Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England: Places to Explore

In Bewdley, an exceptionally attractive Severn Valley town, tall, narrow-front Georgian buildings cluster around the river bridge. You can take a scenic train or boat ride from here to appreciate the rural... Read more

The dynamic cultural life of Birmingham—the result of the museums, art galleries, theater, ballet, and symphony that thrive here—comes as a refreshing surprise. The city's visual appeal, thanks... Read more

Cheshire's thriving center is Chester, a city similar in some ways to Shrewsbury, though it has many more black-and-white half-timber buildings (some built in Georgian and Victorian times), and its medieval... Read more

Coventry, which thrived in medieval times as a center for the cloth and dyeing industries, is where, according to lore, a naked Lady Godiva allegedly rode through the streets in the 11th century to protest... Read more

Great Malvern feels a bit like a seaside resort, though instead of the ocean your eyes plunge into an expanse of green meadows rolling away into the Vale of Evesham. Off the A449, this attractive Victorian... Read more

A brief drive out of Stratford will take you under the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal aqueduct to pretty Henley-in-Arden, whose wide main street is an architectural pageant of many periods. This area was once... Read more

It's an important cathedral city, and the massive Norman building towers proudly over the River Wye. Before 1066 Hereford was the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia and, earlier still, the site... Read more

The River Severn and its tree-cloaked banks make an attractive backdrop to this cluster of villages; within a mile of the graceful span of the world's first iron bridge are a cluster of fascinating museums... Read more

Among the black-and-white half-timber buildings that make up the market town of Ledbury, take special note of two late-16th-century ones: the Feathers Hotel and the Talbot Inn. The cobbled Church Lane... Read more

Medieval, Georgian, and Victorian buildings jostle for attention in pretty Ludlow, which has a finer display of black-and-white half-timber buildings than even Shrewsbury. Dominating the center is the... Read more

Much Wenlock, a town on A458, is full of half-timber buildings, including a 16th-century guildhall. Nearby are popular places to walk; ask the tourist office for information. The town has held the Wenlock... Read more

Perched high above the River Wye in the Malvern Hills, Ross-on-Wye seems oblivious to modern-day intrusions and remains at heart a small market town. Its steep streets come alive on Thursday and Saturday—market... Read more

One of England's most important medieval towns, Shrewsbury (pronounced shrose-bury), the county seat of Shropshire, lies within a great horseshoe loop of the Severn. It has numerous 16th-century half-timber... Read more

Even under the weight of busloads of visitors, Stratford, on the banks of the slow-flowing River Avon, has somehow hung on to much of its ancient character and can, on a good day, still feel like an English... Read more

Most famous for Warwick Castle—that vision out of the feudal ages—the town of Warwick (pronounced war-ick) is an interesting architectural mix of Georgian redbrick and Elizabethan half-timbering... Read more