Grounds Farm

There’s more to Kenilworth Castle than its dramatic ruins. The recreated Elizabethan Garden is a pleasant place for a leisurely stroll among colourful, fragrant blooms, with highlights including an elegant aviary and a marble fountain. For a fortress in a less ruinous state, head to Warwick Castle (20 minutes), overlooking the River Avon. In addition to its famed cathedral (comprising a modern church next to the remains of the one destroyed during World War II), Coventry (20 minutes) is home to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, with archaeology and visual arts collections, and the Midland Air Museum. Stratford-upon-Avon (half an hour) is an obligatory destination for anyone who’s into literature and the theatre. Stratford honours its most famous offspring in multiple ways: you can visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a half-timbered cottage now housing period items; have a look at the Bard’s wife Anna Hathaway’s Cottage; and catch a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.