West Country Travel Guide

Historic Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset

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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

Crediton - Crediton, Devon, England

Crediton is a historic market town in beautiful Devon countryside, well located for both Exeter and Dartmoor National Park. The town dates to at least the 9th century, and prior to 1050 it was the site of a bishopric. There are a wealth of historic buildings along the High Street, … ... more

Featured Historic Hotel

Rock House Hotel
We invite you to share the magic of living at the water's edge in an 18th century picturesque hotel uniquely standing alone at the harbour entrance.

Accommodation Rating: 4
Heritage Rating:
Stay From: £110.00

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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Britain Express Canvas Prints

England Prints

Stunning UK prints for sale by award-winning photographer David Ross, editor of Britain Express, the UK Travel and Heritage Guide.

Featured Historic Hotel

The Ilchester Arms Hotel
Abbotsbury, Dorset

Heritage Rating:

The Ilchester Arms Hotel is a charming 16th Century coaching inn that has been tastefully decorated to be stylish and comfortable without loosing the character of its heritage. The rooms are all unique with their own quirky points differing in size and style they represent hundreds of years of history. …

More hotels in Dorset >>

National Trust

National Trust membership

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

Membership details

About the National Trust

Padstow (Self catering)