South West

Counties: Bristol; Cornwall; Dorset; Devon; Gloucestershire; Somerset; Wiltshire.

Main cities and town: Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Gloucester.

South West is geographically the largest of the nine counties of England. Much of the ancient kingdom of Wessex covers the county which also includes two national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, and four World Heritage Sites: Stonehenge, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, the Jurassic Coast and the City of Bath. South West is particularly famous for its culture and folklore, traditions and customs.

The Cotswolds

HISTORY

South West of England has a very rich history. It is believed that southern England was inhabited by humans even before the last ice age (c. 115.000 - c. 11.700 years ago)! Already during the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages periods, the region was heavily populated. Cotswolds and eastern Somerset were romanised a lot. There are farms, temples dating from that period, including the remains at Bath. The area of Cotswold was then taken under control of the Anglo-Saxons. During the Middle Ages the east of the region became wealthy thanks to sheep farming. Farming was very prosperious until the Black Death arrived in Dorset in 1348 and then quickly spread through Somerset. The city of Plymouth has become the largest city in Devon since 1650, mainly thanks to the naval base at Davonport.

Gloucestershire

/ˈɡlɒstərʃər/

Gloucester is the county town, while Cheltenham, Stroud, Dursley and Cinderford are other principal towns.
Gloucestershire was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century and Bristol was a part of it at that time, being a small town.
There are three main landscape areas - the Cotswolds, the Royal Forest of Dean and the Severn Vale. There are also a lot of religious buildings such as the cathedral of Gloucester, the abbey church of Tewkesbury (it's the tallest Norman tower in England), and the church of Cirencester.
An annual "cheese-rolling" event takes place at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth.
Other places of interest: Thornbury Castle, Berkley Castle, Highgrove House, Gatcombe Park, etc.

Bristol

The city of Bristol is the most populous city in South West England.
In the beginning of the 11th century, the settlement was known as Brycgstow (from Old English - the place at the bridge).
In 1155, Bristol was divided between Somerset and Gloucestershire, but in 1373 it became a county.
Bristol i especially known as a starting point for early trips of exploration to the New World. In 1497, John Cabot became the first European to land in North America on a ship. And in 1499, William Weston, a Bristol merchant was the first Englishman to start an exploration of North America.
Bristol is a very cultural place, full of theatres, many venues for live music (in 2010, Bristol was called the UK's most musical city), museums, art galleries, etc.

Bristol represents a huge variety of architectural styles, from medieval to modern. During the mid 19th Bristol Byzantine, a unique style, was created. Some buildings of this style can still be seen (Colston Hall, the Carriage Works, the Granary on Welsh Back). St James' Priory is the oldest religious building in Bristol which was founded in 1129. It is followed by Bristol Cathedral and its Great Gatehouse, founded in 1140.

Bristol Cathedral

St James' Priory

There is a special dialect of English in Bristol called Bristolian. It is spoken mostly by longtime residents that are called Bristolians. The main feature of this dialect is the R in car and card is pronounced.

Other buildings that deserve attention are Goldney Hall (a manor house with a decorated Grotto that dates from 1739), Old Post Office from the 1740s.

Wiltshire

The county was named after the former county town of Wilton. Now the county town is Trowbridge.
Wiltshire is particularly famous for its pre-Roman archaeology. There are maybe the most popular Neolithic sites of the UK - Stonehenge and Avebury.

Located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, this prehistoric monument consists of many vertical standing stones. When, why and by whom was it built? It still remains one of the most interesting and unusual mysteries, although scientists believe it was constructed from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC.Click on the Read More button to know more about this mysterious place!

Stonehenge

Avebury

Avebury is one of the most popular sites not only in Britain, ut in the whole world. It contains three circles of stones which are situated around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire. The interesting thing about this place is that it is used not only as a tourist destination but also as a place of worship for contemporary pagans.

Wiltshire natives are nicknamed as "Moonrekares". It originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol in a village.
This county is mostly rural and lies on chalk limestone.
Other places of interest include Avon Valley Path, Cherhill White Horse, King Alfred's Tower, Salisbury Cathedral, Westbury White Horse, Wilton House, etc.

Somerset

The county town of Somerset is Taunton and its border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon.
Somerset is a rural county that has a lot of hills - Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills, as well as Exmoor National Park.

The area of the today's county is said to be inhabited from the Paleolithic period (Old Stone Age). One of the remain archaeological sites from that time is Cheddar Gorge.
Other historically interesting places include the Somerset Levels and Stanton Drew stone circles.

Somerset remained part of the Roman Empire until around AD 409. Nowadays, a lot of Roman remains can be found here - Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke, Low Ham Roman Villa and the Roman baths that gave their name to the city of Bath.

Cheddar Gorge

The city of Bath

The county has quite a lot of notable museums: Museum of Bath Architecture, Hershel Museum of Astronomy, American Museum in Britain, Jane Austen Centre.
Others places of interest: Nunney Castle, Museum of Somerset, Holnicote Estate, Tintinhull Garden, Clevedon Court, etc.

Dorset

Dorset's county town is Dorchester located in the south which is populated more than the rest of the county. There are many small villages, few towns and no cities.
Dorset has a long history. During the Early Middle Ages, the Romans conquered Dorset's indigenous Celtic tribe. Dorset was then the first place of the British Isles to be raided by the Vikings during the 8th century. Also, Melcombe Regis (an area of Weymouth in Dorset) was the place where the Black Death first came to England in 1348.
Dorset has a notable natural beauty and varied landscapes. Almost all of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast, Natural World Heritage Site. There are many attractive places, such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Durdle Door, Chesil Beach.

Dorset is the birthplace of author and poet Thomas Hardy. He describes a lot of places of the fictional Wessex in his novels which are in reality located in Dorset.

Despite being being a rural county, there can be found a lot of museums of different themes, monuments, manor houses. Some of the famous places of Dorset include a Roman ruin (which is said to be the "only Roman town house visible in Britain"), Forde Abbey, Christchurch Priory (the longest church in England), etc.

Thomas Hardy

Devon

The county town is Exeter. Devon includes the districts of East, Mid and North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon. Plymouth and Torbay are also part of Devon, but are administrated as unitary authorities.
From the British Iron Age till the early Middle Ages, it was inhabited by Celts. In the 8th and 9th centuries, Dumnonia (Devon) came under control of the Kingdom of Wessex.
Devon is a unique county in a way that it has two separate coastlines: on the Bristol Channel and Celtic Sea.
In the south coast there are two principal seaside resorts - the towns of Torquay and Paignton.

Some of the main places to visit in Devon are the Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks, English Riviera (the nickname of Torbay which is popular because of its sandy beaches and mild climate), North Devon's Biosphere Reserve.

Agatha Christie was born and then lived in Devon, as well as the Irish writer William Trevor and the poet Ted Hughes.
Another thing Devon is famous for is the Devonshire cream tea that is always accompanied with scones, jam and clotted cream.

Agatha Christie

Cornwall

The county is the homeland of the Cornish people that are recognised as one of the Celtic nations.
The name Cornwall consists of two words: corn- originates from the Proto-Celtic "Karnos" ("horn" or "headland"), while -wall derives from the Old English "w(e)alth" ("foreigner" or "Romanized Celt").
Cornish belongs to the Celtic language family. It used to be the first language in this area till the 18th century that then died out. However, there have been some enthusiasts since the 19th century who have been trying to revive the language (in 2002, Cornish was called a UK regional language).

Truro is the county's only city and the administrative centre.
Cornwall can boast of its rich cuisine variety. As the county is surrounded by the sea, the dishes from here have a lot of fish. Other famous dishes and types of food include a pasty (a baked pastry), fudge (a sugar candy), clotted cream, Saffron Cake, a Cornish fairing (a type of ginger cookie), Cream tea, etc.

landmarks

Westbury White Horse

- The Westbury / Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the Salisbury Plain located in Wiltshire on the edge of Bratton Downs.

- There are other white horses carved in Wiltshire but this one is the oldest and its origin is unknown. However, it is often said to be built in commemoration of King Alfred's victory at the battle of Ethandun in 878.

- Nevertheless, historians claim that a more believable is the theory that it was created much later, for example, during the 17th century, when King Alfred was very popular.

- The locals usually say the current white horse was cut in 1778 by a Mr Gee, who put a new horse on a smaller, older version, the only surviving image that dates back to 1772. During the 19th and 20th centuries the figure was reshaped and repaired.

Berkeley Castle

- The castle is situated in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

- Its origins date back to the 11th century. The following century it was reconstructed by the Berkeley family and since then the castle has been owned by them (except for the period of the ownership by the Tudors).

- The Berkeley Castle is believed to be the place of the murder of King Edward II in 1327 (when he was deposed by his wife Queen Isabella and put into the castle for five months). However, it's still unknown if the king was killed there or not.

- The castle has been opened to visitors since 1956.

Thornbury Castle

- It is a Tudor castle in the parish of Thornbury, in Gloucestershire.

- The construction began in 1511 as a further residence for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (who was beheaded for treason n 1521, by order of King Henry VIII.)

- The king stayed after that for some days in the castle with Queen Anne Boleyn.

- During later centuries, the castle was owned by the Staffords and Howards.

- Nowadays, this castle is a 26-room luxury hotel and restaurant.

King Alfred's Tower

- The tower is located in Wiltshire and is sometimes called Stourton Tower.

- It was built in the 1760s to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War against France and the accession of King George III.

- The tower is near the "Egbert's Stone" where it is said Alfred the Great rallied the Saxons in 878 before the Battle of Edington.

- King Alfred's Tower is 49 meters high and has a statue of King Alfred.

- The tower was mentioned in Thomas Hardy's poem "Channel Firing" as a place "far inland".

Tewkesbury Abbey

- This parish church located in the county of Gloucestershire used to be a Benedictine monastery.

- This Abbey is considered one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain.

- Tewkesbury was a place of worship already in the 7th century. After 3 centuries a priory was established there and the building we see now started in the 12th century.

- The church has a massive crossing tower which is said to be "probably the largest and finest Romanesque example in England".

- There are also three notable organs inside the church and many monuments.