Located on the eastern bank of the River Severn, Gloucester makes an idea base from which to explore the surrounding Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean and the Malvern Hills.

The city has a long and venerable history dating back to at least Roman times when it was a municipality, and a visitor today will find Roman foundations, a magnificent Norman Cathedral, narrow cobbled streets with medieval and Tudor half-timbered houses, and the restored Victorian Docklands, along with a bustling and vibrant city centre that boasts an incredible range of shops, markets, restaurants, pubs and visitor attractions.

How to get there:

Gloucester is served by The M5 motorway which runs to the east of the city. The A38 connects the city with Tewkesbury and Bristol; the A40 connects Gloucester with Cheltenham and The Forest of Dean, and the A417 links Gloucester with Cirencester. If you're driving , the best advice is to head for the docks (well signposted) and park there. National Express runs buses from all neighbouring cities and beyond, and there are frequent local services from Cheltenham. Trains arrive every one or two hours at the station at Bruton Way, five minutes' walk east of the Cross, from London, Cheltenham, Cardiff, Worcester and Bristol; the bus station is right opposite.

Cheltenham (or Cheltenham Spa) is a large spa town located on the edge of the Cotswolds. It has been a health and holiday spa resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716, and is famous for its fine Regency architecture. It’s said to be England's most complete Regency town, and town houses with intricate ironwork balconies and painted stucco facades line the historic Promenade, squares and terraces. 

Modern Cheltenham has a cosmopolitan flavour, with an impressive range of stylish shops and restaurants, award-wining gardens and well-known festivals of horse racing, music, science and literature. From here you can get public transport connections to the market towns and villages of the Cotswolds or to Stratford, Bath and Oxford. Alternatively, during the summer months, you can join a scenic Cotswold coach tour .

How to get there

All long-distance buses arrive at the station in Royal Well Road, just west off the Promenade. The train station is on Queen's Road, southwest of the centre; buses G and F run into town every fifteen minutes, otherwise it's a twenty-minute walk. The tourist office , at 77 Promenade (Mon-Sat 9.30am-5.15pm; tel 01242/522878, ), sells tickets for walking tours of the town, and for guided bus tours stopping at several destinations in the Cotswolds that are otherwise difficult to reach on public transport; they're popular, so book in advance.

ARTICLE SUMMARY: A visit to Stratford will take you to the heart of the area known as the Cotswolds renowned for its rolling gentle hills and distinctive Cotswold stone buildings. To quote the bard, I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.

Arrival and Information

Stratford's train station is on the northwestern edge of town, ten minutes' walk from the centre. Now the end of the line, it receives hourly services from Birmingham and frequent trains from Warwick, except on Sundays, when there are only a couple of services all day. Local bus services arrive and depart from the central Bridge Street; National Express services and most other long-distance and regional buses pull into the Riverside station on the east side of the town centre, off Bridgeway.

The tourist office (April-Oct Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm; Nov-March Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm; Tel 01789/293127, ) is located a couple of minutes' walk from the bus station by the bridge at the junction of Bridgeway and Bridgefoot. They have oodles of information on local attractions and operate an accommodation-booking service, which is very useful during the height of the summer when rooms can be in very short supply. It also issues bus timetables and sells bus tickets. General tourist information is available from the Guide Friday office in the centre at 14 Rother St (Tel 01789/299866), but they basically exist to flog tickets for their bus tours of the town and environs. The tourist office will sell you an all-in ticket for all five Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties, or a Three In-Town Shakespeare Property Ticket for the three Trust properties in Stratford - both tickets are also available from each of the sites themselves.

Evesham has been called the Gateway to the Cotswolds, and makes a great centre for exploring the beautiful countryside. Roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham, and Stratford-upon-Avon, and situated on the River Avon in the fertile Vale of Evesham - once famed for fruit growing and market gardening - the town provides the ideal setting for coarse fishing, angling, boating and riverside walks. Boats may also be hired for day cruises for short breaks to explore the charming waterways of the Cotswolds.

Since the Norman Kings built their defences here it has been the home of Kings and Queens of England. For some, including Charles1, HenryV111 and Jane Seymour, it is their final resting place. Windsor Castle is the oldest castle residence still in use today.

The town is situated 21 miles (34 km) west of Charing Cross. It is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with Eton.

Windsor is a popular tourist destination and location of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family. The castle was originally established by King William I of England but has been substantially altered and added to over the centuries.

As a result of the royal residence Windsor has facilities usually found in larger towns: two railway stations, a theatre and several substantial hotels. The town is also the location of Legoland, built on the site of Windsor Safari Park. On construction, several tons of hippo dung had to be removed from the enclosure used by the animals.

Getting there:

The M6 is only a few miles from Windsor and this gives easy access via the M25 for Londoners and an almost clear right through to Livepool going nothbound M6.

Heathrow Airport is just a few miles away, so international travellers can easily include Windsor on their places to visit list.Along with the several financial benefits that London Pass Travel provides, users of the facility definitely vouch for the peace of mind that it gives at every step on their journey to the majestic city of London. For those uninitiated, the London Pass is a prepaid card which provides entry to the tourist spots of London. Winsor Castle is included in the Pass, so why not use it as an excuse to visit Windsor and all of its tourist venues.

The mode of transport used for your road trip is obviously very important, if only when selecting a viable route. For example; if you're planning to use a bicycle as the main means of locomotion, then routes that do not include motorways and duel-carriages would have to be planned for. The same goes if you're going to use a horse, donkey, camel or your own two legs. Fairly obvious information everybody should know. However, recently a couple of backpackers were arrested for walking southbound on the northbound hard shoulder of the M1.

Personally, the thought of walking or riding all day in all weathers and then setting up camp is a nightmare best best kept in dreamland rather than actual reality.

This article aims to discuss the merits of using a Motor home as the main means of locomotion for your real or virtual road trip.