The naval city of Portsmouth is home to the Royal Historic Dockyard, a World Heritage Site and collection of museums to the history of seafaring.
With various attractions including: the Mary Rose, which once belonged to King Henry VIII and was rescued from the seabed in the 1980s; the Royal Submarine Museum where you can see the progression of submarine development and even take a tour through an old naval vessel; and the famous flagship of Lord Nelson, HMS Victory, the oldest naval ship still in commission!
Salisbury is not far from London and Portsmouth and is a delightfully welcoming city nestled in the county of Wiltshire, known for its Cathedral. It’s also home to one of only four copies of the original Magna Carta – a legal document from the year 1215 which is still used as a template to ensure human rights. Salisbury is a short drive from the mysterious and ancient circle of Stonehenge and the hundreds of other mysterious, prehistoric monuments on Salisbury Plain.
The Georgian city of Bath can be visited on a day trip from London, but is worth a longer visit for use as a base to explore this huge region which has so much to see. The city is known for its extensive 18th century architecture in the famous, local Bath Stone, and also for being the location of Britain’s only 3 natural, thermal springs. Follow in the footsteps of the novelist Jane Austen, and various other famous visitors to Bath, on themed walking tours of the city; or discover Bath’s intimate connection with food and the unusual recipes it has contributed to British cuisine in the past, on a walking tour which includes samples of flavours produced in the city!
The Cotswolds is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and offers some of the best countryside in the UK. The region is filled with tiny, quaint villages and towns with pretty streams and interesting shops, especially Aladdin’s-Cave-style antique shops! Discover the story behind the invention of the worlds first jet engine on a tour of the Regency town of Cheltenham, or visit the beautiful market town of Cirencester, known as the Capital-of-the-Cotswolds!… all in this world-renowned, stunningly beautiful region.
