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West Midlands
Counties: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire.
Main cities and towns: Stoke-on-Trent, Lichfield, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Worcester, Birmingham.
The longest river of the UK, the river Severn, flows through this region, through such towns as Shrewsbury and Worcester, as well as the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The region has such towns as Stratford upon Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare, and Nuneaton, birthplace of George Eliot.
Herefordshire
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The county town of Herefordshire is Hereford which is also a cathedral city.
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It is located in the Welsh Marches (the area along the border between England and Wales).
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As Herefordshire is an agricultural and one of the most rural counties, it is famous for its fruit and cider production, as well as for the Hereford cattle breed.
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The River Wye, the 5th-longest in the UK, flows through Hereford and Ross-on-Wye and returns to Wales.
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The Wye Valley is a very important and protected landscape which has a name of an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". The Malvern Hills have he same status.
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Main places of interest: Arthur's Stone, Croft Castle, Hereford Cathedral, Herefordshire Beacon (one of the highest peaks of the Malvern Beacon), Dore Abbey, etc.
West Midlands
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It is the second most populated county of England after Greater London.
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There are seven metropolitan boroughs: Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall.
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The area of the county has been an important centre of commerce and industry. Even in the Middle Ages the city of Coventry was a prosperous centre of wool and cloth manufacture, while Birmingham was known for its manufacture of small arms.
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The county of West Midlands has 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. For example, Sutton Park which is said to be one of the largest urban parks in Europe.
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Main places of interest: Aston Hall, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Castle, St Peter's Collegiate Church, etc.
Shropshire
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The main towns of the county with the largest population include: Shrewsbury, a culturally and historically important town; Oswestry; Bridgnorth; Ludlow.
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Shropshire was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the name of the county has its roots in Old English, meaning "Shresburyshire" (the shire of the fortified place in the scrublands).
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However, Shropshire used to be called Salop which is thought to be derived from the Anglo-French "Salopesberia". Nowadays, residents of the county are still sometimes referred to as "Salopians" and the county town, Shrewsbury, is also often called ad Salop.
Ironbridge Gorge
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Geographically, the county is divided into two halves: north and south. The North Shropshire has the county's largest towns and population, while the south is more rural, it has a lot of hill ranges, river valleys and woods. There is the popular Long Mynd (a large plateau) and Stiperstones, as well as Church Stretton. The area near the Severn Valley is sometimes called Little Switzerland.
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The Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated in this county. Another natural landmarks are the Wrekin, the Clee Hills, the Wenlock Edge, etc.
Staffordshire
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Stoke-on-Trent is the largest settlement of the county, and Lichfield is a cathedral city. Other major settlements include Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rugeley, Leek and Tamworth.
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The area of the county in the north and in the south is hilly and has wild moorlands and uplands of the Peak District and Cannock Chasethat is considered to be an area of natural beauty.
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The Trent is the largest river of Staffordshire.
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Flash is the highest village in Britain which is located in the Staffordshire Moorlands and stands at 463 meters above sea level.
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Main places of interest: Ancient High House, Alton Towers, Down Banks, Erasmus Darwin House, Heart of England Way, Lichfield Cathedral, Trentham Gardens (+ Monkey Forest), Stafford Castle, Tutbury Castle.
Warwickshire
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Warwick is the county town, and Nuneaton is the largest town.
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The county is divided into five districts - North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon, One of the significant towns include Rugby, Leanigton Spa, Bedworth, Kenilworth and Stratford-upon-Avon (there are no cities in Warwickshire).
William Shakespeare
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Warwickshire is specially known for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon. Even nowadays, road signs near the borders say "Shakespeare's County".
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George Eliot was born in this county too, in Nuneaton.
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The southern part of the county is sparsely populated and mainly rural, and the majority of Warwickshire's population live in the north and centre of the county.
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The west of Warwickshire was once covered with the ancient Forest of Arden. This territory used to be heavily wooded but then was cut down. It is located near the geographical centre of England. A lot of places in the central-western part of the county end with "-in-Arden" because of that - Henley-in-Arden, Hampton-in-Arden and Tanworth-in-Arden.
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The county played a key role in the English Civil War, with the Battle of Edgehill.
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Main places of interest: Anne Hathaway's Cottage (a farmhouse of the wife of William Shakespeare), Warwick Castle, Jephson Gardens, Charlecote Park, etc.
Birthplace of Shakespeare
Stratford-upon-Avon
Worcestershire
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Worcester is the county town and only city. Another major settlements include Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Redditch, while Malvern, Bewdley, Droitwich Spa, Stourport-on-Severn, Upton-upon-Severn and some others are market towns.
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The county of Worcestershire became part of kingdom of England in 927, although the area was populated at least 700.000 years ago.
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During the Middle Ages, the economy of the county was based mainly on wool, and in the carpets, needles, springs and hooks in some of the towns.
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The town of Marvel became very famous in the 19th century, during the rise of English spa towns. Malvern water was believed to be pure and very clean. Queen Elizabeth I drank this water in public even in the 16th century. Nowadays, it's still considered a spa town.
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Main places of interest: Bewdley (a riverside historic Tudor town), Great Malvern Priory, Hanbury Hall, Tenbury Wells (a market town), the Commandery (a historic building and a museum).
Marvel
landmarks
Trentham Estate
- This place of interest is located in the village of Trentham, in the south of Stoke-on-Avon, Staffordshire.
The estate was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. It was a royal manor at that time, which was later replaced by a priory, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 11th century.
- The remains of the country house from 1833-42, which was designed by Charles Barry, can still be seen. He spent over 10 years working on this project.
- There is a park designed by Lancelot Brown in the 18th and 19th centuries. There's also the Trentham Monkey Forest, where macaques walk freely just near their visitors.
Tutbury Castle
- This medieval castle is located in Staffordshire.
- It's said to start its history in the 11th century, but most of ruins Tutbury Castle we can see today are from the 14th and 15th centuries.
- This place is famous for serving as a prison where Elizabeth I kept Mary Queen of Scots captive.
- Mary first arrived at Tutbury Castle on 4 February 1569. She hated this place, although was taken to different places over the years, until her last stay for a year in 1585 here.
- During 1619-1624, James I stayed here a number of times.
- Nowadays, it's open to the public. Some of the castle's rooms have original 16th and 17th centuries furniture.
Charlecote Park
- It is a large 16th-century country house on the banks of the River Avon in Charlecote near Wellesbourne, Warwickshire..
- The land was owned by the Lucy family since 1247. Sir Thomas Lucy built Charlecote Park in 1558, and Queen Elizabeth I stayed in the room that is now the drawing room.
- The area had been inherited by the Lucy family until it was given to the National Trust in 1946 due to the family's bad economic condition during the post-World War II times.
- The house has on display an original letter from Oliver Cromwell (1654), archives from the Lucy family, beautiful collection of furniture, portraits, etc.
Warwick Castle
- The Warwick Castle was originally built as a wooden fort by William the Conqueror during 1068.
- The castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century.
- Warwick Castle has been visited by people since the 17th century. In 1858 Queen Victoria visited this place during some local celebrations.
- In 1978, it was sold to the Tussauds Group, a media and entertainment compony. Warwick Castle was opened then as a tourist attraction.
- In 2001, the castle was named one of Britain's "Top 10 historic houses and monuments".
- In 12 of its apartments there are some wax figures of historic individuals open to the public.
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