Page 65 - demo

The South West

Click here to return to the South menu . . .

There’s a real mixture of tourist treats on offer in this part of the country. Quaint little
villages, one of the finest grand houses in all England, Lord Nelson’s great fighting flagship
at the Battle of Trafalgar, the ancient cathedrals at Winchester and Salisbury, and the
oldest commercial vineyard in Britain.

But, most significant of all, just north of Salisbury is Stonehenge, the most important Neolithic
monument in Europe, as measured, if by nothing else, by popular interest. Probably the number
one place of interest in Britain outside of London.

All of which means, for you dear latter-day traveller, a plethora of things to see and do, depending
on your interests.

If you limit the number of attractions you visit you’ll make the trip from London to Stonehenge in a
day, but that would be a tragedy (in fact one may even say “why bother?). To get the best of the
region allow at least two days.

The area covers the region between Brighton or London through to Salisbury which is the city
closest to Stonehenge.

From London you can go directly to Salisbury or Stonehenge, or go first to Brighton and on from
there by various ways.

The quickest way is via Portsmouth and thence directly to Salisbury. But a more interesting route
involves going first, by various routes, to Winchester.

Put simply, for the first part of the journey to Winchester it’s a choice between . . .

A: Going to Portsmouth and then to Winchester.

B: Going to first Petworth then on to Winchester, or

C: Doing a bit of both. Go from Brighton to Petworth then down to Portsmouth and from there to
Winchester.

Salisbury

Pronounced SAWLZ-bree or SOLZ-bree – take your pick.

Capital of the ancient kingdom Wessex founded in 1220.
The population today is around 40,000.Salisbury
Cathedral has the tallest church spire in Britain. Its
design is a masterpiece of proportion with two Norman
transepts. Started as late as 1220 and completed in only
38 years, it replaced an earlier church built on the hilltop
at Old Sarum.

The building is steeped in history. It was here that Mary
Tudor married Philip of Spain. One of the four surviving
copies of Magna Carta is kept here. It has the oldest
working clock in the world dating from 1836.