| |
| |
|
Vacation Rentals Information |
|
|
|
Gloucestershire - History, Holidays, and Fine Food
Gloucestershire, pronounced Glostershire, is a pretty English county located south west of the English midlands yet not south-west enough to be truly part of the English south-west! The capital of Gloucestershire is the city of Gloucester, and that is where we begin our tour. The city lies at the foot of the Cotswold Hills on the Severn River at its last point before the river widens and becomes the Severn estuary. There are still docks down on the river, yet today they are mainly used for pleasure and leisure boats. The huge stone warehouses and mills have for the most part been converted into sought after apartments and shops, particularly antique shops. The city is ancient, once Roman named Glevum, and that was by no means its earliest history. Dominating the skyline is the majestic grey-stone Cathedral. You cannot visit Gloucester without visiting this stunning building. Oddly these days Gloucester is not the biggest town in the county, that honour belongs to nearby Cheltenham, a fast growing bustling town located just a few miles away. Only in England can the city be smaller than the town, but that is how it is here. Cheltenham is famous for its Regency architecture, outside of the capital second only to Bath in quantity and splendour. The town is also rightly renowned for its National Hunt horse racing meeting, four days in March when half of Ireland seemingly evacuate their blessed isle and trek across the Irish sea to cheer on their favourites to victory (more often than not!) Visit in Cheltenham Gold Cup week and you will be fortunate to find vacant accommodation anywhere within 25 miles of the track. National Hunt racing is for races over jumps, and you won't find a celebration of jump racing anywhere to match the Cheltenham Festival. Gloucester is a rugby city, rugby and cricket, Cheltenham for the racing and football, for they possess the only professional soccer team in the county. Journey half an hour's drive north of the twin towns and you will come to Tewkesbury, another ancient town with a rich history. It is situated on a gravel spit just above the flood level close to where the rivers Severn and Avon merge. Particularly heavy rainfall makes the inhabitants nervous, and with good reason. The Abbey dominates this town, the second senior church in the county, and another must see for those interested in such things. The Abbey was founded at the end of the 11th century. Today Tewkesbury still boasts an impressive array of half-timbered houses. Indeed remove the traffic and you could almost believe you were stepping back in time a century, or two, or three, or four! Tewkesbury has another grizzly piece of history for which it is remembered. The Battle of Tewkesbury fought south of the town on May 4th 1471, a bloody affair in the War of Roses, Lancastrian against Yorkists, the Crown of England at stake. Edward, the Prince of Wales, son of Henry the Sixth was slain, and the Lancastrian cause was fatally wounded with his passing. But enough of history, and fearsome battles from long ago. Venture south west of Gloucester and follow the Severn River to the Slimbridge Wild Fowl trust. This is a bird sanctuary where thousands of birds are fed and provided for everyday. It was established by the late Sir Peter Scott and is probably the most famous bird reserve in all of England. If you have any interest in bird watching, no matter how slight, a visit to Slimbridge is a treat in store for you. Venture further east and south of Gloucester and you must climb the Cotswold Hills, a huge limestone ridge that runs diagonally across England almost from Bristol to Oxford. Take the steep road up to Birdlip and turn right at the Air Balloon pub. Look out for the fantastic views from the right as you journey further up and over. The stone is an easy on the eye cream and gold, and the houses, rarely thatched here, preserve the traditional stone colour throughout the county. Once over the Cotswolds you descend to Cirencester, another ancient town, known as Corinium in Roman times. You can still follow the ancient perfectly straight Roman road from here all the way southeast to Sarum (Salisbury). Today it is a fast four-lane highway, but somehow you just know the ancient Roman road builders would have approved of the new modern highway that follows their route. Within the Cotswold district you will find umpteen picture postcard villages and small towns with poetic sounding names, such as Bourton-on-the-water, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, and the more oddly named Upper Slaughter, and Lower Slaughter. In summer these towns become crammed with tourists and day-trippers alike. Perhaps you may prefer quieter sleepier places, perhaps explore some of the lesser known and smaller villages, there are plenty to choose from, and all within easy drives. The Cotswolds is a very pretty area, rolling lush pastures, rich farmland and no surprise then that Royalty choose to live here. Prince Charles and Princess Anne both keep their main residences in Gloucestershire. Gloucester and Cheltenham boast fast road and rail links to London, two to three hours with a following wind, the local produce is fine cheese, excellent meat, and local lush fruit and vegetables. Continue your journey across the Severn westwards towards Wales, but before you reach there, explore the Forest of Dean that lies between the Rivers Severn and Wye. Hilly and thickly forested it is home to deer and more recently re-introduced wild boar, not to be trifled with, especially when they are chaperoning youngsters. Then you descend into the Wye Valley, and once you cross the river, you are in a different country, Wales, home of the Celts. The huge ancient castle at Chepstow and another at Monmouth are reminders of wars gone past, and of the very fact that you are leaving Gloucestershire behind. If you visit Britain for two weeks, and decide to spend one week in London, a second week in the Cotswolds will come as a welcome change. A chance to wind down. To do some walking, contemplating a slower pace of life, and none the worse for that. Enjoy. You will find more than 6,000 holiday cottages, villas and apartments worldwide on my web site www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk David Carter has written hundreds of articles published in a wide variety of publications. His latest work is SPLAM! A 240+ page property letting manual. Check out http://www.splam.co.uk for details. He also runs a holiday cottage website, http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk where you can choose from over 6,000 fantastic holiday cottages, apartments and villas throughout the world. You can contact David directly at supalife@aol.com on any matter.
MORE RESOURCES:
Vacation-Rentals - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Andalucia, a Wonderful Holiday Destination The Costa del Sol has long been one of the most popular holiday destinations in southern Europe, and quite rightly so as it has much to offer in the form of reliable sunshine, beautiful safe beaches, good restaurants and nightlife, good quality and affordable accommodation along with plentiful and cheap flights from a vast choice of airports. However The Costa del Sol is only a very small part of the wonderful Autonomous Region of Andalucia. Vacationing in a Gatlinburg Cabin For many decades Gatlinburg has been a favorite resort getaway for both families and couples. Located in the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, Gatlinburg sits at the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Choose a Bed and Breakfast Over a Hotel Chain and Enjoy Your Vacation Traveling for business or vacationing always has one thing in common; you need a place to stay. Unfortunately, many individuals choose large hotel chains which have no personality and do nothing more than provide a place to sleep for their guests. Welcome to Floridas Emerald Coast! Stay a week or stay a lifetime, the Emerald Coast of the Florida Panhandle is hard to resist. You'll never forget how you relaxed on the sugar, white powder sands, listening to the blue green gulf water. Living and Retiring in Bolivia A beautiful and inexpensive place without a tourist in sight. Sound like a dream? It's not. Washington, DC a Bargain Travel Guide Welcome to Washington, DC - The nation's capital is a city with public museums and monuments galore, but also hidden treasures that should not be overlooked. Whether you're in Georgetown, downtown, or even in Northern Virginia, and whether you're alone, hanging out in with friends, or planning a romantic date, we offer suggestions for restaurants, bars and activities that will suit your needs - all on a limited budget. How You Can Save Up to 50% or More on Your Next RV Rental Vacation RV rental vacations aren't cheap, but they do contain loads of opportunities for savings. In fact, there are probably more ways in which the proactive RV rental vacationer can save money than in any other mode of vacation travel. Shropshire - Englands Forgotten County Shropshire is England's forgotten county, but it is well worth making the effort to get there. It is only three hours by train from London and there is plenty to see and do. Advantages of Bahamas Packages For many people, the Bahamas is a dream vacation site, inviting travelers from all over with its white sandy beaches and crystal waters. To make the vacation even more of a dream come true, many visitors opt to purchase a Bahamas vacation package, which allows them to buy all of their travel arrangements at once. Vacation Destinations Many times, when we plan a vacation, we know where we want to go. But, perhaps you don't have a specific place in mind and are looking for some vacation destinations to choose from. Alternatives for Business Travelers "I'm coming home. I've been away too long. Dare to Dream: The Vacation of a Lifetime In A Timeshare What are your chances of getting the vacation of a lifetime without having to save for a lifetime?Renting a timeshare may be the answer to your dream vacation without having to make a long-term commitment. Many individuals are willing to rent their allotted timeshare week to you. Amazon Expeditions with Time Magazine "Hero of the Planet Year 2000" - Dr. Marc van Roosmalen The Amazonat Jungle Lodge is offering in addition to her standard programming combined land/water expeditions in which the guests will stay part of the time at the lodge and part of the time in a regional boat.In addition the Lodge is working exclusively with the worldwide re-known primatologist (Time Magazine; "Hero of the Planet Year 2000") Dr. Desiya - Smart Travel Engine Making Indian Sojourn Memorable India has always been an irresistible tourist destination for people from around the world. The diversity of India and the element of mystery associated with some of the most exotic locales in India makes it an ideal getaway. From Vancouver Down The Oregon Coast To Napa Trip Spent a fantastic trip going down the Oregon Coast to Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and back again up the Oregon Coast - awesome! It was like a honeymoon!We drove from Vancouver, Canada down through Chuckanut Drive, Widbey Island and down to Portland - over to a place called Seaside, Oregon - stayed at a great motel called Ebb Tide right on the beach there - woke up and strolled the beach - awesome 500 feet deep beaches, with virtually nobody on themStopped in at the Sea Lion Caves, and the Devil's Churn - great spot to watch waves catapaulting in the air as they hit huge rocks - the Oregon Coast goes from deep deep beaches to headlands with huge waves crashing, to sand dunes with grass and miles of sand inland - its 400 miles of gorgeous scenery every mile!Went for oysters at Winchester Bay - they have a triangle in the river mouth where they "make" oysters, and then they are taken to the place where we went, where they come in on a conveyor belt, and the lady shucks them and hands them to you - it couldn't get any fresher! I liked it so much I went back later on in the trip as well.My impression of California was 6 lane expressways, so I was surprised to drive a stretch of road that was the windiest, lonliest, craziest that I've ever driven - my girlfriend came THIS CLOSE to throwing up! I went for a stretch of over 30 minutes where my hands didn't stop moving, turning, turning, back the other way, up around a curve, back the other way, etc. Vacationing in South Carolina's Hilton Head Families have flocked to Hilton Head, South Carolina as long as there have been people on the eastern seaboard. Early Native Americans of the area wintered among the yellow pines and palmettos of this barrier island, enjoying the mild climate as they feasted on the plentiful seafood. Privately-Owned Vacation Property Offers Outstanding Value to Renters In November, 2004, my wife Terry and I visited Paris for seven days. We stayed in a postage stamp sized hotel room in the Latin Quarter about two blocks from Notre Dame Cathedral. Wiltshire - Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, & Much More Wiltshire is a large English county situated in central southern England. Although it does not boast any coastline, it is crisscrossed by beautiful rivers teeming with rainbow trout. Vacation / Honeymoons 101 - Planning for Perfect Weather on Your Trip Did you ever worry when traveling about the weather? Most people worry about weather and it can play a major role in making or breaking your vacation.People ask all the time and think just because they are going to a tropical island that it doesn't rain. Preparing To Travel To Europe - Four Important To-Dos You have your tickets, your hotel or vacation rental reservations, passports are up to date, and you are ready to go. Not yet! Here are four important things to add to your preparation list:1.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |