![]() ![]() ![]() So iconic you’ll feel you’ve seen it before, the world-famous stone circle at Stonehenge is unmissable. At the entrance to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery be sure to seek out “Paint-Pot Angel” and don’t miss a wander around Stokes Croft, home to wall after wall of street art, including Banksy’s “Mild Mild West”. Head to Lower Lamb Street to see 2011 mural “You don’t need planning permission to build castles in the sky” then walk to Park Street, stopping on the bridge that crosses Frogmore Street to see “Well Hung Lover”. Anonymous street artist Banksy was born in Bristol in the 1970s and his (or her) work appears around the city. Not all famous artworks end up on the walls of palaces, some can be seen for free – and on the very site they were created. No visit to Bath would be complete without getting a little steamy – at the ancient Roman Baths where you can walk in Roman footsteps and see the Sacred Spring that started the city’s ascendency, and at the dreamy Thermae Bath Spa, where you can soak in thermal waters on the rooftop. There’s an elegant feel to even the most mundane stroll here – as if you might bump into a bonneted Jane Austen at any turn – but it’s worth seeking out the grand Royal Crescent and the elegant Circus (once home to painter Thomas Gainsborough). Bathīath may well be England’s most beautiful city, a harmonious collection of honey-hued Georgian terraces, sweeping crescents and cobbled streets. There’s also the Wiltshire Museum, with its hoard of prehistoric gold, an ancient Market Place lined with pubs and shops, and even a local vineyard. That brewery – Wadworth’s – delivers its real ales to local pubs by horse and cart on weekdays and can be visited for tours, while the canal – the Kennet & Avon – offers the chance to tackle one of English canal boating’s greatest challenges, the ascent up Caen Hill via one of Europe’s longest and steepest flights of locks. But there’s plenty here to earn the town its place, from a Victorian red-brick brewery that perfumes the town with the scent of hops, to a pretty canal lined with colourful narrowboats and soundtracked by the chirrup of birds and dinging of bicycle bells as locals make their way along the towpath. Highlights include the King’s Bed Chamber, dressed for a visit from Napoleon, and the Queen’s Ballroom, where foreign heads of state are received, but every room is packed with treasures – look out for paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens.ĭozens of picturesque towns line the Great West Way but my top pick has to be Devizes. Windsor Castle is said to be the Queen’s favourite residence, and it’s the world’s oldest and largest continually inhabited castle to boot.Dating back to the 11 th century (when it was built by William the Conqueror), Windsor Castle has been home to 39 monarchs and there’s plenty to gawp at during your tour of its illustrious rooms. Top 5 things to see on the Great West Way No two trips on the Great West Way will ever be the same. Alongside the chance to learn more about England’s history is the chance to explore, to winkle out your new favourite place and to go on an adventure. The Great West Way encourages exploration, shining a spotlight on more unsung places – tiny tearooms, microbreweries and walled gardens, places to see the bluebells, spot red kites or have afternoon tea. Here the signs simply welcome – it’s up to you to plot your route, picking your own way from the lattice of roads, tracks and paths that make up this corridor between two of England’s great cities. ![]() ![]() This is no prescriptive A to B route, with road signs in the shape of arrows. You can touch prehistoric stones at Avebury, step inside the Queen’s home in Windsor, bathe in thermal waters in Bath and stroll through idyllic gardens in Kew.īut the Great West Way is different from other road trips. On this road trip from London to Bristol, you’ll encounter English history and culture by the waggon-load. The largest stone circle in Europe, the oldest inhabited castle in the world, the UK’s only natural hot springs, even the planet’s oldest pot plant – the Great West Way is chock-a-block with iconic sites you’ve definitely heard of, as well as plenty of wonderful, tucked away places you almost certainly haven’t. ![]()
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