This article provides a completely original and novel travel tip for anyone who is on vacation in England and wants to combine visiting four world heritage sites with some exercise in beautiful countryside and a relaxing time on a glorious sandy beach; all in one tour that can be completed in three days.
The three day tour covers a region in the south of England that used to be called Wessex. Wessex is often referred to as the birthplace of England because it was the kingdom of the West Saxons who were the dominant power in the 10th century before the Norman conquest. By overcoming their rivals from other regions the West Saxons created the single Kingdom which later became England. But as far back as Neolithic times the region has always been exceptionally rich in culture and human activity. As well as history, Wessex is also rich in mythology, being the land of King Arthur and the legend of the Holy Grail being taken to Glastonbury.
There is no modern county or political region called Wessex and nowadays the word is only used in its historic sense or as an unofficial designation of geographical area, useful in tourist guides etc. The region includes no less than four World Heritage sites and the following tour plan suggests a novel way of enjoying them all in the space of just three days. It assumes that the tourist is based in London or nearby and needs to return there within four days. If you have longer or your base is further away, it is easy to extend the tour to suit.
The City of Bath
Start off the tour by travelling west from London to Bath. This is a distance of around 90 miles and takes between 100 minutes and two hours, depending on traffic conditions. Your first night’s stay will be in Bath and you will find that there are many very good hotels in the city that you can book online.
Bath has been designated a world heritage site since 1987. There is so much to see and do in Bath that you can easily justify spending there. If however, you intend keeping to the three day schedule suggested in this article, you have only one day in Bath and you will need to prioritise which of the sights are most important to spend time on. Whatever else you cut short on however, be sure to allow plenty of time to visit the Roman Baths.
The Stone Circles of Avebury
Leave Bath early in the morning and travel east for a distance of around fifty miles to Avebury, the second of our World Heritage sites. It is an attractive village that has a Saxon church, an Elizabethan manor house, a medieval thatched barn and an excellent village pub. Although the village itself is well worth spending time exploring, the real attraction of Avebury is its position as the centre of a well preserved megalithic site. This consists of several stone circles, a great ditch and an external earth mound. These circles are formed by around a hundred great boulders, weighing as much as 40 tonnes. If you allow two to three hours in Avebury, you can enjoy lunch in the village pub before leaving
The World Heritage site of Stonehenge
Allow 30 minutes for your journey from Avebury to Stonehenge, which has been a World Heritage site since 1986. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. People have come here to marvel at this incredible feat of engineering for the best part of five thousand years. Despite the many theories that exist, the precise purpose of Stonehenge remains a mystery. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon here, soaking up the mystical atmosphere and listening to the informative audio tour guide issued with the visit, before setting off on the final leg of your journey.
The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site
My suggestion is that you head for the small town of Corfe Castle and pre-book your overnight accommodation at one of its excellent hotels or guest houses. The journey from Stonehenge should take you around 100 minutes. Corfe Castle is a few miles inland from the Dorset coast but is a very attractive village that is dominated by the ruins of an eerie medieval castle. Alternatively, you could head straight for the village of Studland which is right on the coast and stay there overnight instead.
Either way, I have selected Studland as your final destination because it offers the choice of spending a relaxing day on Studland beach, one of Europe’s finest, or hiking along the coastal path over some of Dorset’s most beautiful scenery. The entire Dorset – Devon coast was declared a World Heritage site in 2001 because it provides a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning the Mesozoic era, documenting approximately 185 million years of Earth history. This has earned it the title; The Jurassic Coast. It also happens to be one of the most beautiful coastal areas in the whole of Britain.
After a day spent hiking or relaxing on the beach - which has large naturist section if you want to get an all over tan - your journey back to London will take about two hours by following the A31, M27 and M3 into the capital.
Further information about Wessex, its World Heritage sites and the specific places referred to in this travel tip article can easily found on good travel web sites. My own website, best-travel-tip.com is always interested in collecting and building travel information aimed at providing holiday makers with tips for getting the most out of vacations all over the world.
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