Five beautiful places in England

I am sure you are all asking yourselves 'are there really only 5 beautiful places in England?' The answer, of course, is NO. But I had to start somewhere. So I've started with 5 of the most pretty places in England that I've seen to date. 

Bath

Bath is a gorgeous city that dates back to the Roman occupation of Britain. Its Roman baths are extremely well preserved and one of its major attractions. But Bath's  Georgian architecture is equally famous and the sweeping Royal Crescent is one of its most famous landmarks. The city's Gothic cathedral is medieval in origin with a number of additions and alterations that were made in the Victorian era. Bath has a plethora of small, independent shops, among them unique book shops and antique stores selling some very quirky objects, that are a pleasure to browse through.

More about Bath:
A  Day in Bath
Bath's Best Bookshops

Lyme Regis

Lyme Regis is a coastal town in Dorset that is famous for the fossils found on its beaches and embedded in the cliffs that for part of the Heritage Coast or, as it is more commonly referred to, England's Jurassic Coast. One of the first major fossil discoveries of an ichthyosaur was made by Mary Anning in 1836. Important discoveries of other creatures such as Plesiosaurs and Dimorphodons followed.

Lyme Regis's harbour wall, known as The Cobb, has featured in Jane Austen's novel 'Persuasion' and in the 1981 film 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', based on the John Fowles novel of the same name.

Lyme Regis is a pretty, colourful town with a good selection of artists' studios and a number of interesting shops selling fossils, rocks and other geological artefacts  - in keeping with its association to Mary Anning and her discoveries.

St Ives

St Ives is a coastal town in Cornwall that has been an artists' haven since 1920 when three Cornish artists set up an artists' colony. Its popularity as a holiday destination since Victorian times may be due to the fact that it enjoys a higher-than-average amount of sunshine, milder winters and warmer summers than the national UK average.

In the older part of St  Ives the streets are  narrow, winding and uneven. Unsurprisingly, artists'studios and art galleries abound. We found it to be a pleasant place to shop and explore and, although the vibrant harbour area with its restaurants and pubs, tends to get rather crowded, there are plenty of streets leading off of it that are practically deserted and ideal for exploring and taking a leisurely stroll.

I tasted my first crayfish sandwich when we visited St Ives and I absolutely loved it.

More about St Ives:
The Simple Charm of St Ives

Dunster

Dunster is a small village in Somerset that is located right at the edge of Exmoor National Park. This village of colourful houses is situated below Dunster  Castle - a medieval edifice that has existed for at least 1000 years. Dunster used to be an important trade centre for yarn and has a beautifully-intact 17th century yarn market located at the end of the village.

A number of buildings in the village have been converted into pubs, cafeterias or art and crafts shops. Dunster village is quiet and picturesque which makes it a very pleasant place to walk around. Due to its close proximity to Exmoor there are also many hiking trails and locations suitable for picnics. If walks on the beach sound more enticing, the seaside resort of  Minehead is also very close.

More about Dunster:
Dunster Village and its Castle

Wells

Wells is a cathedral city in Somerset. It was named after three wells that are located within its precincts. Wells has been settled since Roman times and a church has existed there since the 8th century. The Gothic cathedral of Saint Andrew, for which Wells is particularly famous, is stunning due to its broad front. In fact, it is outside the norm for Gothic buildings since its breadth exceeds its height. The construction of Wells cathedral began in 1175 and it is considered to be the first true Gothic structure  in Europe.

Vicar's Close, a street close to the cathedral was planned in the 14th century and is said to be the oldest residential street in Europe, with all but one of its original buildings still intact.

Wells is a small place (it is the smallest city in England) and a real pleasure to explore on foot - which makes it easier to pop into its unique shops and cosy cafes.

I am sure that in the future I will will write about some more beautiful places in England because there are so many to choose from and, every time we visit, we discover a few more. Each one is unique, in its own particular way. Some, like Batch and Wells, have a history that goes back hundreds of years. Others, like Dunster, seem to be plucked right out of a fairy-tale. The truth is I could never pick a favourite. How about you, dear readers? Is there one in particular that intrigued you more than the others? Do tell.

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