Tour 1 – South of England at a glance

This tour is a comprehensive beginner’s tour to discover as much of southern England as possible:

South England at a glance

Southern England can be reached directly via London airports – mostly it will be Heathrow Airport, but there is also Gatwick Airport in the South. Low-cost airlines can be used to get to Luton or other airports further afield, but as you need a rental car for this trip anyway, it’s not so crucial.

We head south straight to the coast to East Sussex and to Eastbourne with its pier. Right next to it, the rocks are already rising up and Beachy Head is definitely worth a visit. Via Birling Gap you can get to the fantastic chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters. With a short detour via the adorable Alfriston, the once glamorous Brighton with its tiny “lanes” is reached.

We leave the south coast for the time being and drive across the country. Via Salisbury, you can go to the famous Stourhead Garden and to Wells where we find the famous Wells Cathedral with its double arch.

After this long journey we now enjoy the magnificent landscape of Exmoor, which reaches to the coast of the Bristol Channel. Here we visit adorable places such as Dunster with its impressive castle, the picturesque Selworthy with its tea room, the unspectacularly but beautiful town of Porlock with its port Porlock Weir. We enjoy the sunset in Bossington on the beach and finally reach the double town of Lynton & Lynmouth with its historic Cliff Railway. Railway enthusiasts should visit the short Lynton & Barnstaple Railway and don’t forget to hike in the Valley of Rocks.

Leaving Exmoor, the journey leads to the steeply built fishing village of Clovelly and for garden lovers to the Rosemoor Gardens.

A longer jouney takes us south, deep into Cornwall. In addition to some coastal towns, it is the incomparably landscaped gardens of Enys Garden, Trebah and especially the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which are worth more than one visit and for which you should definitely take enough time (even if you have never been a garden fan until now!).
Other tiny fishing villages such as Mullion Cove or Cadgwith should not be left out, as well as the glamorous St. Ives. Passing St. Michael’s Mount (that’s the English brother of the French Mont St. Michel) we come to a delightful village called  Mousehole (pronounced “Mousel”) on the coast, before we drive north again via Porthreath.

It will be a longer drive across the unexpectedly deep Lydford Gorge into legendary Dartmoor with its dark stories and even more impressive scenery. If you have the time, you should make the small hike to “Wistman’s Wood”. Passing Haytor, perhaps the most famous rock, we head to the nearest big city, Exeter. A visit to Exeter cathedral is highly recommended, as is the old harbour on the river. Via Shaftesbury with its famous “Gold Hill” we return to London and the airport.

For this trip you should calculate at least 12 days.

We wish you a lot of fun travelling and experiencing this for yourself!

Here are some of the places along the route:

• London (Airport)
  

  

  London from above

   

• Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
  

  

  Eastbourne in East Sussex

• Beachy Head, East Sussex, England
  

  

  Beachy Head (East Sussex)

   

• Birling Gap, East Sussex, England
  

  

  Birling Gap (East Sussex) – sitting on top of the chalk cliffs

   

• Seven Sisters, East Sussex, England
  

  

  Seven Sisters (East Sussex)

• Alfriston, East Sussex, England
  

  

  Pub in Alfriston (East Sussex)

   

• Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
  

  

  Salisbury (Wiltshire)

• Stourhead Garden, Wiltshire, England
  

  

  Stourhead Garden (Wiltshire)

   

• Wells, Wiltshire, England
  

  

  Wells Cathedral (Somerset)

   

• Dunster, Somerset, England
  

  

  Dunster, Somerset, England

   

• Selworthy, Somerset, England
  

  

  Selworthy on Exmoor (Somerset)

   

• Bossington, Somerset, England
  

  

  Bossington, Somerset, England

   

• Porlock, Somerset, England
  

  

  The Ship Inn Pub at Porlock (Exmoor)

   

• Lynton/Lynmouth, Devon, England
  

  

  The Marina of Lynmouth (Devon)

   

• Clovelly, Devon, England
  

  

  Clovelly in Devon

   

• Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall, England

   

• Enys Gardens, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Enys Gardens, Cornwall, England

   

• Trebah Garden, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Trebah Garden, Cornwall, England

   

• The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, England
  

  

  The Mud Maid in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, England

   

• Cadgwith, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Cadgwith, Cornwall, England

   

• Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England

   

• Mullion Cove, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Mullion Cove, Cornwall, England

   

• Mousehole, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Mousehole, Cornwall, England

   

• Porthreath, Cornwall, England
  

  

  Porthreath, Cornwall, England

   

• Lydford Gorge, Devon, England
  

  

  Lydford Gorge, Lydford, Devon, England

   

• Dartmoor, Devon, England
  

  

  Dartmoor (Devon)

   

• Exeter, Devon, England
  

  

  Exeter (Devon), close to the cathedral

   

• Shaftesbury, Dorset, England
  

  

  Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, England