At the eastern end of what must be one of the most picturesque streets in England stands the…read moremedieval parish church of Lacock, dedicated to St Cyriac. Cyriac was a three-year-old child executed by the Roman Governor of Cilicia in 313 AD for refusing to recant his Christian beliefs. Churches dedicated to Cyriac are common in Normandy, emphasizing Lacock's strong links to the region in the aftermath of the Norman invasion. You enter the church through a west porch, built in the late 15th century. The porch gives access to the base of the tower, built a century earlier. At the east end of the north aisle is a double squint. One opening allowed worshippers in the aisle to view the high altar while the other gave them a view of the Lady Chapel. HP fans: just behind the church, there is a house where HP's parents got killed in the movie. yup..!!

It's only to be expected, being in Lacock, that this church is rather pretty. It's also…read moreinteresting, having a cruciform layout which goes a little beyond the standard and includes an area off to the side. There's nice stuff to look at everywhere: big old fashioned pews, stained glass windows, memorials It's possible there was a Saxon church on this site, but the first definite church was Norman, built at the end of the 11th century. Since then there have been a number of rebuildings, additions and remodellings, leading to some mixing of styles and unusual features in what's there today (see website for more details). St Cyriac was a popular dedication in Norman times. There's two possible sources for the name: one is a young Christian deacon, who was martyred by the Emperor Diocletian. A perhaps more popular story is that Cyriac was a 3 year old child. His mother Julitta was crucified for her faith in 303 ad. During her interrogation the child sat on the knee of the governor of Silicia. Cyriac also confirmed his faith and boxed the governor's ears. Enraged, he threw the child onto the marble floor, killing him instantly. His saint's day is July 15th.

The castle is lovely and grounds are absolutely stunning. Although the structure and landscaping…read moreare lovely, our tour guide felt the need to weave her strong political views into most topics. Examples would be regarding a pitcher/jug that is displayed in one of the glass cases. She said the pitcher "should not be here" and if she had her way "it would be returned" because it was "stolen from a masque." She also said when referring to Dr. Edward Jenner being the first to develop a successful vaccination for small pox that "it really is a question if he were the first." She said he barely beat Africa and Turkey in this world altering vaccine. To which doctors to whom was she referring to in Africa or Turkey? She made a comment of, " My grandfather always said, 'Whatever horrible acts done have been done have been done by the English first.' and I firmly believe this." She was also railing against the decisions of the monarchs before the addition of the parliament. Then she went on to say she wished she could get rid of the current government. A guide should concentrate on the facts and remove biases. It is quite distracting and unnecessary.

What can you say about one of the oldest inhabited castles in the world which is still owned by the…read moresame family from 900 years ago. You have to go. Its where Edward II was murdered with a red hot poker up his fundament .

An idyllic place to study for a young art student & I was…read moreone. Inspiring place, once owned & leased by Lord Methuen to the Bath Academy of Art Once a royal Saxon manor it was later designed to house flemish master paintings.The gardens are lovely. Designed by Capability Brown complete with peacocks & a Ha-Ha.There are state rooms to visit & a picture gallery.Now the Art college has returned after 20 years,the current owner James Methuen Campbell, said: I am especially happy that artists will continue to draw inspiration from these beautiful surroundings; the setting here is unique.

Avebury Stone Circle is one of the world's greatest prehistoric monuments: older than Stonehenge,…read moreit is the largest megalithic stone circle (henge) anywhere, and part of what was once an enormous megalithic complex stretching for miles. To me, it's more impressive and more spiritual a place than Stonehenge, despite the fact there's a road and village within its structure. History As ever with such sites, our knowledge is limited, but like Stonhenge, it is likely to have been built in phases. The best guess is that construction began around 2600BC with the inner circles, with the great ditch and outer circle completed around 2500BC, making it contemporaneous with the Pyramids at Giza. When completed, these circles included about 154 stones (only 36 remain today) and it also had two avenues 50 feet wide on either side, extending another one and a half miles. Excavations indicate it was probably used as a ritual site for some 2,300 years. A mile to the south is the artificial Silbury Hill, which must also have formed a related part of this complex, although its purpose is now unkown. Nearby Windmill Hill - an important settlement in Neolithic times - also has some burial mounds from the Bronze Age. As well as natural degradation, the monument suffered hugely during the mediaeval period when the Christian authorities actively encouraged demolition of what was regarded as a Pagan monument. This process accelerated in the 17th and 18th centuries, when local people also broke up the stones for building material. But as late as the 1720s, the great antiquarian Dr William Stukeley was able to trace the original plan, including the avenues: although his interpretation of this as a Druid site is now regarded as inaccurate, his drawings and surveys provide our best record of what it looked like. Alas, the destruction of the stones by local farmers continued unabated into the 19th century. The 20th century showed a greater interest in and respect for the site, and - rather controversially - many of the stones were re-erected in the 1930s by the archaeologist Alexander Keiller. This involved in some cases demolition of later buildings, themselves of some historical interest. I happen to think he was right to try and preserve what was left, but many contextual historians disagree. Whatever the rights and wrongs, the site is now safely in the hands of the English Heritage and managed by the National Trust. The site Today, the most impressive feature is the great ditch and its banks: the excavation of this feature - nearly 0.5km in diameter - involved moving 200,000 tonnes of soil and rock. It may even once have been filled with water to make the interior and island. Even now, the ditch and bank together are impressive, but originally they were even deeper/higher (at around 50ft). Inside this are the remains of the outer circle, which is nearly complete in the north west and south west corners. The remains of the two inside circles are more fragmentary. Unlike Stonehenge, here you can walk right up to the stones, so allow at least a couple of hours to visit properly. Don't miss walking south from the main henge monument along the West Kennet Avenue - around 30 standing stones arranged in pairs (to the form the avenue). Practicalities There is a gift shop and museum in the nearby Barn and Stables (themselves 17th century buildings) with interactive displays to put everything into context. The museums are fully accessible, but the main site has undulating grassy terrain (without footpaths) which are accessed through "kissing gates". The ground can get soft and rather boggy underfoot if it has been raining, so you will have to judge for yourself. There is a drop-off point in the village. Parking is the main problem: there is a pay and display car park (free for motorcycles and National Trust Members), on the A4361 road between Beckington and Avebury about 400m from the edge of the henge. This can become packed very quickly in the summer. There's a more central car park for those with disabled parking badges - the Red Lion car park is only for patrons. The village of Avebury itself is worth a wander around (Avebury Manor - see separate review - and the Red Lion especially, although it does get terribly busy at weekends in summer). For the most part, you'll still be inside the monument itself!

I almost feel educated!‍ We enjoyed this pre Stonehenge!…read more Keeps getting ! Keeps getting stranger!

The Pulteney Bridge in Bath is one of only four bridges in the world to have retail shops spanning…read moreboth sides of the bridge. Construction of the stone arch bridge was completed over the River Avon in 1774. Crossing the bridge (I was on a bus) has a very Old World feel. I was excited by the history and seeing the little shops on the bridge. The shops were packed with tourists.

Bath's iconic architecture is one of the many reasons why the city is a designated UNESCO World…read moreHeritage site, from its Roman origins to the fashionable eighteenth-century designs that form many of the city's most recognizable buildings. The guide informed us that the historic bridge is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides. (he meant Inhabited Bridges where shops/houses are built on the bridge) 1. Ponte Vecchio, Florence 2. Krämerbrücke, Germany 3. Pulteney Bridge, UK 4. Ponte di Rialto (Venice) I had been to #1,3,4 now. Pulteney Bridge is an impressive structure, its three arches sitting astride the River Avon, a splendid backdrop to the crescent-shaped river weir. The bridge in Bath is one of the most photographed examples of Georgian architecture in the city. it was designed in 1769 by Robert Adam and named after Frances Pulteney, wife of William Johnstone Pulteney. He had grand plans to create a 'new town' to rival that of John Wood's on the west side of the city. His grand scheme needed a new bridge, and he didn't want just any old bridge; he wanted a spectacular bridge, one which everyone would talk about, and that's how this came into existence.

Bradford on Avon has a wel-preserved Anglo-Saxon (i.e., pre-Norman /pre-1066 English) Church of St…read more Laurence, also referred to as the Saxon Church. It was supposedly founded in the early 8th century and the surviving building is over 1000 years old. It has preserved a typical Anglo-Saxon style and decor and is both charming and interesting.

Bradford-on-Avon is a lovely historic town close to Bath, with a handsome mediaeval bridge, an…read moreimpressive 14th Century tithe barn and a lovely parish church of Norman foundation. But the most famous building in Bradford-on-Avon is undoubtedly the diminutive church of St Lawrence which, by an accident of history, is Britain's most perfectly preserved Saxon church. A church was founded on the site in AD 705 by St Aldhelm, although most archaeologists agree that the present building dates from the reign of King Aethelred II (978-1016). A charter granted Bradford to the nuns of Shaftesbury in 1001, and the church may date from this grant. It has been suggested that the richness of this small church implies that it was intended partly to house the relics of Aethelred's brother, Edward The Martyr. Its subsequent history is rather obscure, but appears quite early on to have been converted into secular use, with other buildings growing up around it, and extra floors inserted into its nave and chancel. These were removed when it was rediscovered and restored in 1856, although the walls still show evidence of them. There are no remaining additions from later periods, so the building we now see is purely Saxon. The church is tiny the nave is just 25ft long and the chancel is 13ft long, although it feels larger as it considerably taller than it is wide. A north porticus is still intact, but the south has been lost, although it is clear from the exterior where it stood. The robust Victorian buttresses on the south side were erected when the school-master's house, which had bee built on this side against the church, was demolished. Decoration is restrained: the exterior has Romanesque blind arcading, and the interior has simple mouldings around the narrow door arches, but the most interesting carvings are those of two bearded flying angels on the east wall of the nave. There are only a few, small windows, giving a dusky light. Although the interior is bare of furnishings, it is nevertheless an ancient and atmospheric space.

Tucked away in rural Wiltshire, half an hour's drive from Bath, Edington is one of those villages…read morethat makes you realise that the fabric of English history is not just to be found in its cities, but in its villages as well. The village has two claims to fame. First, as the place where the young King Alfred the Great defeated the Danes in 878, safeguarding both the Anglo-Saxon heritage in England, and forcing the Danes' subsequent conversion to Christianity. The second claim to fame of Edington is unquestionably its church, dedicated to St Mary, Katherine and All Saints. Formerly a Priory, it was founded around 1351, and built in ten years an amazing speed for the time. The church shows the transition from the Decorated (continental Flamboyant) to the English Perpendicular style, but is most notable for the fantastic roof, decorated in red and white, which dates from 1663. There are also some notable tombs, dating from the 15th-17th centuries, with superb, delicate carving. After the reformation, the Priory became the parish church, which explains why such a small village possesses such an amazing building. Edington church is also famous for its August festival of ecclesiastical music, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. Regularly featured on BBC Radio 3, there are up to four choral services a day, with choirs visiting from churches and cathedrals all around the UK. After visiting church, I'd recommend going around the corner to the Lamb Inn a lovely 400-year-old pub. (Photos: courtesy of Frank Collins)

I am a Local Girl, who grew up around Bath! I emigrated to Germany and once again to the states…read more When I come "home" I can never NOT visit Bath - it is "The Famous Roman city" - and for good reason. It is listed in the TOP PLACES of England's must see places. When you do come here, here is a list of suggestions of things to see in Bath - Please do read my other reviews. The Roman Baths The Royal Crescent The Circus Alexandra park Bath Abbey Prior Park Landscape Garden Great Pulteney Street The Assembly rooms Sally Lunns The Thermae Bath Spa The Corridor The Theatre Royal The Prior Park Landscape The Jane Austen Centre And this is just a few suggestions.....NOTHING MORE TO ADD BUT GO!

Love this place. If you like Austen, Dickens, relaxing, walking everywhere, history, etc., you have…read moreto visit. An easy train ride from London, but feels like another world. We had lovely coffees, beers, lunches, walks through gardens, and I freaked out over all the names and places I recognized from reading so much oh my beloved Jane Austen. Just a lovely visit!

Bibury is a charming, typically Cotswold. It's easy to see why William Morris called Bibury 'The…read moremost beautiful village in England' - wonderful stone buildings strung out along the banks of the River Coln. Arlington Row, owned by the National Trust, is one of England's most iconic and photographed sites - it even appears on the inside cover of UK passports! Originally built in the 14th century as a monastic wool store, it was converted in the 17th century into a row of weavers' cottages. The River Coln flows through Bibury sandwiched between the main village street and an expanse of boggy water meadow known as Rack Isle, so called because wool was once hung out to dry there on racks after it had been washed in Arlington Row. You can even see some trout in the river, which the trout farm owners told us they are the escape artists! With Arlington Row as a backdrop, it makes one of the most picturesque scenes you will find in the Cotswolds. Other attractions in Bibury include: Bibury Trout Farm, (see my other review) one of the oldest and most attractive trout farms in the country covering almost 15 acres, where you can learn about trout or event catch your own dinner. This village is stunning, perfect photographers dream. Do come you will not be disappointed.

If traveling past Oxford don't miss out on this picturesque little town, offering a prime example…read moreof the Cotswold way of living. Houses are maintained in much the old fashion, offering not just wonderful photo opportunities but also a glimpse into housing of the past . You will find several small tea houses and shops here, as well as a trout farm and hotel. Well worth a visit or even a relaxing weekend.