Ian and Felicity have posted since I started to write this. There are so many ideas and way too many for your ten days...
Have you read Artnbarb's
thread on Small Towns and Villages in Southern England? There could well be plenty of ideas here.
The Cotswold's is lovely with all the small stone villages and so wonderful old churches. Have a look
here for some of them. There are the splendid wool churches like
Fairford,
Chipping Campden,
Burford and
Bloxham. There is the lovely old Norman church at
Elkstone. Some of the churches have wonderful wall paintings. Good examples are
South Leigh,
Lower Oddington,
South Newington...
There is the magnificent
Blenheim Palace - allow yourselves a full day to do this justice as well as smaller stately homes like
Kelmscott Manor with its links to William Morris. There is the ruined
Minster Lovell with its ghosts.... There is Oxford with all its colleges and Stratford with its Shakespeare connections and black and white timber frame architecture.
I'd also wondered about East Anglia. There is Cambridge with its University colleges and the spectacular
Kings College Chapel (unfortunately it was a dull and damp day when I visited and part of it was scaffolded up).
Suffolk has some wonderful wool churches - possibly even better than those in the Cotswolds. Blythburgh has to be my all time favourite with its angel ceiling.
Southwold is pretty good too and this is a lovely small seaside town with brightly coloured beach huts.
Lavenham is equally impressive and the village is a really popular too.
Walberswick Church must be one of Suffolk’s most dramatic ruins. There is Framlingham with its
ruined castle and magnificent
church where the Howard family tombs. Stately Homes include
Somerleyton,
Kentwell,
Melford,
Ickworth. There is also
Flatford Mill with its connectons to the artist John Constable. Visit
Aldeburgh and
Snape for their connections to Benjamin Britten.
Norwich has the wonderful
Norman cathedral, again visited on a dull damp day! There is also
Little Walsingham which was once one of the most important pilgrimage shrines in the Middle Ages. There is very little left of the
Priory but a new Anglican Shrine church has been built and the pilgrims are still making their way. The
Shrine Church is an amazing building and with the chapels and wall paintings is more like a European Catholic church. It also has a small Russian Orthodox chapel and there is a small
Russian Orthodox Chapel in the village. Guess what the weather was dull and damp again...
Norfolk is probably even better for Stately Homes include
Blickling,
Felbrigg,
Oxburgh,
Peckover House,
Holkham and
Houghton. The coast with its small villages is also worth exploring - places like Wells next the sea, Sherringham, Cromer...
you here as I am already booked mid-late September!). Ian's suggestion of flying into Birmingham is good as the drive to Stratford (about 35 mins) and the Cotswolds from there is easy.
