Towns & Villages

Gloucestershire

 
BIBURY
Arguably the prettiest village in the Cotswolds. No less a village-fancier than William Morris himself described this as his ideal of the perfect English village. Lovely old stone cottages, a stream running through the middle with trout in it… and squillions of day-trippers passing through to admire it. Best visited on a rainy day as this keeps the visitors away and brings the trout to the surface.

BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER
Great big sprawling powerhouse of fun in the middle of the Cotswolds, which appears to have sprung up on the theory that several of those carloads of visitors will include children who won’t be content to admire the scenery and end the day with a nice cream tea. So, Bourton has, among other things, the Birdland Park & Gardens (see Animals & Nature section) and loads of other attractions we’ve not had the space to list in this guide, including a model railway, the Fundays Playbarn, a model village (it’s a 1/100th scale model of Bourton, which of course includes a 1/1000th scale model of the model village!), a perfumery, the Cotswold Motor Museum and the wonderful Dragonfly Maze, which you’re supposed to travel through in search of the golden dragonfly.

CHELTENHAM
Either one of the most civilised towns in England or one of the most snooty, depending on your PoV. This, after all, is a town which boasts a public school calling itself a “ladies’ college” with no apparent sense of irony. (Lara Croft™ was educated here, you know!) The old middle part of town is well posh, growing up in Regency times as a spa resort where the upper crust went to take the waters. These days, it’s very pleasant to wander round - it has some extremely impressive parks and the Art Gallery & Museum is very good, especially if you’re interested in the Arts & Crafts Movement, William Morris and that crowd, as it houses a nationally important collection of A&C artefacts and materials (www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk). Cheltenham is also home to the Holst Birthplace Museum, the house where composer Gustav Holst was born in 1874, which has been restored to a late Victorian/Edwardian condition (www.holstmuseum.org.uk). Actually, the thing about Gloucestershire in general is that in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was, for various reasons, home to a number of famous and lesser-known composers and the Days Out Guide will one year get round to making a list of the pieces you should put on the soundtrack CD for playing when driving/cycling round here.

GLOUCESTER
Gloucester is a dump. There we’ve said it. One of the savage ironies of history, economics and politics is that the county town of one of the wealthiest and most scenic counties in Britain is so shabby and run-down. Basically, this is because it was once a busy port and manufacturing centre, but that’s now long gone. The wealth of the world no longer comes into the docks, and the grubby pedestrian precinct in the middle is one of the most depressing in England. Nonetheless this is a proud and ancient town with a load of fascinating history, most of it involving real people rather than toffs. The medieval cathedral, burial place of King Edward II, is the closest the place gets to glamorous history and it really is well worth a visit. The docks have long since stopped being a working port, but they’re home to the National Waterways Museum and the excellent Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum (see www.glosters.org.uk). The Glosters count as the local regiment if you’re proper-job Bristolian, so if you have any local ancestry, it’s quite possible that some of your forebears served with them. The National Waterways Museum runs regular boat trips along the Sharpness Canal in summer. Again, this is of industrial, rather than scenic interest.

TETBURY
The biggest town in the proximity of a lot of royal and aristocratic residences, so wear your Sunday best and tug that forelock. Nice pubs and some truly fabulous delis and food shops. Pack the cool box and take out a second mortgage if you’re passing this way. Interesting and very imposing church as well; see how rich this place got nearly 1,000 years ago on wool. Hang around the pubs in the vicinity for long enough and you’ll probably be able to get pissed with Prince Harry and Pete Doherty.

Somerset

BURNHAM ON SEA
Windblown seaside resort that’s seen better days and which now mostly seems to function as a commuter bedroom for Bristol, as well as a location for the thousands upon thousands of caravans that constitute a weekend retreat for (mostly) folks from the Midlands. This does have a downside in that you’ll often see feral-looking white teenagers with Brummie accents hanging around the amusement arcades in term-time, as if all the ASBO kids in the West Midlands decamp here every June. That said, the town has a lot of that shabby charisma you get from old seaside towns that have seen better days. Although the sea doesn’t look too alluring (it’s not pollution, it’s river silt), you can walk for miles along the broad sandy beach if you head northwards. Once you’re past the famous lighthouse on stilts, it’s nice and quiet, but keep well clear of the shoreline at low tide as people can, and sometimes do, get stuck in the mud, sometimes with tragic results. Sorry; not selling this place to well, are we? Go see it for yourself.

CHEDDAR
Famous for cheese (though don’t expect to find a massive industry or a cheese factory) and for the amazing Gorge and caves. A fair bit of the local economy is geared to catering for day-trippers staying at nearby seaside resorts, so although it’s not near the water, it has a lot of the feel of a seaside town to it. Cheddar is a good starting-point for anyone wanting to explore the Mendips, whether by car, bike, or foot. See the Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty website at www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk for ideas. Sooner or later everyone should visit Velvet Bottom and wander its bizarre landscape of ancient lead workings. And because it sounds like a brand of toilet paper.

CLEVEDON
Weston-super-Mare’s smaller and more upmarket relative became a resort in Victorian/Edwardian times, but never really took itself that seriously as such because the ‘beach’ is an unprepossessing bunch of rocks. These days it’s a very pleasant little old town that, in the central area at least, retains its old-fashioned charm. A lot of its success may well be based on a population who’ve got into the habit of doing stuff for the greater good of the community - the fabulous pier restoration is a stunning monument to civic effort - and it also supports the brilliant Curzon Cinema, the oldest still-functioning, purpose-built cinema in the world. Lots of interesting little shops, a breezy seafront and that wonderful pier make Clevedon the ideal Sunday-morning/afternoon hangover cure. There are also very pleasant coastal walks both to the north and south of the seafront that are worth exploring. Alf Lord Tennyson and W Makepiece Thackeray both hung out here in their time, you know.

DUNSTER
See Dunster Castle, get the West Somerset Railway to Minehead, and wander around the ancient village with its trademark medieval yarn market. Tends to get overrun by grockles in summer, and all the shops seem to be selling either competitively priced paintings, twee souvenir-type stuff or brightly coloured, tooth-destroying confectionery. Go on a weekday to avoid the crowds. Dunster’s also a good jumping-off point for adventures on Exmoor - there’s a useful Exmoor Visitor Centre here.

GLASTONBURY
Considering its reputation and its vast amount history and legend, it’s surprisingly small and unshowy. Nothing more than a little market town, really. But there’s loads to explore - climb the Tor, visit the Chalice Well and the Somerset Rural Life Museum and, of course, the ruins of the Abbey. You’d be a complete deadhead not to get something out of visiting a town that was a spiritual centre to our pagan ancestors and went on to become the cradle of English Christianity. It’s also possible to argue that this is the cradle of the English nation itself - with the legend of Arthur and the fact that it was a few miles from here where King Alfred gathered “the men of Somerset all” to defeat the Danes. While it’s still an important centre of Christian pilgrimage, it’s the New Age crowd who tend to be more visible, with several new-agey shops and a couple of cafes. For further reading on whatever panders to your viewpoint, the Gothic Image bookshop and the Abbey’s own gift shop are probably your best bets. If you or any of your party are complete and utter philistines, or need to rebalance your chakras with some consumerism after all that spiritual indulgence, go to Clarks Shopping Village (www.clarksvillage.co.uk) a couple of miles away in Street, where there are loads of famous brands on sale at discount prices. If in Street, also visit the Shoe Museum (admission free) run by Clarks - it’s dead interesting.

MELLS
Easily one of the most beautiful old villages in England. There’s a highly regarded gastro-pub (the Talbot Inn) and the place is particularly rich in First World War resonances. The church has a beautiful memorial to the last male member of the Horner family, who was killed in WW1, and Siegfried Sassoon is buried in the churchyard. The Horners’ fortunes were founded by one John Horner, who grabbed the local manor when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, hence the nursery rhyme about Little Jack Horner pulling himself a plum. A walk from here to nearby Great Elm is very lovely.

PRIDDY
Gorgeous Mendip village with some fabulous pubs and an excellent starting/finishing point for walking adventures. Also home to the hugely popular Priddy Folk Festival and the famous Priddy Sheep Fair (see major events diary), which has been going continuously since 1348.

TAUNTON
Your classic English county town back in the day - proud, slightly snooty and with bags of tradition. Well, the internal combustion engine, several complicated traffic schemes and new housing and industrial estates have put paid to that. You also want to think twice about going into town on a Saturday night, specially if the Royal Marines are in, but there are still a few shops, pubs and cafes where you can catch glimpses of its former glory. It’s also home to the Somerset County Museum in Taunton Castle, which is free to get into and which also includes the Somerset Military Museum, which traces the history of local regiments.

WELLS
The fact that it’s dominated by the cathedral and Bishop’s Palace mustn’t put you off exploring the rest of this pleasant town (OK, technically a city) perched on the edge of the Mendips. It’s good for foodie pubs, even better for tea-shops and has a nice old-fashioned feel to it. The thriving main street is full of real shops, like all towns used to be before the evil supermarket chains moved in and destroyed lots of town centres. Wed and Sat are market days, when you can buy all manner of exotic things. Visiting Wells is like visiting the 1950s. And ‘Hot Fuzz’ was filmed here.

WESTON-SUPER-MARE
Weston back in the day was a glamorous holiday resort, the Blackpool or Brighton of the West of England. It found it hard to compete with cheap foreign holidays though and fell into serious decline in recent decades. Its vast, soulless hinterland of new-build housing developments and equally large deprived areas of social housing conceal some truly toxic problems, too. That said, a lot of money has been spent here in recent years, and the beach and prom are mostly clean, wholesome and well-maintained. There are loads of pubs with outside terraces, and miles of prom to stroll along in your Kiss Me Quick hat and eating your chips or ice-cream with a Flake in. Rather than ripping the heart out of the old place, the loss of the Grand Pier to fire in 2008 has brought out some fighting spirit and civic pride, and Westonians and proper-job Bristolians (all of whom have a very special and sentimental place in their hearts for the place they loved so much as kids) really want to see it all turned around. If you understand all this, then you’ll already know why you want to spend the odd day or afternoon there. If you’re new here, or don’t “get” Weston, do not await the much-anticipated reopening of the pier this summer. Go there now.

Wiltshire

BRADFORD ON AVON
Nice little town with loads of history (don’t miss the bridge or the tiny Anglo-Saxon church) and quite a lot of quaint little arty/crafty shops. Good stopping-off/starting-off point for adventures into the surrounding countryside. All the pubs in Bradford are brilliant.

CASTLE COMBE
Best known as the home of the racing circuit (where you can go and play with some fantastic toys for big boys), the nearby village is to die for. Nearby Lacock is the loveliest village in the West, but Castle Combe comes a damn close second. Worth stopping at for a wander through if you’re passing by. Also good for people watching; many visitors treat a visit to CC (or Lacock) in the same spirit as paying to visit a National Trust property and think this gives them some right to gawp through the doors and windows of private houses and photograph the living rooms of complete strangers!

LACOCK
Home of the National Trust’s Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum of photography, but if you don’t fancy paying to visit them, just wander this film-set-perfect village frozen in time - the whole place was acquired wholesale by the NT in 1944. It gets rammed in the high season, of course. And the pubs are great, too.

MALMESBURY
Despite the best efforts of the internal combustion engine to wreck the place, Malmesbury remains one of the most attractive small towns in all England. There’s the half-ruined, half-occupied Abbey, the Abbey House Gardens, a lovely water meadow and a high street full of real shops, and a goodly selection of ancient-looking pubs. The place does make a bit of a fetish of its huge amount of history, but you can’t blame it because there’s so much of it, and a lot of it’s pretty weird. Get on the ’net or get a guidebook before visiting to bone up on all the strange things and interesting characters to get the most out of it.

SALISBURY
Like every one of those great English county towns of yore, it’s suffered unsympathetic development and stupid road schemes. The last time the Days Out Guide Family visited, we got disorientated and spent the best part of an hour wandering around lost in the world’s largest car park. The town centre is pleasant to wander around, there’s a tolerable riverside walk with ducks and stuff, and the cathedral is spectacular. The National Trust-run Mompesson House is elegant (play croquet on the lawn on some weekends in season) and there’s all manner of interesting smaller places to see, from the Wilton Carpet factory to the Wardrobe military museum. The clever thing to do here, if you’re going by car and don’t mind getting home very late, is to vary your routes there and back to get the most out of the countryside. And all those magnificent country pubs.

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