ARCHITECTURE

Medieval cathedrals, abbeys & churches
London is a short drive from a number of magnificent medieval cathedrals, and numerous interesting smaller churches. As well as architecture, fine examples of medieval sculpture, wall-painting & stained glass can also be seen. See also, at the bottom of this page, the Religious Heritage section.

Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey & St Martin's
St Augustine brought Christianity to England from Rome in 597AD, establishing his first churches here in Canterbury. Encompassing several styles of architecture, the cathedral also has some of the finest stained glass in the country, as well as important examples of medieval sculpture, wall-painting, tombs and a Cosmati-style pavement. The monasteries of both Christ Church and St Augustine's are now interesting ruins, and St Martin's lays claim to being the oldest parish church in England. As an accredited guide, I am able to lead tours of Canterbury Cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral, Old Sarum & St Thomas's church 'Doom' painting
At the beginning of the 13th century, Salisbury Cathedral moved (not literally!) from its old site on top of Old Sarum to the river plain below. At Old Sarum today you can still see the remains of the old cathedral, which was dismantled to reuse the stone. In today's cathedral, you can explore its building history, firstly under the direction of Elias of Dereham, who was closely connected to King John & Magna Carta - a Magna Carta can be seen in the Chapter House. Recent archaeological work has pinpointed very precisely the origins and dating of some of the roof & door timbers. Then climb the 404ft spire, see the the original timber scaffolding, and hear about the problems that adding such an immense weight of stone to the original building caused. In the town, St Thomas's church has a fine medieval 'Doom' painting on its west wall.

Winchester Cathedral, the Hospital of St Cross & the remains of Hyde Abbey
Winchester was the capital of Anglo-Saxon England, and remained an important ecclesiastical centre throughout the Middle Ages. Winchester Cathedral is a fascinating study of medieval architecture, painting and sculpture. Winchester still has the remains of many of its medieval buildings - the city walls and gates; the royal castle with its Great Hall, Queen Eleanor's garden & 'King Arthur's Round Table'; Wolvesey Castle; the Hospital, or almshouse, of St Cross; and the beautiful surviving sculpture from Hyde Abbey.

Wells Cathedral & Bath Abbey
Wells Cathedral is an important example of early Gothic architecture in England, and Bath Abbey completes the picture as one of the last great Gothic churches to be built here.

Roman & Medieval St Albans
While St Albans cathedral can't be described as one of the most beautiful in England, it is certainly one of the more interesting, built as it was from bricks plundered from the Roman town of Verulamium. In Verulamium, a mosaic floor & hypocaust can be seen, as well as the remains of the Roman theatre.

Castles

Dover & Walmer Castles
Dover Castle has been on the 'front line' for its entire history, and no visit is complete without seeing the secret World War II tunnels underneath this imposing medieval castle. The remains of additional military fortifications can be seen elsewhere on the White Cliffs of Dover. Walmer was one of Henry VIII's coastal forts, and later became the residence of the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was a recent Warden, and a beautiful garden at Walmer, designed by Penelope Hobhouse, was given to her as a 95th birthday gift.

Rochester & Leeds Castles
Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, built two of England's earliest stone fortifications, Rochester Castle and the Tower of London. The great keep was then added in the 12th century. King John attacked the castle in 1215 by tunnelling underneath it. Using the fat of '40 of the fattest pigs, of the sort least good for eating', he then set fire to the tunnel's wooden supports, and the whole thing collapsed, bringing down with it a section of the castle. Leeds Castle, also originally a medieval fortification, became the picturesque family home of Lady Baillie in the 20th century, and is surrounded by lovely gardens

Cities, towns & villages

Bath
The city of Bath is renowned for its beautiful Georgian architecture. Visit the Building of Bath Museum, and No 1 Royal Crescent to see inside one of the elegant houses.

HISTORIC HOUSES & GARDENS

Vita Sackville-West, Knole & Sissinghurst
Vita Sackville-West's birthplace, Knole, is one of England's finest historic houses, and her later home, Sissinghurst, has one of the most famous gardens in England.

The Cotswolds, Hidcote Manor Garden & Kiftsgate Court
The Cotswold Hills are full of charming villages, interesting historic houses and beautiful gardens. The gardens at Hidcote & Kiftsgate are two of my favourites, but this day can be varied according to the time of year.

Blenheim Palace & Sulgrave Manor
Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough & the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, is a spectacular house designed by John Vanbrugh & Nicholas Hawksmoor. It is set in beautiful parkland landscaped by one of England's best-known garden designers, Capability Brown. Sulgrave Manor was home to George Washington's ancestors, and has a collection of memorabilia associated with him. You can also see Britain's National Herb Garden here.

Chartwell & Hever Castle
Chartwell was the home of Sir Winston & Lady Churchill, with gardens created by them. Nearby, Hever Castle, once home to Anne Boleyn's family. Early 20th century owner William Waldorf Astor commissioned the beautiful gardens that surround the castle today.

Stourhead House & Garden
Stourhead House was the home of the Hoare family, who made their fortune in banking. It has one of the most famous & beautiful 18th century landscape gardens in England.

ARTISTS & WRITERS

Oxford - C S Lewis & J R R Tolkien - Narnia & Lord of the Rings
Follow in the footsteps of C S Lewis & J R R Tolkien. See some of the sites associated with these two writers, both of whom first arrived in Oxford as students. They went on to spend most of their lives living and teaching there.

Jane Austen, Winchester & Hampshire villages
Jane Austen spent most of her life in the county of Hampshire. Her father was the rector of Steventon, where there are family memorials in the church. In the later years of her life she lived at Chawton, where she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma & Persuasion. Her house is now open to the public. Shortly before her death she moved to Winchester, and is buried there in the beautiful cathedral. Winchester was the Anglo-Saxon capital of England, so there's lots more to see here, including King Arthur's Round Table at Winchester Castle.

John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough & Suffolk villages
Artist Thomas Gainsborough's childhood home in Sudbury has a collection of his works, as well as a lovely garden. Not too far away, John Constable painted many scenes of the countryside around his birthplace, East Bergholt. By taking a leisurely walk along the River Stour, you can see the sites of many of his most famous paintings, including The Haywain and Flatford Mill. Close to the Mill today is an exhibition centre dedicated to the artist.

The Bloomsbury Group
Charleston farmhouse in Sussex was home to artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Other members of the Bloomsbury Group were either regular visitors, or actually lived there for long periods. The house is full of their art and creativity. Not far away, Virginia & Leonard Woolf lived at Monk's House, Rodmell. Virginia's diaries and photographs are now displayed in her garden writing room. Nearby Berwick church has murals by the Bloomsbury artists.

Stanley Spencer
Artist Stanley Spencer was born and spent most of his life in Cookham, on the River Thames. By walking around the village, you can find the locations of many of his famous paintings, including Swan Upping at Cookham and The Resurrection, Cookham. The Methodist church he attended as a child is now the Stanley Spencer Gallery. Further west is the Sandham Memorial Chapel, decorated by Spencer with powerful murals reflecting his experience in the First World War.

HISTORY

Avebury World Heritage Site
Visit the prehistoric monuments of the Avebury area: the West Kennet Long Barrow, a Neolithic burial mound; the man-made Silbury Hill; the Sanctuary; the Avenue, a ceremonial route lined by standing stones; the Avebury Stone Circle, so large that it contains part of a village. On the way home, stop to see the Uffington White Horse, a chalk hill figure.

Stonehenge World Heritage Site
Stonehenge is set in a landscape full of prehistoric monuments, including the Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge & Durrington Walls. Nearby, the Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum has interesting displays relating to Stonehenge, and on the outskirts of Salisbury is the Old Sarum Iron Age hill fort, site also of the early medieval Salisbury cathedral and castle.

Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is the site of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial, first excavated in 1939. The dead warrior's possessions, buried with him, are now on display at the British Museum, and in the Visitor Centre at Sutton Hoo. Other burial mounds around the ship burial have since been excavated, with interesting results. Combine this with a visit to West Stow Anglo-Saxon village, a reconstruction of the village based on archaeological evidence from the site, and an ongoing experiment to explore how the Anglo-Saxons lived.

RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

Missionaries, Monks, Friars & Pilgrims
St Augustine arrived in Canterbury in the late 6th century as a missionary from Rome, and established his cathedral and monastery here. In 1170, the cathedral was the scene of the murder of Thomas à Becket, and after his canonisation it became a popular place of pilgrimage. In Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales', his pilgrims are on their way to visit Becket's shrine, and Canterbury still has an example of the type of hostels that poorer pilgrims would have stayed in. From London, it is possible to follow parts of the route followed by those medieval pilgrims. Aylesford Priory is one of the additional visits that could be made.
An alternative day trip would be to Winchester, where St Swithin's shrine also attracted pilgrims. Here, too, you can see an almshouse, the Hospital of St Cross, that provided  accommodation and food for the pilgrims. Like Canterbury, Winchester was an important centre for monasticism.

John Wesley & Methodism
Bristol, an easy day trip from London, is important to the story of the development of Methodism. John Wesley first preached in the open air at Hanham Mount, on the outskirts of the city. He went on to build the New Room, the first Methodist chapel. His brother Charles Wesley's home is nearby, and here you can see the family's music room, and the study where Charles wrote some  his famous hymns. You could make this into a very full day, or alternatively make a second day trip, and visit Oxford, where the brothers studied, and where John Wesley taught and preached.