The rolling green swards of Gloucestershire and
Somerset , a wedge of land linking the Midlands with the
West Country, encapsulate a vision of rural England which has very
largely survived the inroads of modern urban culture. The
relatively remote settlements may not, for the most part, be
peopled by shepherds and farmers, but the landscape has preserved
its slumberous charm, and wears a mellow tranquillity which has
even seeped into the towns which grew rich on its wealth. Occupying
the eastern side of Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds , in
particular, show plenty of evidence of past prosperity, not least
in the beautiful old mansions and churches endowed from the
fortunes made through the medieval wool trade. Moreover, the
remarkable continuity of Cotswold architecture has created villages
as picturesque as any in England, though the resulting tourist
deluge makes some spots nightmarish in summer. Tourism is less of a
nuisance in the south of this region, around the busy market town
of Cirencester , once an important Roman stronghold and
still an important transport hub.
To the west, the land drops sharply from the Cotswold escarpment
down to Cheltenham , an elegant Regency spa town most famous
these days for its horse racing. The town's reputation as a bastion
of blue-stockinged conservatism is fairly passé now, and it has
developed a more sophisticated veneer in recent years, boasting
some of the best restaurants and nightlife in the region.
Cheltenham would also make a good base for visits to
Gloucester , with its superb cathedral and rejuvenated
harbour area, and Stroud , where the much praised Museum in
the Park has recently opened. The Vale of Gloucester follows the
route of the River Severn northeast towards Worcestershire,
the stone cottages of the Cotswolds giving way to the thatched,
half-timbered and red-brick houses which are characteristic of
Tewkesbury , a solidly provincial town with a magnificent
abbey.
South down the M5, Bristol is the biggest city in these
parts, and one of the most go-ahead, cosmopolitan places outside
London. Its dynamism and flare has saddled it with dense traffic
and some pretty hideous postwar architecture, but all is
compensated for by its surviving traces of every phase in its long
maritime history. Bristol is within reach of old-fashioned seaside
resorts - more alluring for their nostalgic atmosphere than for
their swimming possibilities - and only a few miles from Georgian
Bath , whose symmetrical honey-toned terraces contribute to
its operatic setting. The proximity of urban grace to panoramic
splendour is characteristic of much of Somerset , as in the
exquisite cathedral city of Wells , lying on the edge of the
Mendip Hills. The landscape assumes more dramatic lines west of
here, where the hills are pocked by cave systems, as at Wookey
Hole , and sliced through by the Cheddar Gorge . The
ancient town of Glastonbury lies close at hand, a site
steeped in Christian lore and Arthurian legend, and popular with
New Age mystics. To the west, Bridgwater and Taunton
lie at the southern end of the Quantock Hills , where
Coleridge and Wordsworth roamed, a time recalled in Coleridge's old
house at Nether Stowey .
The line between London's Paddington station and Bristol
provides the backbone of the rail network through this
region, though you could also make use of the
London-Oxford-Worcester line which runs through Moreton-in-Marsh,
in the middle of the Cotswolds. There are also direct lines to
Cheltenham and Gloucester, and these towns form the hubs of bus
routes which connect nearly all the places covered here -
though beware that services in the Cotswolds can be extremely
sketchy, with little running at all on a Sunday. Your own transport
would be ideal for exploring this area, while the M4 and M5
motorways are useful through-routes for longer-distance jaunts.