Gloucestershire often evokes images of typical English scenes – sleepy villages with rose adorned cottages, lively pubs with excellent food, antique shops, traditional market towns and impressive abbeys, cathedrals, castles and churches. Much of Gloucestershire lies in the Cotswolds, the ancient Forest of Dean and the Vale of the River Severn. Gloucestershire has many beautiful gardens to visit, a wide variety of excellent attractions, pubs and restaurants to relax in or for the more active there is 4x4 racing or kayaking in the Forest of Dean.

Lying at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in The Cotswolds, Cheltenham is a Spa town, made popular in the 18th and 19th centuries by wealthy visitors looking for healthy retreats. Nowadays Cheltenham is renowned for its Regency townhouses, many music and literature festivals and Cheltenham Racecourse, which annually hosts the Cheltenham Festival. Although you can still sample the spa waters at the Pittville Pump Room.

Gloucester, the County town of Gloucestershire, is located on the River Severn, and can date its history back to Roman Times. Although some way inland, it is a port city, with the Gloucester Docks linked by canal to the Severn Estuary, which allows larger ships to reach the city than would otherwise be possible. Gloucester Docks is now well worth a visit, having been renovated in the 1980s. Gloucester is still home to the most inland lifeboat in the UK. Gloucester Cathedral, dating back to the 7th century, was used extensively as a location for the Harry Potter films.