Top Reasons to Go

Top Reasons to Go

A drink in a Cotswold pub: The classic pubs here press all the right buttons -- low wooden beams, horse brasses, inglenook fireplaces, and hanging tankards. Log fires in winter and beer gardens in summer are further enticements. Many pubs date back 300 years or more, but some have added smart dining areas. Most now offer tea and coffee, and also welcome children.

Finding the perfect village: With their golden stone cottages, Cotswold villages tend to be improbably picturesque; the hamlets of Upper and Lower Slaughter are among the most seductive. Part of the fun is to take almost any scenic lane or head for any evocatively named cluster of houses on the map.

Gloucester Cathedral: The Great East Window, Whispering Gallery, and cloisters are especially noteworthy in this ancient monument, one of the country's finest cathedrals. Elsewhere, look out for the Whispering Gallery and for the settings of scenes in the Harry Potter movies.

Hidcote Manor Gardens: In a region rich with imaginative garden displays, Hidcote lays good claim to be the most eminent. Exotic shrubs from around the world and the famous "garden rooms" are the highlights of this Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece.

Roman Baths, Bath: Take a break from the town's Georgian elegance and return to its Roman days on a fascinating tour around this beautifully preserved bath complex, built around the country's only hot spring.

Shopping in Cheltenham: The grand Regency terraces of Cheltenham, worth a look in themselves, make a wonderful setting for "country chic" boutiques, antiques shops, and gift stores that attract people from the entire region.