Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to the Great West Way (Travel Guide)

Avebury

The Great West Way reaches west from the UK capital of London to the ex-industrial powerhouse of Bristol, now one of the countrys hippest cities, covering a distance of some 125 miles in the process. But this touring route is far from an A to B run between urban centres, it is the worlds first multi-modal touring route, a meandering lattice of tracks and trails that include the Kennet & Avon Canal, the Great Western Railway, the River Thames and numerous walking and cycling routes, as well as the main A4 road. However you choose to explore, youll be travelling through the soul of England, weaving a pathway between ancient market towns with imposing Georgian architecture, quaint villages built in honey-coloured Bath stone and across the patchwork of woodland, downland and farmers fields that rolls out across this quintessentially English area. There is no mistaking which country youre touring here.

The Great West Way runs between Bristol in the west and western London in the east, passing through the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Berkshire en route and dipping into the southern parts of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire as it approaches the capital.

If you start in Bristol and head eastwards along the Great West Way your first major stop is likely to be Bath, a city so beautiful and so historically important that it has been UNESCO World Heritage-listed as a cultural site. Stretching northeast of Bath and into Wiltshire and Gloucestershire is theCotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a bucolic paradise of rolling hills and picturesque, somnolent villages that tempts you out onto two feet, or perhaps two wheels.

East of the Cotswolds is the rest of Wiltshire, a large county that is mostly rural and relatively unknown as a destination in its own right but is nevertheless home to the world-famous prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage site of Stonehenge and Avebury, the ever-onscreen village of Lacock (seen in both Downton Abbey and Harry Potter) and a large chunk of another Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Wessex Downs. Wiltshire also boasts some of the Great West Ways most appealing towns and villages, including Marlborough, Corsham, Calne, Devizes, Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Chippenham, Malmesbury and Castle Combe, as well as plenty of pubs, tearooms and country walks in the beautiful Vale of Pewsey.

Abutting Wiltshire in the heart of the North Wessex Downs is Berkshire, an unsung county that runs east into Londons environs and hosts big-hitting sites such as Highclere Castle (the real Downton Abbey) and Windsor Castle (the worlds oldest and largest inhabited castle) as well as the towns of Hungerford, Newbury and Reading. Travel further east along the River Thames to Henley on Thames (famous for its annual Royal Regatta), Marlow and Maidenhead.

The North Wessex Downs give way to the Chilterns here, yet another Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a wonderful place for a cycle. Finally, the Great West Way comes to its spectacular conclusion in western London where youll find Richmond Park, a royal park home to hundreds of free-roaming deer, and the world renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a garden that is home to the worlds largest and most diverse plant collection.

England is much-maligned for its changeable weather but the Great West Way traverses the far south and the driest part of the British Isles. Visit in summer and you can expect a reasonable amount of sunshine and warm temperatures that dont require a jacket most of the time. This, though, is peak season and July and August see much of the population taking time off to travel in their own backyard. A better time to visit is the spring (roughly March to June) or the autumn (September and October) when you can still expect plenty of dry weather and the days remain long, with light evenings ideal for sitting in pub gardens. Winter (December to February) is a better time to visit than you might think, with those traditional pubs and tearooms coming into their own. This is a country used to carrying on regardless in chilly, wet weather and you can expect decent heating in your hotel room, roaring fires in the pubs and a stiff upper lip attitude that means everyone pretty much shrugs and gets on with it albeit with more clothing and an umbrella. Christmas is big here too and can be a great time to visit, with tons of events running throughout December. Bear in mind, though, that England largely shuts down between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, when many businesses are closed.

from Left THE FAT DUCK; The Brewhouse Clock, LACOCK ABBEY; NARROWBOATING, kennet & avon canal

Our author Helen Ochyra grew up on the Great West Way ( GreatWestWay.co.uk ). Let her lead you to the very best the route has to offer with her selection of handpicked highlights.

Tasty treats Bristol has recently emerged as a gastronomic hotspot and no visit to the city is complete for me without at least one meal at Cargo, a series of ex-shipping containers turned hip restaurants down by the harbour. One of my favourites is . My meal here has me raving about it more than a year later and I cant imagine Ill ever enjoy a dinner more.

Terrific towns Bray in Berkshire is a must-visit for foodies, with not only the Fat Duck but also , where youll find a gorgeous marketplace, a Victorian brewery that still uses Shire horses and the impressive engineering feat of the Caen Hill lock flight.

There are few better ways to spend a sunny English evening than in a beer garden, glass in hand, with your bed for the night moored just a few metres away. Hire a narrowboat on the Kennet & Avon Canal and every night of your trip can be just like this, with the added joy of pootling along through jade and golden countryside, chatting to locals as you cruise past them at strolling pace. Numerous companies hire out boats and even the most vehicularly challenged will quickly get the hang of driving one.

Our author recommendations dont end here. Weve flagged up Helens favourite places throughout the guide, highlighted with the symbol.

The Great West Way runs through the very soul of England, tempting you to stop regularly and to spend more time exploring and discovering there is always something new around the next corner. These 33 highlights are some of the best things to see and do along the route.