawns. Chavenage is a Cotswold stone house built in Elizabethan times. Inside are tapestries, furniture, paintings and objects relating to Cromwell, whom the family supported. It’s a favourite venue for film and TV shows. The house is shown by tour. Hidcote Manor Garden dates from the early 20th century and is a series of small connected gardens. Go first thing during the week as it gets overcrowded with bus tours and hard to move around from garden room to garden room. It’s a bit of a challenge to find but more than worth it. Stanway House is in the Jacobean style with a baroque water garden, gravity fed cascade, pond, and canal in the grounds. Kiftsgate Court Gardens offers views over the Malvern Hills, along with its unusual shrubs and plants. Westonbirt Arboretum, begun in 1829, spreads over 600 acres and contains 18,000 trees. Savill Glade is a new addition to the original, having been planted in 1956. The area, though, is not new as it was first planted around 1829 by the Holford family with oak and Scots pine. It was later cleared to make room for other species. You can easily spend a day here walking along the many paths through the trees and enjoying the restaurant and shop. During the Christmas holiday season paths are lit with twinkling lights. Sherborne Park Lodge, on the 400 acre Cotswold hills Shelborne Estate, was built in 1634. Its owner loved to gamble, eat, and entertain. It was used as a grandstand for viewing deerhound races. There are walks on the estate as well as the lodge interior to see. Shelborne is the local village (on the other side of the A road), and the National Trust owns the shop, school, post office, and other buildings. Rodmarton Manor is a traditional country house. It contains china, needlework, and furniture. It has beautiful gardens in the grounds. Don’t miss the bird and pig topiary. Owlpen Manor is a Tudor house, built 1450-1616, in a wooded valley. There are Arts and Crafts collections in the home and a Victorian church. Dyrham Park, constructed between 1691 and 1702, remains little changed. Delftware, textiles, paintings, and Victorian rooms can be enjoyed. The kitchens, bakehouse, larders, tenants’ hall, and dairy comprise the “downstairs” rooms. Woodchester Mansion is a 19th century home that was never finished. The workers walked off the job in 1868, and nothing more was ever done. There are 27 rooms, many unfinished, shown by guided tour. A colony of bats live in the attic and are viewed through a live TV link. Gargoyles and other curiosities adorn the mansion. It’s a fascinating place. Another unusual manor house is Snowshill in the tiny Cotswold village of the same name. It contains the collections of one man, Charles Paget Wade. Japanese armour, weavers' and spinners’ tools, musical instruments, clocks, bikes, toys, and much more are on show in the chock-filled rooms. There is a small garden to enjoy as well. Sezincote is a big surprise externally. Its architecture is in the Indian style. It has a central dome, minarets, peacock tail windows, jali-work railings and pavilions. The house was built in 1810 by Charles Cockerell who had worked in India for the East India Company. The interior, however, is done in the traditional English country house style. Repton designed the grounds. There’s an orangery and a garden complete with elephant statues. You reach it by walking over a bridge with sunken gardens on either side. The gardens have pools, a grotto, waterfall, and a temple to the Hindu sun god. Cotswold Farm Park is a great family outing with rare breeds of British farm animals including sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, horses, poultry, and waterfowl. Gloucestershire Attractions Gloucester City Attractions Gloucester Cathedral College Green Tel. 0 1452 528 095 Web: Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery Brunswick Road Tel. 0 1452 396 131 Gloucester Docks The Docks Tel. 0 1452 311 190 Web: Gloucester Docks Gloucester Folk Museum 99 - 103 Westgate Street Tel. 0 1452 396 868 Gloucester Transport Museum Longsmith Street Tel. 0 1452 396 467 Open: phone for details Gloucester Waterways Museum Llanthony Warehouse, Gloucester Docks Tel. 0 1452 318 200 House of the Tailor 9 College Court Tel. 0 1452 422 856 Web: House of the Tailor Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum In former custom house at Gloucester Docks Tel. 0 1452 522 682 Web: Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum Other Gloucestershire Attractions All Saints Church Turkdean Batsford Arboretum Batsford Park, Moreton-in-Marsh On the A44 near Bourton-on-the-Hill and Moreton-in-Marsh Tel. 0 1386 701 441 Web: Batsford Arboretum Berkeley Castle (HHA) Just off the A38, 26 mile south of Gloucester Midway between Bristol and Gloucester, just west of M5 Tel. 0 1453 810 332 Web: Berkeley Castle Bourton House Gardens Bourton on Hill, 1.75 miles west of Moreton in Marsh Tel. 0 1386 700 754 Web: Bourton House Gardens Chavenage (HHA) 1.25 miles north-west of Tetbury between B4014 and A4135 Tel. 0 1666 502 329 Web: Chavenage Chedworth Roman Villa (NT) Yanworth, Cheltenham Tel. 0 1242 890 256 Cheltenham Pittville Pump Room East Approach Drive, Pittville Park Cheltenham Tel. 0 1242 523 852 Corinium Museum Park St, Cirencester Tel. 0 1285 655 611 Cotswold Falconry Centre Batsford Park, one mile from Moreton-in-Marsh Glou Tel. 0 1386 701 043 parking Web: Cotswold Falconry Centre Cotswold Farm Park Guiting Power near Stow-on-the-Wold Tel. 0 1451 850 307 Web: Cotswold Farm Park Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection The Old Mill, Bourton on the Water, Glos Tel. 0 1451 821 255 Web: Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection Dyrham Park (NT) Dyrham near Bath and Chippenham Tel. 0 1179 372 501 Edward Jenner Museum The Chantry, Berkeley Tel. 0 1453 810 631 Web: Edward Jenner Museum Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Heritage Railway The Railway Station, Toddington Glos Tel. 0 1242 621 405 Web: Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Heritage Railway Gloucester Waterways Museum Gloucester Docks, Gloucester city Tel. 0 1452 318 200 Web: Gloucester Waterways Museum Hailes Abbey (NT and EH) Two miles north-east of Winchcombe Tel. 0 1242 602 398 Hidcote Manor Garden (NT) Hidcote Bartrim, four miles north-east of Chipping Campden Tel. 0 1386 438 333 Kelmscott Manor (HHA) Kelmscott, near Lechlade Tel. 0 1367 252 486 Web: Kelmscott Manor Kiftsgate Court Gardens (HHA) Four miles north-east of Chipping Campden Tel. 0 1386 438 777 Web: Kiftsgate Court Garden Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate (NT) Aldsworth near Cheltenham Approach via A40 three miles east of Northleach Tel. 0 1451 844 130 Mill Dene Garden School Lane, Blockley, Moreton-in-Marsh Tel. 0 1386 700 457 Web: Mill Dene Garden Misarden Park Gardens Six miles north-west of Cirencester, A417 or B4070 Tel. 0 1285 821 303 Nature in Art Heritage Museum Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth Two miles north of Gloucester on the A38 Tel. 0 1452 731 422 (Tue-Fri); 0 1452 733 946 (Sat and Sun) Web: Nature in Art Heritage Museum Owlpen Manor (HHA) Half mile east of Uley off B4066, in own valley Tel. 0 1453 860 261 Web: Owlpen Manor Painswick Rococo Garden Painswick, on B4073 north of Stroud and .5 mile outside the village of Painswick Tel. 0 1452 813 204 Web: Painswick Rococo Garden Rodmarton Manor (HHA) Off the A433 near Cirencester Tel. 0 1285 841 253 Web: Rodmarton Manor Sezincote House and Gardens (HHA) Near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire Tel. 0 1386 700 444 Web: Sezincote House and Gardens Snowshill Manor (NT) Snowshill near Broadway Tel. 0 1386 852 410 Stanway House and Water Garden (NT) Stanway, Cheltenham, off the B4077 Tel. 0 1386 584 469 St Mary the Virgin and St Mary Magdalen Parish Church Tetbury, Glouc Tel. not given on website Web: St Mary the Virgin and St Mary Magdalen Parish Church Stanway House and Water Garden Stanway, Cheltenham, off the B4077 Tel. 0 1386 584 469 Web: Stanway House, Garden, and Fountain Sudeley Castle (HHA) Winchcombe near Cheltenham, off the B4632 Tel. 0 1242 604 244 (Visitor Centre) Web: Sudeley Castle Tetbury Market House Tetbury Tel. NA Tetbury Heritage Centre and Police Bygones Museum Old Court House, 63 Long St, Tetbury Tel: 0 1666 504 670 Tewkesbury Abbey southern edge of the old town, Tewkesbury Tel. 0 1684 850 959 Web: Tewkesbury Abbey Tewkesbury Museum 64 Barton Street Tel. 0 1684 295 027 Web: Tewkesbury Museum Westbury Court Garden (NT) Westbury-on-Severn, on the A48 Tel. 0 1452 760 461 Westonbirt Arboretum Three miles south-west of Tetbury, on the A433 Tel. 0 1666 880 220 Web: Westonbirt Arboretum Woodchester Mansion Five miles south of Stroud on the B4066 Tel. 0 1453 750 455 For more details and photos see our feature at Woodchester Mansion Web: Woodchester Mansion Gloucestershire Tourist Information Centres Bourton-on-the-Water Victoria Street Tel. 0 1451 820 211 Cheltenham 77 Promenade Tel. 0 1242 522 878 Chipping Campden The Old Police Station, High Street Tel. 0 1386 841 206 Cirencester Corn Hall, Market Place Tel. 0 1285 654 180 Coleford High Street Tel. 0 1594 812 388 Gloucester 28 Southgate Street Tel. 0 1452 396 572 Open: Mon, 10am-5pm; Tue-Sat, 9.30am-5pm; also Sun during July and Aug, 11am-3pm Moreton-in-Marsh Cotswold District Offices Tel. 0 1608 650 881 Newent 7 Church Street Tel. 0 1531 822 468 Stow-on-the-Wold Hollis House, The Square Tel. 0 1451 831 082 Stroud Subscription Rooms, George Street Tel. 0 1453 760 960 Tetbury 33 Church Street Tel. 0 1666 503 552 Tewkesbury The Museum, 64 Barton Street Tel. 0 1684 295 027 Winchcombe Town Hall, High Street Tel. 0 1242 602 925 Official Gloucestershire Government Tourism website: Gloucestershire Tourism Official Gloucester City Tourism website: City of Gloucester Photos by Barbara Ballard
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Be a Destinations-UK-Ireland Sponsor Our Gloucestershire Articles Cotswold Villages Bibury Berkeley Castle and Church St Nicholas Church Oddington Chavenage House Gloucester Docks and Waterways Museum St Peter Church at Duntisbourne Abbots Woodchester Mansion Westonbirt National Arboretum Westbury Court Garden St Peter and St Paul Church St Leonard’s Church, Bledington Bourton House Garden St James Church, Chipping Camden Rodmarton Manor and Gardens Hidcote Manor Garden Cirencester Parish Church of St John the Baptist Trull House Garden Gloucester City Sherborne Park Lodge and Estate Westonbirt National Arboretum St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Tetbury, Gloucestershire St Mary the Virgin Church, Fairford Other England Articles Stay at Holly House in the Cotswolds |