West Country Travel Guide

Historic Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset

Explore

Find historic places to visit and stay in south west England. Explore mysterious Glastonbury with its legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, or walk the cobbled causeway to magical St Michael's Mount. Visit elegant Bath, with its Georgian architecture and Roman baths, and explore Wells, the smallest city in England, with its glorious cathedral and medieval Bishop's Palace. From the ancient hill figure at Cerne Abbas to the Iron Age hill fort of Maiden Castle, history is never far away.

Major West Country Historic Attractions

Top Heritage-Rated

Glastonbury Abbey Heritage Rating
The Roman Baths
Wells Cathedral
Powderham Castle
Bath

More Major Historic places to visit

Castles
Corfe Castle
Farleigh Hungerford
Pendennis Castle
Restormel Castle
Tintagel Castle
Totnes

Abbeys and Monasteries
Cleeve Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey

Cathedrals
Exeter
Wells

Countryside:
Dartmoor
- Dartmoor Photo Gallery
Exmoor

Historic Houses
Antony House
Athelhampton House
Castle Drogo
Cotehele House
Forde Abbey
Knightshayes Court
Lanhydrock
Montacute House
Pencarrow House
Powderham Castle
Prideaux Place
St. Michael's Mount
Saltram House
Trewithen House

Gardens
Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens
Coleton Fishacre
Killerton Gardens
Marwood Hill
Rosemoor Garden
Trebah Gardens
Forde Abbey

Ancient Sites
Carn Brea
Maiden Castle
Cerne Abbas Giant

Travel Resources

Tourist Information Centres
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Somerset

Travel Directories
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Somerset

Featured Attraction

Botallack - Botallack, Cornwall, England

Botallack is a historic mining village near St Just, with the remains of a stunningly scenic mine perched on the clifftops. Two engine houses remain, plus the Count House and Count House Workshop, both restored, with displays on the local and natural history of the area. ... more

Featured Historic Hotel

Boringdon Hall Hotel
Situated on the edge of the idyllic Dartmoor National Park and just five minutes from the vibrant marine town of Plymouth Boringdon Hall Hotel provides a peaceful and tranquil refuge from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The earliest mention of Boringdon Hall can be found in the 1086 …

Accommodation Rating: 3
Heritage Rating:
Stay From: £138.00

County Travel Guides

Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Somerset

Accommodation

Hotels
Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Somerset - Bath - Exeter - Penzance - Plymouth - Torquay - and many more locations >>

Self Catering Cottages
Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Somerset - and many more locations >>

Bed and Breakfast
Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Somerset

Editor's picks - Top 5 reasons to visit South East England

1. The west front of Wells Cathedral
2. The haunting tors of Dartmoor
3. The water-bound causeway to St Michael's Mount
4. Cycling on the Somerset Levels
5. The gardens at Forde Abbey

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Featured Historic Hotel

Hintlesham Hall
Ipswich, Suffolk

Heritage Rating:

A Grade 1 listed Elizabethan house which is now an AA 4 red star hotel. Standing in 175 acres of parkland offering attentive and friendly service boasting the associated championship PGA golf course and clubhouse. Widely recognised as one of the loveliest in the UK and Ireland s highest … more >>

More hotels in Suffolk >>

HISTORY CORNER

Name the Historic attraction

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British History Quiz

This Celtic saint began his career as a simple shepherd boy. He entred the monastery of Melrose in 651 and in 664 became prior of Lindisfarne

Clue

This Day in British History

24 May, 1450

Jack Cade's rebellion begins

Cade, an Irish soldier, led men from Kent, Surrey, Sussex,, and Middlesex against Henry VI

Monarch Mayhem

This queen was executed after a long imprisonment by order of Elizabeth I

Clue

National Trust

National Trust membership

Free entry to National Trust properties throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus discounted admission to National Trust for Scotand properties.

Membership details

About the National Trust

Coverack (Self catering)