Quantocks A mix of moors, valleys and ancient woods of coppiced
oak, these little-visited hills offer stirring views across
the Bristol Channel.
Chesil Beach At a mere 6000 years old, this mind-boggling, 100-million-tonne pebble ridge is the baby of the Jurassic Coast.
Penwith Moors Few people explore these wild western moors, with their hill forts and ancient monuments.
Lundy Island Two hours from north Devon,
this island is a paradise for wildlife-watchers.
Golitha Falls Seek out a fairy-tale cascade on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
Magna Carta One of four surviving copies of the epoch-making document,
on display at Salisbury Cathedral's Chapter House.
Tate St Ives Focuses on the artists who
congregated at St Ives after WWII and turned the seaside town into a
mecca of modern art.
Royal Albert MemorialMuseum (RAMM)
A treasure trove of rambling rooms, filled with glass cases of curiosities
and archaeological finds.
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Check out Paint-Pot Angel by Banksy, along with works
by Pissarro, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable.
We the Curious Fun and educational interactive learning
curve through the world of science.
Lanhydrock Quintessential English
Victoriana, replete with smoking rooms and cavernous kitchens.
St Michael's Mount Looming up in the middle of Mount's Bay and connected to the mainland at Marazion, this abbey-crowned island is an unforgettable sight.
Salisbury Cathedral This majestic, 13th-century cathedral has an elaborate exterior decorated with pointed arches and flying buttresses, and a sombre, austere interior.
Despite countless theories about the site's purpose, from a sacrificial centre to a celestial timepiece, no one knows for certain why Stonehenge was built.Ancient history, hot,
mineral-rich waters and high-tech displays.
BocabarStylish Glastonbury
restaurant with a winning British menu. Charter 1227
Ingredients that speak of classic English dishes have a firm foothold at this Salisbury restaurant.
Hidden Hut Delicious beach food – grilled cheese toasts, soups, proper cakes and salads – served up in a WWII-era cabin.
Primrose Quality ingredients, old favourites, plus some international surprises; Clifton's favourite cafe.
Pump Room Restaurant The quintessential afternoon tea experience, in a grand Georgian dining room.
Devon's wild heart is a haven for hiking, cycling, climbing and white-water kayaking.
Sennen Tucked into the arc of
Whitesand Bay, Sennen Cove boasts Penwith’s best surfing.
Thermae Bath Spa Soak in naturally heated, mineral-rich waters in an open-air rooftop pool, with Bath's cityscape as a backdrop.
South West Coast Path This trail showcases cliffs
crowned by tin mines, sparkling bays, pretty fishing villages and
swaths of rural idyll.
Cheddar Gorge Crawl, climb ladders and squeeze
through small spaces in these subterranean caverns filled with
impressive stalactites and stalagmites.
Jurassic Coast Towering rock stacks,
sea-carved arches and fossils aplenty.
CroydeRide the waves at
this uber-cool, thatched surf village.
A jumble of slate roofs, narrow lanes and golden beaches.
Land’s End Boasting dramatic cliffs and
coves, this is as far west as you can get on the mainland.
This remote island archipelago is
Cornwall’s answer to the Caribbean.
St Ives
D E V O N
W I L T S H I RE
C O R N WA L L
S O M E R S E T & D O R S E T
R O M A N BAT H S
R OYA LC R ES C E N T
J A N E AUST E N C E N T R E
SA L I S B U RY
STO N E H E N G E
I S L ES O F S C I L LY
E D E N P R OJ ECT
T I N TAG E L CAST L E
DA RT M O O R N AT I O N A L PA R K
G R E E N WAY
E X E T E R CAT H E D R A L LY M E R EG I S
A B B OTS B U RY SWA N N E RY
G L ASTO N B U RY
E X M O O RN AT I O N A L
PA R K
AV E B U RYS S G R E AT B R I TA I N
M S H E DC L I F TO N SUS P E N S I O N B R I D G E
High Season: Jun–AugThe busiest months – and while the weather is at its best and there's a holiday vibe, the sights can get crowded and accommo-dation is at its most expensive.
Shoulder Season: Mar–May, Sep–OctSpring and autumn are lower-key versions of summer with some of the benefi ts but not the crowds.
Low Season: Nov–FebRates for B&Bs and hotels are at their lowest. Some sights and attractions close or operate shorter hours.
1st Edition
Published Apr 2019UK £4.99 USA $7.99
Printed in China
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The adventure continues on lonelyplanet.com
Bathymetric data adapted from The GEBCO_2014 Grid, version 20150318, www.gebco.net
BATH & SOUTHWEST
ENGLANDP L A N N I N G M A P
Discover the top sights, activities and experiences in Bath and Southwest England
Wild Places gIf you're craving a bit of wildness far from the madding crowd, there are plenty of places where you can find solitude, even in the height of summer.
History &Architecture "A veritable design timeline can be traced through the architecture of any of Southwest England's villages, towns and cities. Prepare for Roman baths, magnificent cathedrals, humble cottages and grand stately homes.
OutdoorActivities cSouthwest England was made for adventure. The national parks and stunning shores see you hiking iconic coastal paths, surfing the country's best waves and cycling desolate moors.
è Dartmoor National Park (Devon, C3)
è South West Coast Path (Devon & Cornwall, C3; pictured)
Beaches &Views pWhen it comes to beaches, few corners of Britain can match the southwest. There are hundreds to explore, whether you’re planning to paddle in the shallows, explore the rock pools or don a wetsuit and brave the waves.
W I L T S H I R EW I L T S H I R EWiltshire is rich in the reminders of ritual and packed with not-to-be-missed sights. Its verdant landscape is littered with more mysterious stone circles, proces-sional avenues and ancient barrows than anywhere else in Britain.
SALISBURY E 3Centred on a majestic cathedral that's topped by the tallest spire in England, Salisbury has been an impor-tant provincial city for more than a 1000 years, and its streets form an architectural timeline ranging from medieval walls and half-timbered Tudor town houses to Georgian mansions and Victorian villas.
STONEHENGE E 3Welcome to Britain’s most iconic archaeological site. This compelling ring of monolithic stones has been attracting a steady stream of pilgrims, poets and philosophers for the last 5000 years and is still a mys-tical, ethereal place – a haunting echo from Britain's forgotten past.
AVEBURY E 2Older than Stonehenge, and with a diameter of 348m, Avebury is the largest stone circle in the world. A large section of the village is actually inside the stones – footpaths wind around them, allowing you to really soak up the extraordinary atmosphere. Avebury also boasts an encircling landscape that's rich in prehistoric sites.Stonehenge
B AT HB AT HBath is one of Britain's most appealing cities. Exquisite Roman and Georgian architecture, hipster hang-outs and swish spas make it hard to resist.
ROMAN BATHS D 3In typically ostentatious style, the Romans built a bath-house complex above Bath's 46°C (115°F) hot springs. Set alongside a temple dedicated to the healing goddess Sulis-Minerva, the baths now form one of the world's best-preserved ancient Roman spas, and are encircled by 18th- and 19th-century buildings.
ROYAL CRESCENT E 2Bath is famous for its glorious Georgian architecture, and it doesn't get any grander than this semicircular terrace of majestic town houses overlooking the green sweep of Royal Victoria Park. Built between 1767 and 1775, the houses appear perfectly symmetrical from the outside, but the owners were allowed to tweak the interiors.
JANE AUSTEN CENTRE D2Bath is known to many as a location in Jane Austen's novels, including Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Although Austen only lived in Bath between 1801 and 1806, she remained a regular visitor. Here, guides in Re-gency costumes regale you with Austen-esque tales as you tour memorabilia relating to the writer's life in Bath.Royal Crescent
B R I S T O LB R I S T O LOnce a centre for heavy industry, over the last few decades Bristol has reinvented itself as a hub of culture and creativity. Derelict docks are becoming leisure venues, heritage attractions ooze imagination and a world-class street-art scene adds colour and spice.
SS GRE AT BRITAIN D2This mighty, innovative steamship was designed by engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843. You get to wander the galley, surgeon's quarters and dining saloon and see a massive replica steam engine at work.
M SHED D2Set amid the iconic cranes of Bristol's dockside, this impressive museum is a treasure trove of memorabilia and off ers an absorbing overview of Bristol's history – from slaves' possessions and Wallace & Gromit fi gu-rines to a Banksy artwork and a set of decks once used by Massive Attack.
CLIF TON SUSPENSION BRIDGE D2Clifton's most famous landmark is the 76m-high Clift-on Suspension Bridge, which spans the Avon Gorge. Construction began in 1836, although its designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel died before its completion in 1864. Initially created to carry light horse-drawn traffi c and foot passengers, these days the bridge carries around 12,000 cars every day.Clifton Suspension Bridge
S O M E R S E T & D O R S E TS O M E R S E T & D O R S E TDorset's shoreline is one of Britain’s best and boasts sea-carved bays, crumbly cliff s and beaches loaded with fossilised souvenirs. Meanwhile, neighbouring Som-erset is the very picture of rural English countryside, with its pastoral landscape of hedgerows, fi elds and hills.
LYME REGIS D 3Lyme Regis is a pivot point of the Unesco-listed Jurassic Coast: fossil fever is defi nitely in the air and everyone, from palaeontologists to those out for a bit of fun, can engage in a spot of coastal rummaging. Add sandy beaches and some delightful places to sleep and eat, and you get a charming base for explorations.
GL ASTONBURY D 3While Glastonbury is now famous for its mud-soaked music festival, it has a much more ancient past: the town's iconic tor was an important pagan site, and is rumoured by some to be the mythical Isle of Avalon, King Arthur's last resting place.
E XMOOR NATIONAL PARK C 3Chances are you won't want to leave Exmoor’s broad, russet views. In the middle sits the higher moor, an other- worldly landscape of tawny grasses and huge skies. In the north, sheer, rock-strewn river valleys cut into the plateau and coal-black cliff s lurch towards the sea.
ABBOTSBURY SWANNERY D 3Every May some 600 free-fl ying swans nest at this swannery. Wandering the network of trails that winds between the swans' nests is an awe-inspiring experience that's punctuated by occasional territorial displays (snuffl ing coughs and stand-up fl apping), ensuring that even the liveliest children are stilled.
D E V O ND E V O NDevon off ers freedom. Its rippling, beach-fringed land-scape is studded with historic homes, vibrant cities and wild, wild moors. Here you can ditch schedules and to-do lists and hike a rugged coast path, take a scenic boat trip, or get lost in hedge-lined lanes that aren't even on your map.
DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK C 3Covering an area of 368 sq miles, Dartmoor is a stark, wild and bleakly beautiful place, dotted with granite- topped hills, marshy bogs and patches of purple heather, as well as many weirdly shaped tors. With its forbidding landscape and scattered prehistoric remains, this is magnifi cent walking country.
GREENWAY C 4The captivating summer home of crime writer Agatha Christie sits beside the placid River Dart. Furnishings and knick-knacks are much as the author left them, and the bewitching waterside gardens include features that pop up in Christie's mysteries, so you get to spot locations made notorious by fi ctional murders.
E XE TER CATHEDR AL C 3Magnifi cent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's cathedral is one of Devon’s most impressive ecclesi-astical sights. Dating largely from the 12th and 13th centuries, the west front is framed by extraordinary medieval statuary, while inside the ceiling soars up-wards to the longest span of unbroken Gothic vaulting in the world.Exeter Cathedral
C O R N W A L LC O R N W A L LYou can't get further west than the ancient Celtic king-dom of Cornwall. Blessed with the southwest's wildest coastline and most breathtakingly beautiful beach-es, this proudly independent peninsula has always marched to its own tune. While the staple industries of old – mining, fi shing and farming – have all but disap-peared, Cornwall has since reinvented itself as one of the nation's creative corners.
ISLES OF SCILLY A 4While only 28 miles west of the mainland, in many ways the Isles of Scilly feels like a diff erent world. Life on this archipelago of around 140 tiny islands seems hardly to have changed in decades, and the only noise pollution comes from breaking waves and cawing gulls. Re-nowned for its glorious beaches, there are few places better to escape.
TINTAGEL CASTLE B 3Famous as the supposed birthplace of King Arthur, Tintagel's epic cliff top castle has been occupied since Roman times and once served as a residence for Cornwall's Celtic kings. Clinging to black granite cliff s, surrounded by booming surf and wheeling gulls, it's the classic fairy-tale castle.
EDEN PROJ ECT B 4The giant biomes of the Eden Project – the world's largest greenhouses – have become Cornwall's most famous landmark, and an essential visit. Looking rather like a lunar landing station, Eden's bubble-shaped biomes maintain miniature ecosystems that enable all kinds of weird and wonderful plants to fl ourish.
BATHStreets & Plazas Alfred St C2Ambury C5Argyle St D3Avon St B5Bartlett St C2Bath St C4Bathwick St D1Beau St C4Bennett St B2Bridge St C4Broad St C3Brock St B2Charles St B4Charlotte St B3Circus Mews B2Claverton St C6Cleveland Pl D1Corn St C5Crescent Gdns A3Crescent La A2Dorchester St C5Duke St D4Gay St B3
George St B3Gravel Walk B2Green Park Rd B5Grove St D3Gt Stanhope St A3Guinea La C2Henrietta Mews D3Henrietta Rd D2Henrietta St D3High St C4Holloway B6James St West B4John St C3Julian Rd B2Lansdown Rd C1Laura Pl D3London Rd D1London St C2Lower Bristol Rd B5Magdalen Ave B6Manvers St D5Midland Bridge Rd A4Milk St B5Milsom St C3Monmouth Pl A3Monmouth St B4Morford St B2
New King St A4New Orchard St C5Newark St C5North Pde D4Pierrepont St D4Princes St B3Rivers St B2Rossiter Rd D6Royal Ave B3Russell St B2South Pde D5Southgate C5St James’s Pde C5St John’s Rd D2St Lawrence St C5Stall St C4Stanhope St A4The Paragon C2Trinity St B4Union St C4Upper Bristol Rd A3Upper Church St B2Walcot St C2Wells Rd B6Westgate St C4Westmorland Park A6
Parks & Gardens Georgian Garden B3Green Park A5Henrietta Park D2Parade Gardens D4Queen Sq B3Royal Victoria Park A2
Baldwin St J2Bath Rd L4Berkeley Pl G2Bond St L1Broad St J2Broad Weir K2Brunel Lock Rd F4Brunel Way E4Caledonian Pl E2Canon’s Rd J3Canon’s Way H3Clarence Rd K4Clifton Down E2Clifton Park F1Clifton Vale F3College Rd F1Colston Ave J2Corn St J2Cornwallis Cres F3Coronation Rd F4Counterslip K3Cumberland Rd H4Elmdale Rd H1Elton Rd H1Eugene St J1Fairfax St K2Gas Ferry Rd G4
Gloucester Row E2Horfield Rd J1Horsefair K2Hotwell Rd E3-F3Jacob’s Wells Rd G2King St J3Lewins Mead J2Lower Park Row J2Marlborough St J1Marsh St J3Meridian Pl G2Mortimer Rd F2Narrow Quay J3Nelson St J2Newgate K2Oakfield Rd G1Old Market St L2Park Row H2Park St H2Pembroke Rd F1Penn St K1Portland St F2Portway E1-E2Prewett St K4Prince St J3Princess Victoria St E2Pump La K4
Queen St K2Queen’s Pde H3Queen’s Rd G2Redcliff Hill K4Redcliffe St K3Redcliffe Way K3Regent St F2Richmond Hill G2Rupert St J2Sion Hill E2Small St J2Somerset St K4St George’s Rd H3St Michael’s Hill H1St Paul’s Rd G1St Thomas St K3Stokes Croft K1Temple Gate L3Temple Way L3The Grove J3Tyndall Ave H1Tyndalls Park Rd G1Victoria St K3Wapping Rd J4Welsh Back K3West Mall E2Woodland Rd H1
York Pl G2York Rd K4
Neighbourhoods Bedminster H4Broadmead K2Clifton E1Clifton Village E3Clifton Wood F3Harbourside H3Hotwells F3Kingsdown J1Redcliffe K4Southville G4St Michael’s H1St Paul’s L1Stokes Croft K1Temple L3 West End H2
Parks & GardensBerkeley Sq H2Brandon Hill H3Brunswick Sq K1Castle Park K2
College Green H3King Sq J1Leigh Woods E3Portland Square K1Queen Sq J3The Downs E2Victoria Sq F2
Railway StationsBristol Old Station L3Temple Meads Train Station
L3
SightsBristol Museum & Art
Gallery H2Clifton Suspension
Bridge E2Galleries Shopping Centre
K2Girl with the Pierced
Eardrum G4M Shed J4Primrose F2SS Great Britain G3St Nicholas Market K2
University of Bristol H2We the Curious J3Well Hung Lover H2
SOUTHWEST ENGLAND Geographic Features Annet A8Bodmin Moor G9Bryher A7Chesil Beach Q9Eastern Isles B7Glastonbury Tor P5Gugh A8Hampshire U7Isle of Wight V9Isles of Scilly A7-B8Land’s End A12Lizard Point D13Lundy Island G5Mendip Hills P4Penwith Moors B12Penwith Peninsula B12Salisbury Plain T5
Samson A7Southern Cotswolds R2St Agnes A8St Helen A7St Martin’s B7St Mary’s A7The Lizard D13The Quantocks N6Tresco A7Yes Tor J8
Sights Abbotsbury Swannery Q9Avebury T3Cheddar Gorge P4Dartmoor National
Park K9Eden Project F11Exmoor National Park L5Golitha Falls G10Greenway L11Hidden Hut E12Jurassic Coast R9Lanhydrock F10South West Coast Path
Water Features Avon K10-T7Axe P5Bristol Channel N4Barle K5Barnstaple Bay H6Beaulieu V7Blagdon Lakes P4Booby’s Bay D9Bourne U5Bovey K9Bridgwater Bay N5Burrator Reservoir J10Celtic Sea A12Chew Valley Lakes Q4Coln T1Dart L10Dozmary Pool G9East Dart K9Erme K11Exe L5-M7Harlyn Bay E9Lyme Bay O9
Lake G10Slapton Ley L11Stour S8Tamar H8Tavy J9Taw J6Teign K8-L9Thames (Isis) V1The Fleet Q9The Solent V8Tor Bay L10Torridge J7Usk O2Walkham J9West Dart K9Whitsand Bay H11Widemouth Bay G8Windrush V1Wye P1Yealm J11
ITINERARIESHISTORIC BATH WALKING TOURBath Abbey C4Begin your architectural amble at the city's iconic ecclesiastical edifi ce, built on the site of an 8th-century chapel.k 450m to Pulteney Bridge
Pulteney Bridge D3At the northern end of the Grand Parade, this bridge was designed by Robert Adams in 1773 and is one of only a handful in the world to be lined with shops. k 800m to the Circus
The Circus B2Designed to echo the Colosseum in Rome, the three-tiered pillars exhibit the key styles of classical architecture and the facades are supposedly studded with masonic symbols.k 200m to Royal Crescent
Royal Crescent A2Constructed by John Wood the Younger in 1774, the terrace is now Grade I listed, making it as architecturally signifi cant as Buckingham Palace. No 1 Royal Crescent is open to the public.
ART & HISTORY WALKING TOUR AT BRISTOL HARBOURWell Hung Lover H2On Frogmore St, one of Banksy's best loved pieces of street art features an apparently two-timing wife, an angry husband and a naked man dangling from a window.k 1km to M Shed
M Shed J4Head upstairs in this museum to see slavery and Wallace & Gromit exhibits and another Banksy: the Grim Reaper, which the artist painted on the side of a nightclub boat.k 1km to Girl With a Pierced Eardrum
Girl with the Pierced Eardrum G4This 2014 Banksy creation re-imagines the famous Vermeer portrait, but uses an alarm box instead of the pearl earring. It's a little hard to fi nd – head for the clock tower of the white building outside Bristol Marina, and duck around the side.k 350m to SS Great Britain
SS Great Britain G3This is your must-visit Bristol sight – a 98m, steam- powered Victorian super ship set in a spectacular dry dock that makes it look as if she's fl oating in a sea of glass. Afterwards, refuel at Dockyard Cafe, right outside.
SOUTHWESTERN VISTAS DRIVING TOURGlastonbury P5Begin your drive in Glastonbury – famous for its annual music festival, ruined abbey and many mystical legends.K 120km to Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor National Park J8This vast national park feels like it has tumbled straight out of a Tolkien tome, with its honey-coloured heaths, moss- smothered boulders, tinkling streams and eerie granite hills.K 70km to Eden Project
Eden Project F10Cross into Cornwall to explore the space-age biodomes of the Eden Project, now considered one of Britain's modern architectural wonders.K 65km to St Ives
St Ives C11Visit the numerous galleries lining the cobbled streets of this picturesque port town.K 25km to Land's End
Land's End A12Conclude your drive at Land's End, where the English mainland comes to a fi nal full stop.
