The Southwest: overview
Commonly referred to as the West Country, the Southwest encompasses the area that lies between the Bristol and English channels, and encompasses the counties of Somerset, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. Bristol is the most populous city in the region, while neighbouring Bath, a Unesco World Heritage Site, attracts nearly 4 million tourists a year on account of its rich Roman and Georgian heritage.
Southeast of Bath lies Salisbury Plain, in the county of Wiltshire, on which loom's Britain's most evocative ancient monument, Stonehenge. Further west, the town of Glastonbury lies in area associated with myth and legend and famed for the annual music festival that takes place in fields nearby.
Few literary works bear the impress of place as strongly as the novels of Thomas Hardy (1840–1928). Set in ‘Wessex’, Hardy’s stories range across the modern counties of Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset, venturing at times into Hampshire to the east and Devon and Cornwall to the west.
Places to visit in The Southwest
Bath
One of the country’s finest Regency towns, Bath has stunning architecture and was home to one of England’s sharpest writers, the novelist Jane Austen. Read more about Bath...
Bristol
A major port for 300 years, second only to London, Bristol has a rich history and an attractive setting. Read more about Bristol...
Stonehenge
Nobody is certain how or why this dramatic stone circle in the county of Wiltshire was erected. Read more about Stonehenge...
Wells
The smallest city in England with a cathedral, Wells is lifted out of the ordinary by its stunning Cathedral Church of St Andrew.
Exmoor National Park
The boundary between Somerset and Devon falls within the confines of Exmoor National Park 5, 265 sq miles (690 sq km) evocatively depicted in Richard Doddridge Blackmore’s classic novel, Lorna Doone (1869), the story of a 17th-century family of outlaws. The landscape of the park, dotted with pretty villages, ranges from windswept ridges covered with bracken and heather to forested ravines carved out by whitewater streams.
The undulating Somerset and Devon Coast Path, stretching more than 30 miles (48km) along the shore, north of the A39, is the most fascinating of Exmoor’s many hiking trails. Hugging tightly to cliffs and coves, it offers splendid views of the Bristol Channel and the far-off Atlantic.
Salisbury Cathedral
The town of Salisbury featured as ‘Melchester’ in the Hardy novels and retains its old-England feel even today. The cathedral has a spectacular spire, yet foundations only a few feet deep. The cathedral close offers a survey of English architectural styles through the ages.
Dorchester
Thomas Hardy referred to the town of Dorchester as ‘Casterbridge’ in his novels, and his statue stands at the top of the High Street. The courtroom in the Shire Hall remains remarkably unchanged since 1834 when the Tolpuddle Martyrs were convicted for trying to gain better working conditions. There is a collection devoted to Hardy in the Dorset County Museum on High West Street. A small cottage in Higher Bockhampton was Hardy’s Birthplace, just north of Dorchester, in 1840. He died in 1928 in the grand house he designed himself, Max Gate on Wareham Road in Dorchester.
Read more from the travel guide to England
