The Lower Lode

Take the foot ferry or drive the few miles to medieval Tewkesbury and its half-timbered buildings, many narrow alleyways and Norman abbey. More modernly, the town also has a good range of speciality shops, antique shops, tearooms, cafés, pubs and restaurants. If you want to get out into the countryside, miles of trails, lanes, riverside walks and cycle paths surround Tewkesbury, or you could travel on to the nearby village of Twyning to launch a boat dramatically onto the Avon. More hikes are easily found in the Lower Lode surroundings of the Malvern and Cotswolds hills, or around the river valley countryside of the Severn Vale. Upton upon Severn is close to here too – home of jazz and blues festivals in the summer – and you'll be within east driving distance of a few splendidly old and attraction-filled cities: Cheltenham, with racecourse, Regency architecture galore and William Morris-inspired art, jewellery and furniture at the town's art gallery and museum; Gloucester, with seventh-century cathedral (used in three of the Harry Potter films, wizard fans), and Worcester, home of a 12th-century cathedral; the final defeat of Charles the First, and a rather tasty sauce.