Cheltenham Spa, the ‘Center For The Cotswolds’ is one of the cleanest and most sophisticated towns I’ve ever visited. I’ve recently changed jobs and as a result, this has led to me moving house from Manchester to Cheltenham.
Cheltenham became a Spa town in 1716 and it is said that in 1788, King George III brought his royal family to Cheltenham to ‘take the waters’ and following this, the seal of approval was firmly placed on Cheltenham as the most fashionable of spa towns.
Within the centre of Cheltenham there is a feeling of wealth with the classic ‘regency’ architecture, which makes up the towns conservation area of outstanding importance, this includes the quarters of Montpellier and Lansdown.
Cheltenham was recently the winner of ‘Beautiful Britain in Bloom’ as the town is full of colour throughout the year especially in its many parks and gardens.
There is a great history to Cheltenham and some wonderful places to visit. The Art Gallery and Museum is one of the finest regional museums in England and contains British and Dutch paintings dating from the 17th century to present day. At the Pittville Pump Room and Museum, which is Cheltenham’s finest regency building, the waters of the spa can still be taken and on display in the museum are original costumes from 1760 to the elegant 1930’s.
To the shopaholic, Cheltenham would be heaven, with a wealth of department stores, shopping centres antique shops and specialist craft establishments. The town has three main unique areas of shopping. The tree lined Promenade is one of the finest boulevards in the country and is home to some of the best shoe shops, bookstores and fashion houses. Regent Arcade hosts a wealth of cafes, restaurants and boutiques and Beechwood Place Shopping Centre is home to a large range of specialist retailers.
Eating out can be great fun in Cheltenham with its vast selection of restaurants and cafes with anything from international cuisine to a relaxing pub atmosphere.
Cheltenham is alive at night with some very classy wine bars, pubs and a good selection of clubs, but on this one there are still a lot of places I’ve yet to checkout but one club I can highly recommend is Subtone which is situated along the tree lined Promenade (also the place where you’ll find some very cool shops in the daytime).
In July, Cheltenham hosts an International festival of music and one of Literature in October. For people who like the Theatre, the Everyman Theatre offers a wealth of entertainment including touring West End Productions.
Parking within Cheltenham couldn’t be easier with a selection of good-sized car parks all around the centre and all at reasonable rates.
Famous for its Race Course, the town can get extremely busy and traffic can be bad on race days, many of the guest houses and hotels will be heavily booked at these times.
A short drive out of Cheltenham will take you straight into the real beauty of the Cotswolds, the scenery is breathtaking and there are many beautiful little villages to visit such as Bourton-On-The-Water, Stow-On-The-Wold, Moreton-In-Marsh, Burford, Blockley, Chipping Camden, Broadway, Stanton, Stanway and Winchcomb, each with it’s own history and its own attractions. There are many manor houses and castles to visit each telling a historical story and the nearby Sudeley Castle was the home of Katherine Parr (Henry VIII's sixth wife). You can experience a trip back to Roman Britain with a trip to the Corinian Museum or to Chedworth Roman Villa.
Although there is a good public transport service in Cheltenham, having a car would be a big advantage. There are many coach trips available to visit places just outside of Cheltenham, but a car would allow you much more freedom and would allow you to get around and see more of the attractions.
I’ve been living in Cheltenham for 2 months and so there is still a lot for me to discover about the town and it’s surrounding areas. Property prices are extremely high in comparison to prices in the north of England but the local amenities appear to be excellent. Cheltenham boasts three boarding schools and the famous Cheltenham Ladies College, there’s plenty to do and plenty to see and life seems to be a lot slower living here and much less stressful …so far I absolutely love it.
To find out more about Cheltenham you can contact tourist information on 01242 522878.
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