Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire lies in South West England and includes part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
It is a county of great beauty full of lovely honey coloured stone villages and towns nestling amidst wooded hills with clear streams flowing through many of them, it is an idyllic picture. Some of the many charming villages include such places as Snowshill, Stanton and the slaughters.
Picturesque places such as Chipping Camden, Broadway and stow on the wold as well as larger settlements such as Gloucester the county town are all worth exploring other major towns like Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury have plenty of fine shops to browse and explore after a day’s sightseeing.
Gloucestershire is full of history and has many fine religious buildings, the cathedral of Gloucester, the Abbey church of Tewkesbury, and the church at Cirencester are all magnificent. The cathedral at Gloucester is outstanding and was used to film some scenes in the Harry potter movies. Many of the churches are spectacular wool churches and reflect the wealth that was built on the wool trade.
The port of Bristol was once one of the greatest in England and grew rich on sugar, cocoa, cotton and tobacco it has a long maritime history, Brunel’s SS Great Britain can be seen there. The port of Gloucester has been used since Roman times.
There are several Royal residences in Gloucestershire but perhaps the most famous is Highgrove House, Prince Charles home, as well as Gatcombe and Nether Lypiatt manor.
A strange ceremony of cheese rolling an annual event takes place at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth. Gloucester has many famous sons and daughters Laurie Lee was born at Slad, Jk Rowling, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Cary Grant and Edward Jenner all came from the county.
Towns in Gloucestershire
| Stanton | Snowshill | Stanway |
| Chipping Campden | Lower Slaughter | Tewkesbury |
| Cheltenham | Bibury | Gloucester |
| Painswick | Adelstrop | Northleach |
| Winchcombe | Upper Slaughter | Slad |
| Cirencester | Tetbury |
Activities in Gloucestershire
Abbeys
Tewkesbury Abbey - Benedictine Abbey of Tewkesbury
Art Gallery
Nature in Art - Nature in Art Gallery and Museum
Castle and Gardens
Sudely Castle - Castle House and Gardens
Family Fun
Perrygrove - Treehouses Trains and Treasure
Slimbridge - Slimbridge Wetland Centre
Gardens
Painswick Rococo Garden - Painswick Rococo Garden
Kiftsgate Court Gardens - Three generations of woman gardeners
House and Gardens
Bourton House - Bourton House Garden
Westonbirt - Westonbirt House and Gardens
Woodchester Mansion - Woodchester Gothic Mansion
Lavender Farm
Cotswold Lavender - English Lavender Growers
Museums
Dr Jenners House - Home of a Country Doctor
Corinium - Corinium Museum
Woodland
Puzzlewood - Magical woodland in the Forest of Dean
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