usa / Top 15 Places to Visit

Top 15 Places to Visit

South West England is one of the most beautiful parts of Britain. This is the real England... England at its best. It covers an extensive area starting just one hour west of the outskirts of London with Stonehenge (1) in Wiltshire, the Cotswolds(12) to the north west and stretching down into the far south west to Lands End (14) in Cornwall, the most westerly point in England.

South West England is home to so many of England's treasures. It is rich in heritage and history, with a magnificent coastal and rural landscape, interesting historic towns like Regency Cheltenham Spa (4) in the Cotswolds, cathedral cities like Salisbury (8) whose cathedral houses one of only 2 remaining copies of the Magna Carta, magnificent historic houses, stately homes, castles, and glorious gardens, many of which benefit from the warmth of the gulf stream, and whose flagship is Cornwall's Eden Project (9). Dubbed as the 8th wonder of the world, it is a "Living Theatre of People and Plants" and houses the largest greenhouses in the world!

South West England boasts 4 World Heritage sites - the beautiful Georgian city of Bath (2), the prehistoric standing stone circles of Stonehenge (1) and Avebury (15) in Wiltshire, and the Jurassic Coast (10) in Dorset, a fossil hunter's paradise, and Cornwall and West Devon's historic mining landscapes.

Dorset was also home to Thomas Hardy (11), the popular English writer who was so inspired by the Dorset countryside and it's people. The internationally recognised and popular author Agatha Christie (6) spent much of her life in South West England, in Torquay and other parts of south Devon . You can visit many places associated with her including the gardens of her home Greenway overlooking the river Dart, and the 1920s Art Deco hotel, Burgh Island. Another famous Devon literary connection is Sherlock Holmes - one of his most famous novels, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was set in the National Park of Dartmoor (13). Devon is also home to the maritime city of Plymouth (5) from where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail in the year 1646 to discover America.

Throughout history, the South West of England has been the birthplace of and inspiration for so many people. Not just writers and explorers but artists, politicians, and religious leaders. The methodist leader John Wesley lived and preached in Bristol (3), which is where you can visit the oldest Methodist Chapel in the world. Once, one of the most important trading posts in Britain, maritime Bristol is today a thriving and vibrant university city.

The county of Somerset is home to Wells, the smallest cathedral city in England, and Glastonbury Abbey (7) the reputed resting place of the legendary King Arthur.

Click on the hyperlinks above to find out more about these top places to visit in South West England. Many of them are not far from each other so you can visit several in a short period of time.

We have also given you ideas of places to stay within easy reach of each of these top 15 places.