The Ultimate South-West Road Trip
Moorland View makes a perfect pitstop on a road trip through the South West of England. Here are our favourite ideas for a driving tour of the West Country.
Credit: Tom Arrowsmith
1. Bath
Superb Roman remains, glorious Georgian architecture, natural hot spas and first-class shopping – the golden city of Bath has it all. It’s not all about the Romans though – author Jane Austen was Bath’s most famous resident.
2. Stonehenge
World Heritage Site Stonehenge is one of the most important prehistoric monuments in the world. Dating back an astonishing 5,000 years, its exact purpose has been long debated.
3. Stourhead Gardens
One of the world’s finest 18th-century landscaped gardens, with elegant vistas and classical and gothic follies.
4. Bristol Suspension Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, has a spectacular setting on the cliffs of the Avon Gorge. It is the defining symbol of Bristol, drawing thousands of visitors a year who stroll across for views of ancient Avon Gorge and elegant Clifton.
The Georgian city of Bath
Dartmoor National Park, Devon
5. Salisbury Cathedral
Follow in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims as you admire an original copy of the Magna Carta, spot Europe’s oldest working clock and climb Britain’s tallest cathedral spire to look out across the Wiltshire countryside.
6. Dartmoor
One of the UK’s largest wildernesses. Come to see English villages lost in time, romantic English gardens and grand Downton Abbey-style country homes. Our boutique holiday cottage, set in the quintessentially English thatched Devon village of North Bovey, makes the perfect stopover.
7. The Eden Project, Cornwall
Dubbed the eighth wonder of the world, Cornwall’s Eden Project is a series of bubble-like ‘Biomes’ nestled in a crater surrounded by breath-taking scenery, including rainforests, mangrove swamps and treetop gardens.
Eden Project, Cornwall
8. Penzance
Famous for its pirates, Penzance is a historic port near the tiny island of St Michael's Mount. With one of the mildest climates in the UK and beautiful sugar-white sandy beaches, it has an abundance of palm trees and gardens full of sub-tropical plants.
9. Cornish fishing villages and towns
St Ives, Mousehole, Port Isaac - choose your favourite from Cornwall’s quaint fishing villages.
Cornwall. Credit: Benjamin Elliot
10. Lands End
Land's End is Britain’s most south-westerly point and one of the country’s most famous landmarks. From the 200 foot high granite cliffs that rise out of the Atlantic Ocean you can gaze across to the Longships Lighthouse, the Isles of Scilly and, beyond that, towards North America.
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