Category: Places Less Visited

Places Less Visited: the quiet waterways behind the honey-stone villages, and a slower way to see the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds You Don’t Expect

When we think of the Cotswolds we think of honey and butter-coloured buildings in quaint settings with beautiful village greens. What we usually don’t associate with this area is the network of canals that was created during the late 1700s to deliver goods and coal, as at that time there were no railways. The first public steam railway in Britain opened in 1825, and that operated in the north, far from the Cotswolds.

The Cotswold canals first started life in 1730, when the first Act of Parliament for the Stroudwater Navigation was passed, and at one stage, during a court battle with local landowners and millers in the 1770s, each side had poems written to try and persuade the justices.

Bringing the Canals Back to Life

The canals link two of England’s major rivers, the Severn and the Thames, and had fallen into disuse or had been filled in. Restoration has been under way for many years, led by the Cotswold Canals Trust and its partners, with the goal to “restore the Cotswold Canals to full navigation in the interests of conservation, biodiversity and local quality of life, and to use the restoration as a catalyst for wider social, economic and environmental regeneration in areas neighbouring the canals”.

Work has now begun on the “Missing Mile”, the stretch that will reconnect the canals to the national waterway network at Saul Junction. The link to the national network is expected to open towards the end of this decade, around the 250th anniversary of the Stroudwater Navigation in 2029.

Walking the Towpath

The canals are around 36 miles in length and there is a partial footpath for walkers, with towns and villages along the way to partake of food and beverages together with a good night’s sleep.

• Stroud: The best base for the restored western sections, with locks, mills and towpath cafés.
• Saul Junction: Where the Stroudwater meets the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, and where the Missing Mile will join up.
• Lechlade and Inglesham: The eastern end, where the canal meets the Thames.

Where to Stay Nearby

While the Cotswolds are pretty, the canal adds another dimension to the area, bringing to life the intimate and changing history in one of England’s most beautiful areas. For a comfortable base near Stroud, see The Painswick and our other picks in 10 Boutique Hotels in the Cotswolds.

Places Less Visited: London’s first public art walk, following the Greenwich Meridian along East London’s waterways, and free to explore.

Discovering The Line

I was amazed and pleased to discover The Line, London’s first dedicated public art walk. It connects three boroughs, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, and follows the line of the Greenwich Meridian between the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The O2.

Along the way, sculptures and installations by leading artists sit beside canals, creeks and the Thames, mixed in with old industrial buildings, wildlife and new neighbourhoods. Works come and go, so the walk keeps changing, and it costs nothing to explore.

Walking the Route

The route is three miles as the crow flies, however most of the walk is along winding waterways, so it takes around three hours to complete the entire route. You can walk The Line in one go or visit different sections on different days. One of the joys of The Line is that it’s constantly changing: different seasons, times of day and tides mean it’s always worth a return visit.

The route also involves crossing the River Thames by cable car, today called the IFS Cloud Cable Car, for views back over the city.

• Start: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
• Finish: The O2 at North Greenwich, where Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud rises beside the river.
• Time: Around three hours, or split it over two visits.

High above one of Stroud’s Five Valleys, the silver-grey village of Painswick hides England’s last complete Rococo garden, a churchyard of clipped yews and a quieter, more artistic side of the Cotswolds than most visitors ever see.

Why Painswick?

The postcard Cotswolds lies further east: Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters. Painswick, in the hills about four miles north of Stroud, is something different. Its houses are built of a paler, almost silvery local stone, its lanes tumble steeply down the hillside, and many cottages still have the south-facing attic windows where weavers once worked during the wool boom. Little wonder it has long been called the “Queen of the Cotswolds”, and in 2025 it was named Gloucestershire Village of the Year.

That is why we include it in our Places Less Visited series. Here you can spend a morning in an eighteenth-century pleasure garden, walk a stretch of the Cotswold Way, find Laurie Lee’s grave in the next valley and finish the day in a Palladian hotel, all without the coach parties.

Painswick Rococo Garden

Just north of the village centre, tucked into a hidden valley behind Painswick House, lies one of the most unusual gardens in Britain. It was laid out in the 1740s for Benjamin Hyett as a fanciful pleasure garden for entertaining his guests, a place of winding paths, playful buildings and theatrical views rather than grand formality. Garden historians describe it as England’s sole surviving complete Rococo garden, and the garden itself proudly calls it the UK’s only complete surviving Rococo garden.

Restored from a painting

Like most Rococo gardens, it fell out of fashion and slowly vanished under woodland. Its rescue is a wonderful story. In 1748 the artist Thomas Robins the Elder painted the garden in loving detail, and when restoration began in the 1980s, led by the owner, Lord Dickinson, that painting became the blueprint. Paths, ponds and buildings were brought back to match Robins’s view, and the work continues today. The garden is now run by a charitable trust, so every ticket helps.

The follies

The joy of a visit lies in turning a corner to find another eccentric little building framed at the end of a vista. Look out for:

• The Red House: A Gothic pavilion of around 1750 with deliberately asymmetrical facades angled to close two converging vistas, the garden’s most photographed folly.
• The Exedra: A curved, white classical screen, a twentieth-century recreation of a lost building, with a planted garden that fills with more than 9,000 bulbs in spring.
• The Eagle House and the Pigeon House: Two charming pavilions that punctuate the slopes.
• The Gothic Alcove: A pointed-arched seat for admiring the views back across the valley.

The maze and the kitchen garden

To the west of the Exedra, a hedge maze was planted in the late 1990s to mark the 250th anniversary of Robins’s painting, its design based on the figure “250”. The productive kitchen garden is equally appealing: wild garlic, salads, heritage fruit and apples for juice all find their way into the café, which is known for its homemade cakes.

Snowdrop season

The garden’s most famous moment comes in late winter. Around five million snowdrops carpet the woodland and banks, including less common varieties such as the double Flore Pleno and Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’. The garden reopens in January as the first flowers appear, and they are usually at their finest in February. In recent years February admission has been by advance booking, so reserve your slot early.

Painswick Village and St Mary’s Churchyard

Painswick grew rich on wool, and its streets are lined with handsome clothiers’ houses, old inns and independent shops and galleries. At its heart stands St Mary’s Church, Grade I listed, its tower still bearing the scars of cannonballs fired during the Civil War.

The 99 yews

The churchyard is unforgettable: an avenue of clipped yew trees shaped into neat domes and arches, set among elaborate table tombs carved by local masons. Legend has it that there are only ever 99 yews, because the Devil will always destroy the hundredth if anyone tries to plant it. Counts over the years have in fact found 100 or more, but the story is part of the charm, and we recommend testing it for yourself.

Clypping the church

Each September Painswick holds its Feast Sunday, on the first Sunday after 19 September. The highlight is the ancient custom of “clypping the church”. Despite appearances, it has nothing to do with trimming the yews (that happens separately, also in September). The name comes from an Old English word meaning to embrace: villagers and children join hands in a ring around St Mary’s and sing hymns. Tradition also associates the day with “puppy dog pie”, which, reassuringly, is a fruit pie that once hid a small china dog.

The Cotswold Way, Slad and Stroud

Walking the Cotswold Way

Painswick sits on the Cotswold Way, the 102-mile National Trail between Chipping Campden and Bath, and the village makes a lovely base for a day’s walking. Our favourite short outing heads north from St Mary’s to Painswick Beacon, around a mile away, where the ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort look out across the Severn Vale towards the Malvern Hills and, on a clear day, Wales. The trail skirts the summit, so take the short detour to the top. Popular loops of four to nine miles continue on to Haresfield Beacon. Take the OS Explorer 179 map and a good Cotswold Way guidebook if you plan to go further.

Slad and Laurie Lee

Over the hill lies the steep, wooded Slad Valley, immortalised by Laurie Lee in his 1959 memoir Cider with Rosie, a glowing portrait of a Cotswold village childhood before the motor car changed everything. Lee’s family moved to Slad in 1917, and he is buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, across the road from the sixteenth-century Woolpack inn, where he was a regular. A memorial window in the church and the walking route known as the Laurie Lee Way let you trace the landscapes of the book. We recommend reading it before you go.

Stroud and the Cotswold Canals

Painswick’s nearest town, Stroud, is creative, independent and refreshingly unpolished. Its award-winning farmers’ market fills Cornhill Market Place every Saturday morning. Stroud is also the best base for exploring the Cotswold Canals, where restored locks, old mills and towpath walks reveal the industrial story behind the wool trade. Read more in our guide to the Cotswold Canals.

If you would rather someone else did the driving, a guided small-group tour is an easy way to pair Painswick with the better-known villages. Browse Cotswolds small-group day tours.

Where to Stay

The Painswick

Our first choice is The Painswick, a Palladian house built in the eighteenth century as Prospect House and now a stylish small hotel, part of the Calcot Collection. Rooms range from cosy hideaways to suites and a private cottage, many with valley views, and the restaurant and afternoon tea are worth booking even if you stay elsewhere. It features in our guide to 10 boutique hotels in the Cotswolds.

The Falcon, Painswick

For a characterful village inn, The Falcon sits opposite St Mary’s churchyard, with around a dozen rooms that blend original features with a fresh, modern style, a proper bar and hearty breakfasts. It is ideal for walkers on the Cotswold Way.

The Bear of Rodborough

A few miles south, above Stroud, The Bear of Rodborough is a seventeenth-century coaching inn set on National Trust common land, with sweeping views, a library restaurant and easy access to the canals and Minchinhampton Common.

How to Visit

• Getting there: Painswick is about four miles north of Stroud and seven and a half miles south of Gloucester. Stroud has direct trains from London Paddington; from there a taxi is the simplest way up the hill. A car makes it easier to combine Painswick with Slad and the canals.
• When to go: February for the snowdrops, May and June for the gardens and walks, and September for Feast Sunday and the clypping ceremony. The Rococo Garden closes over the winter months, so check dates before planning around it.
• How long: Allow two to three hours for the garden, and at least one night to enjoy the village once the day visitors have gone.

A Perfect Painswick Day

Morning

Arrive at the Rococo Garden as it opens, wander the follies while the light is soft, test yourself in the maze and stop for coffee and cake in the café.

Afternoon

Stroll into the village to count (or fail to count) the yews in St Mary’s churchyard, browse the galleries, then walk the Cotswold Way up to Painswick Beacon for the view over the Severn Vale.

Evening

Drive over the hill to Slad for a drink at the Woolpack and a moment at Laurie Lee’s grave, then return to The Painswick for dinner and a night in the Queen of the Cotswolds.

FAQs

Is Painswick Rococo Garden really the only one in England?

It is widely described as England’s only complete surviving Rococo garden, its survival owed largely to the restoration guided by Thomas Robins’s 1748 painting.

When is the best time to see the snowdrops?

Usually February, though a mild winter can bring them out from late January. Book tickets in advance for snowdrop season and check the garden’s updates before you go.

Are there really 99 yew trees in Painswick churchyard?

That is the legend, with the Devil said to destroy any hundredth tree. Actual counts have come out at 100 or more, but the story endures.

What is the clypping ceremony?

An ancient custom on Painswick’s Feast Sunday, the first Sunday after 19 September, when villagers join hands around St Mary’s Church and sing. “Clypping” means embracing, not cutting.

Behind office blocks, inside bombed churches and high above the traffic, London hides a string of quiet gardens that most visitors walk straight past.

Why Seek Out London’s Secret Gardens?

London is famously green, but the Royal Parks are only half the story. Tucked between the towers of the City, along the river and on the slopes of Hampstead are smaller, stranger gardens: a ruined church wrapped in climbing plants, a walled physic garden planted by apothecaries, a Japanese garden with a waterfall and koi. Many are free, and most are blissfully quiet on a weekday morning.

Every garden below is open to the public, but several have limited hours, seasonal closures or booking rules, so we note those as we go. Always check the official website before you set out.

Hidden Gardens of the City

St Dunstan-in-the-East

If you see only one secret garden, make it this one. The church of St Dunstan-in-the-East was badly damaged in the Blitz of 1941, leaving little more than its outer walls and the tower and steeple designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire. Rather than rebuild, the City of London turned the ruins into a public garden, which opened in 1971. Today trees, climbers and ferns grow through the empty Gothic windows, and a small fountain sits where the nave once stood.

It is free, and generally open daily from about 8am until 7pm or dusk, whichever is earlier, closed over Christmas and New Year. Arrive early on a weekday: it is a favourite with photographers.

Postman’s Park and the Watts Memorial

A few minutes’ walk north of St Paul’s Cathedral, Postman’s Park is a small, shady garden on a former churchyard, named for the workers of the old General Post Office nearby. Its treasure is the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, conceived by the Victorian painter George Frederic Watts. Under a wooden loggia, rows of glazed ceramic tablets, the earliest made by William De Morgan, record ordinary Londoners who died saving others. The memorial was unveiled in 1900 and is Grade II listed. It is quietly, unforgettably moving. Opening hours are similar to St Dunstan’s, roughly 8am to 7pm or dusk.

Inner Temple Garden

Down by the river, behind the Inns of Court, Inner Temple Garden is one of the most beautifully kept gardens in London, with deep herbaceous borders, fine trees and a long lawn running towards the Embankment. Access is the catch: the garden is usually open to the public only on weekdays from 12.30pm to 3pm, excluding bank holidays, and it closes for private functions and maintenance. Enter by the main gate on Crown Office Row. Alcohol, barbecues and ball games are not allowed, and only assistance dogs and residents’ dogs may enter.

Sky Garden

At the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, the Sky Garden is less secret, but earns its place for planted terraces and sweeping views under a glass dome. General admission is free, but you must book a timed ticket on the official Sky Garden website. Tickets are released weekly, about three weeks ahead, and popular weekend slots go fast. Recent opening hours have been 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 11am to 9pm at weekends, with last entry an hour before closing. Avoid third-party ticket sellers.

A Walking Route Through the City’s Gardens

These City gardens link neatly into a walk of roughly two miles, best done on a weekday so Inner Temple Garden is open. Allow a relaxed half day with stops.

1. Inner Temple Garden (12.30pm): Start among the borders of the Temple, then walk up to Fleet Street.
2. St Paul’s Cathedral: Follow Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill to the cathedral, pausing in the churchyard gardens around it.
3. Postman’s Park: Just north, off King Edward Street, read a few of the Watts tablets in the shade.
4. Bank: Walk east along Cheapside towards the Bank of England and The Ned, a good spot for tea.
5. Sky Garden: Continue to Fenchurch Street for your pre-booked slot, ideally late afternoon for the light.
6. St Dunstan-in-the-East: Finish a few minutes away in the ruined church garden, best in the soft evening light before it closes.

Prefer a guide? A hidden gardens and secret London walking tour covers many of these spots with the stories behind them, or try a City of London history walk. If the art of the streets appeals too, pair this route with our London art walk along The Line.

Further Afield: Gardens Worth the Journey

Chelsea Physic Garden

Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow and study medicinal plants, Chelsea Physic Garden is London’s oldest botanic garden, a walled haven of rare plants, historic glasshouses and order beds beside the Thames. Unlike most gardens here it charges for entry and works on timed tickets. It currently opens Sunday to Friday and is closed on Saturdays, with shorter hours in winter and a closure around the Christmas and New Year period, so book ahead.

The Garden Museum

Across the river beside Lambeth Palace, the Garden Museum occupies the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth. In its courtyard garden, designed by Dan Pearson as part of the 2017 redevelopment, stand the tombs of the Tradescants, the seventeenth-century royal gardeners and plant hunters, and of Admiral William Bligh of the Bounty. The museum is closed on Mondays and recently opened 10am to 4pm on weekdays and until 5pm at weekends, with occasional closures for events. There is an admission charge.

The Kyoto Garden, Holland Park

In the woodland heart of Holland Park, the Kyoto Garden was a gift from the city of Kyoto and opened in 1991. Stone lanterns, clipped shrubs and a tiered waterfall tumbling into a koi pond make it one of the most serene corners of west London. It is free and follows the park’s hours, from 7.30am until about half an hour before dusk. Dogs are not allowed in the Japanese garden.

The Phoenix Garden

Between Soho and Covent Garden, on Stacey Street, the Phoenix Garden is a volunteer-run community garden created in 1984 and the last of the original Covent Garden community gardens. Wild and wildlife-friendly, it is wonderfully unexpected in theatreland. Entry is free; it opens roughly dawn to dusk, though hours can change.

The Hill Garden and Pergola, Hampstead

On the western edge of Hampstead Heath, this is London’s most romantic folly. Soap magnate William Lever, later Lord Leverhulme, bought Hill House in 1904 and commissioned the landscape architect Thomas Mawson to create a raised Edwardian pergola, begun in 1905 and extended over the following two decades. Today its weathered stone columns and timber beams are draped in wisteria and climbing roses, with views out over the Heath. It is free and managed by the City of London Corporation, opening around 8.30am and closing near dusk. Nearby, the National Trust’s Fenton House has a charming walled garden and old orchard, so check opening dates before combining the two.

Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Canary Wharf

Above the Elizabeth line station at Canary Wharf, Foster + Partners wrapped a curving timber lattice roof around a planted garden landscaped by Gillespies. It is free, needs no booking and is a surprisingly peaceful place among the towers. Hours vary by season, so check the Canary Wharf website.

Before you go, we recommend a good London gardens guidebook.

Best Seasons for London’s Gardens

• April and May: Blossom in the Kyoto Garden, wisteria on the Hampstead Pergola and fresh borders everywhere. Our favourite time.
• June and July: Roses and herbaceous borders at their peak at Inner Temple and Chelsea Physic Garden, and the longest evenings for the City walk.
• October and November: Japanese maples turn crimson in Holland Park, and St Dunstan’s climbers glow in the low sun.
• Winter: Shorter hours and some closures, but the Sky Garden and Crossrail Place make good covered alternatives.

Luxury Hotels With Notable Gardens

The Goring, Belgravia

Family-owned since it opened in 1910, The Goring has one of the largest private gardens in central London, closed to the public but enjoyed by guests, with afternoon tea on the Veranda overlooking the lawns and croquet that the concierge can arrange.

The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, Chelsea

On Sloane Street, The Cadogan gives guests keys to the private Cadogan Place Gardens across the road, with tennis courts. Chelsea Physic Garden is an easy walk away.

Ham Yard Hotel, Soho

Firmdale’s Ham Yard Hotel has a leafy rooftop garden and terrace for in-house guests, with olive trees and espaliered fruit. In the run-up to Christmas it has opened to ticket holders as a winter pop-up; check what is on. The Phoenix Garden is a few minutes’ walk away.

The Ned, City of London

In the former Midland Bank headquarters beside Bank, The Ned is the natural base for the City walk. Its rooftop, with a pool and views to St Paul’s, is part of the members’ club, so check whether your room category includes rooftop access when you book.

For dinner after a day in the gardens, see our guide to Michelin-starred dining in London.

A Perfect Garden Day in London

Morning: A timed slot at Chelsea Physic Garden. Early afternoon: Inner Temple Garden before it closes at 3pm. Late afternoon: Postman’s Park, then your booked Sky Garden slot. Evening: The ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East, then dinner.

FAQs

Are London’s secret gardens free?

Most are. St Dunstan-in-the-East, Postman’s Park, Inner Temple Garden, the Phoenix Garden, the Kyoto Garden, the Hill Garden and Crossrail Place are free, and the Sky Garden is free with a booked ticket. Chelsea Physic Garden and the Garden Museum charge admission.

Do I need to book the Sky Garden?

Yes. Free tickets are released on the official website about three weeks ahead and are timed. Walk-ups are not guaranteed.

When is Inner Temple Garden open?

Usually on weekdays from 12.30pm to 3pm, excluding bank holidays and private events. Check the Inner Temple website or Instagram before you go.

Places Less Visited: two seaside sculptures that divide opinion, from Antony Gormley’s iron men at Crosby to Maggi Hambling’s Scallop at Aldeburgh.

Art Where the Tide Comes In

There are few items that generate more different points of view or discussion than art works or sculpture outside of a gallery, and some of the most intense discussions seem to happen when an installation is created on a pristine beach where until now only the tide had disturbed the sand.

I came across several intriguing installations that are close to the ocean or on the beach. These are two of my favourites.

Another Place, Crosby

The first that caught my eye is known as Another Place, by the artist Antony Gormley. This installation is in Crosby, just north of Liverpool, and consists of 100 figures, all of which are casts of Antony Gormley’s own body, rising out of the sand. These life-size iron figures are spread along about three kilometres of the shore. Many are covered by the tide, and you can see where the sea and its marine life have left their mark on the statues.

Controversy has followed this exhibit wherever it has been. It was shown in Cuxhaven in Germany, Stavanger in Norway and De Panne in Belgium before finding a permanent home in Crosby in 2007.

Scallop, Aldeburgh

Created as a tribute to the composer Benjamin Britten (1913 to 1976), this giant scallop shell rises from the beach at Aldeburgh in Suffolk, where Britten regularly walked. The Scallop was created by the Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling, who is herself a fan of Britten’s music.

The sculpture depicts two broken, interlocking scallop shells. Words from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes are cut into the rim of the upright shell and read “I hear those voices that will not be drowned”. Maggi Hambling describes Scallop as a conversation with the sea and said, “An important part of my concept is that at the centre of the sculpture, where the sound of the waves and the winds are focused, a visitor may sit and contemplate the mysterious power of the sea.”

As with Another Place, the Scallop has attracted a considerable number of different opinions. Some residents campaigned to have it moved, and in 2015 a national newspaper critic named it among the worst public art in Britain. Love it or not, it is well worth seeing for yourself.

Planning Your Visit

• Crosby: The figures stand between Waterloo and Blundellsands, a short train ride from Liverpool. Stay on the promenade and paths, as the tide comes in fast and the sand can be soft.
• Aldeburgh: Scallop stands on the beach north of the town, towards Thorpeness. Walk along the shingle from the town, or park nearby.
• Best light: Late afternoon and sunset, at both.

On a quiet ridge where Oxfordshire meets Warwickshire, a ring of weathered stones keeps one of England’s best-loved legends alive, and it makes the perfect first stop on a trail through the country’s most story-haunted landscapes.

Why Follow a Folklore Trail?

England’s ancient monuments have lived a second life in story. For centuries, people who had no idea who raised these stones explained them with witches, kings, elf-smiths and dragons, and visiting with those tales in mind brings a field of grey stones vividly to life.

This trail begins at the Rollright Stones on the northern edge of the Cotswolds, then heads south along the Ridgeway to Wayland’s Smithy, the Uffington White Horse and Avebury, before ending in Somerset and Dorset at Glastonbury Tor and the Cerne Abbas Giant. Most sites are free or nearly so, open in daylight all year, and blissfully quiet outside summer weekends.

The Rollright Stones: Witch, King and Knights

The Rollright Stones lie about two and a half miles north-northwest of Chipping Norton, close to the village of Long Compton, and straddle the county boundary. There are three separate monuments, spanning nearly 2,000 years of prehistory.

The King’s Men

The stone circle, in Oxfordshire, dates from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. It is about 33 metres across, with around 77 closely spaced, heavily weathered stones.

The King Stone

Across the lane, in Warwickshire, stands a single tall monolith. Archaeologists think it most likely marked a Bronze Age burial site.

The Whispering Knights

A short walk east across the fields, four upright stones and a fallen capstone huddle together like conspirators. This is the oldest of the three monuments, the remains of an Early Neolithic portal dolmen, or burial chamber, built centuries before the circle.

The legend

According to local tradition, a king marching with his army to conquer England met a witch on this ridge. She challenged him: “Seven long strides thou shalt take, and if Long Compton thou canst see, King of England thou shalt be.” The king strode forward, but on the seventh step a rise in the ground hid the village from view. The witch turned him to stone as the King Stone, his soldiers became the King’s Men, and four knights who had hung back plotting treachery became the Whispering Knights.

The stones are also said to be uncountable. Legend holds that no one can count the King’s Men three times and arrive at the same number, and that anyone who does will have their heart’s desire. One story tells of a baker who placed a loaf on each stone to keep track, only to find loaves mysteriously missing each time.

Visiting the Rollright Stones

Since 2001 the stones have been owned by the Rollright Trust, a small charity that bought the site after a public campaign and now cares for it. The Trust asks for a modest entry fee (English Heritage lists it at £2 per adult and £1 for children aged 7 to 16, under-7s free), which you can pay online in advance, by QR code on site or in the honesty box. The stones are open daily all year, and the site is a Dark Sky Discovery Site, so a clear night visit is magical.

There are no facilities at the stones and parking is limited to two small lay-bys, with pubs in Long Compton and Chipping Norton. Please do not climb or sit on the stones.

Along the Ridgeway: Wayland’s Smithy and the White Horse

An hour or so south, the Ridgeway National Trail runs about 87 miles along the chalk downs from Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon, following a route used for thousands of years. Its most legend-rich stretch lies above the Vale of the White Horse.

Wayland’s Smithy

Hidden in a ring of beech trees beside the Ridgeway, this Neolithic long barrow was built in two phases, the first around 3590 to 3555 BC and the larger, with its monumental stone façade, around 3460 to 3400 BC. Its name recalls Wayland, the smith of Germanic legend. Tradition says that if you leave your horse here overnight with a small coin, the invisible smith will shoe it by morning. Wayland’s Smithy is in the care of English Heritage, free to enter and open in daylight, and lies just over a mile’s walk along the Ridgeway from the White Horse Hill car park.

The Uffington White Horse

Owned by the National Trust, this sleek, abstract chalk horse is Britain’s oldest known hill figure, dated by archaeologists to the Late Bronze Age, roughly 3,000 years ago. It stretches about 110 metres across the hillside and is still re-chalked by volunteers. Below it rises Dragon Hill, a flat-topped mound where St George is said to have slain the dragon; the bare chalk patch on top is where its blood spilled and nothing will grow. Above stands Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hillfort. It is open dawn to dusk, with a pay-and-display car park.

For walkers, a good OS Explorer map of the Vale of White Horse makes the loop from the horse to Wayland’s Smithy and back an easy, rewarding morning.

Avebury: A Village Inside a Stone Circle

At the western end of the Ridgeway, Avebury is the largest stone circle in Britain, built and remodelled between roughly 2850 and 2200 BC. A vast bank and ditch encloses an outer ring that once held around 100 stones and two smaller circles within it, and part of the village, including its pub, sits right inside the henge. It forms part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, and the National Trust manages it on behalf of English Heritage. Entry to the stones is free at any reasonable time in daylight.

Start at the Alexander Keiller Museum, then wander the stones. To go deeper, a guided Avebury and Stonehenge day tour pairs the two great circles with expert commentary.

Further South: Glastonbury Tor and the Cerne Abbas Giant

Glastonbury Tor

Rising from the Somerset Levels and crowned by the roofless tower of St Michael’s church, the National Trust’s Glastonbury Tor is steeped in story. It is often identified with the Isle of Avalon, where the wounded King Arthur was carried after his last battle. Below, at Glastonbury Abbey, the monks announced in 1191 that they had found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere, a claim most historians now regard as a fundraising coup after a devastating fire. There is almost no parking at the Tor itself, so walk up from the town centre, around 25 minutes. A guided tour of Glastonbury and the stone circles takes the strain out of the logistics.

The Cerne Abbas Giant

In Dorset, the National Trust’s 55-metre club-wielding giant is Britain’s largest chalk hill figure. Long assumed to be prehistoric or Roman, he was dated in 2021 to between AD 700 and 1100, the late Saxon period. The best view is from the signposted viewing area, about a quarter mile’s walk from the village.

Seasonal Customs Worth Timing a Trip Around

• May Morning, Oxford (1 May): At 6am, Magdalen College Choir sings from the top of Magdalen Tower to thousands gathered below, followed by Morris dancing in the streets.
• Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss (1 May): A long way west in Cornwall, but unforgettable. Two hobby horses, each led by a Teaser, dance through the town all day.
• Bampton Morris (Spring Bank Holiday Monday): The Oxfordshire village of Bampton has one of England’s few unbroken Morris traditions, with several sides dancing around the village from early morning.
• Clear winter nights: The Rollright Stones’ dark skies make a crisp, starry evening visit memorable, and the sites are wonderfully quiet.

Before you go, we recommend reading The Lore of the Land by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson, a county-by-county guide to England’s legends and the perfect companion for this trail.

Where to Stay

The Wild Rabbit, Kingham

A short drive from the Rollrights, The Wild Rabbit is a seventeenth-century inn run by Daylesford, with stylish bedrooms, a fine-dining room built on produce from the Daylesford farm. It also features in our guide to boutique hotels in the Cotswolds.

The Feathered Nest, Nether Westcote

A former malt house of around 350 years, The Feathered Nest has four individually decorated rooms plus a cottage, sweeping views over the Evenlode Valley and a kitchen with three AA Rosettes. Note that the pub and restaurant close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so check before booking.

The Greyhound Inn, Letcombe Regis

For the Ridgeway and the White Horse, The Greyhound Inn is an eighteenth-century free house at the foot of the downs, with stylish bedrooms named after local landmarks and award-winning food.

The Bell at Ramsbury

Within easy reach of Avebury, The Bell at Ramsbury is an eighteenth-century inn in the Kennet Valley with ten characterful bedrooms, a dining room, a bar and a coffee shop.

A Four-Day Folklore Trail

Day 1: The Rollright Stones

Visit the Rollrights in late afternoon light, try counting the King’s Men, then dine in Kingham or Nether Westcote.

Day 2: The Ridgeway

Walk from White Horse Hill along the Ridgeway to Wayland’s Smithy and back. Overnight in Letcombe Regis.

Day 3: Avebury

Explore the Avebury stones and museum, lunch inside the henge, and stay in Ramsbury.

Day 4: Glastonbury

Climb Glastonbury Tor and explore the abbey ruins, or swing south to the Cerne Abbas Giant.

FAQs

Who owns the Rollright Stones?

The Rollright Trust, a charity, has owned and cared for the stones since 2001. A small entry fee supports its work.

Can you really not count the Rollright Stones?

The stones have, in fact, been counted and recorded, but legend says no one can count them three times and get the same number. The weathered stones make it surprisingly hard.

Do I need a car?

Realistically, yes: the Rollrights are not on a public transport route. A guided tour is a good alternative for Avebury and Glastonbury.

Most visitors to York stay within the city walls, yet within an easy drive or train ride lie Cistercian ruins, a novelist’s crooked old house, a hillside horse and a moorland valley so vast that legend says a giant scooped it out.

Why Look Beyond the Usual Day Trips

York sits at the centre of some of England’s richest countryside. To the north rise the Howardian Hills and the North York Moors; to the west, the gritstone edges of Nidderdale; to the east, the rolling Wolds. The places below are quieter and more personal than the famous names, and just as rewarding. All are within roughly an hour and a half of the city.

A car gives you the most freedom, though two of our choices work well by public transport.

1. Rievaulx Abbey and Terrace

Founded in 1132 by twelve monks from Clairvaux, Rievaulx was the first Cistercian monastery in the north of England, and its soaring ruins fill a wooded valley just outside Helmsley.

Above the abbey, Rievaulx Terrace is a half-mile Georgian lawn laid out by Thomas Duncombe II as a viewing platform, with a Neoclassical temple at each end. The larger Ionic temple has a richly painted ceiling and gilt settees by William Kent. Since July 2026, English Heritage has run the Terrace on behalf of the National Trust, and a single joint ticket now covers both terrace and abbey.

• Getting there: About an hour by car via Helmsley. Energetic walkers can park in Helmsley and follow the opening stretch of the Cleveland Way, roughly 3.5 miles each way.
• Time to allow: Half a day, or a full day with the walk and lunch in Helmsley.
• When: The abbey opens year round with reduced winter hours; the Terrace is seasonal, so check English Heritage before you go.

2. Byland Abbey, Shandy Hall and the Kilburn White Horse

Three very different treasures sit within a few miles of each other on the edge of the Howardian Hills, making one of our favourite day trips from York.

Byland Abbey

Byland’s great west front survives with the shattered rim of a rose window whose design is thought to have inspired the south rose window of York Minster. Inside, large areas of glazed green and yellow medieval floor tiles still lie in place, a rare survival.

Shandy Hall, Coxwold

In the pretty village of Coxwold, Shandy Hall is the medieval house where Laurence Sterne lived as curate from 1760 until 1768, writing much of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey. Run by the Laurence Sterne Trust, it holds the world’s largest collection of editions of his work, and its two acres of gardens include over a hundred roses and a wildlife-friendly woodland garden. The house reopens each May.

The Kilburn White Horse

Cut into the hillside in 1857, the White Horse is visible for miles across the Vale of York. Park at the Sutton Bank National Park Centre and walk along the escarpment on the Cleveland Way to stand above it, with what is often called one of the finest views in England spread below.

• Getting there: About 40 minutes to an hour by car; there is no practical public transport.
• Time to allow: A full day for all three.
• When: May to September, when Shandy Hall is open and Byland’s museum is staffed.

3. Nunnington Hall

On the quiet banks of the River Rye, this mellow National Trust manor house has a gentle, lived-in charm and riverside gardens made for a slow afternoon. Its secret lies in the attic: the Carlisle Collection of Miniature Rooms, exquisite scaled-down interiors complete with tiny furniture, paintings and even working musical instruments.

• Getting there: About 40 minutes by car.
• Time to allow: Two to three hours.
• When: Spring to autumn, plus a festive opening (usually from mid-November to just before Christmas).

4. Hutton-le-Hole and the Ryedale Folk Museum

Sheep graze the greens and a stream runs through Hutton-le-Hole, one of the loveliest villages on the North York Moors. Here the Ryedale Folk Museum has rescued around twenty historic buildings from across the area and rebuilt them on six acres, from a thatched cruck-framed manor house to a roundhouse and craft workshops.

• Getting there: About an hour by car. In summer the Moorsbus runs at weekends and on bank holidays.
• Time to allow: Half a day.
• When: Best from spring to autumn; check the museum’s website for current times.

5. The Hole of Horcum and Goathland

Local legend says the giant Wade scooped out the Hole of Horcum to hurl at his wife; geologists credit springs and patient erosion. Either way, this vast natural amphitheatre beside the A169 is spectacular, especially when the heather blooms purple in late summer. A popular five-mile circuit from the Saltergate car park follows the rim and drops into the valley, taking about three hours.

Continue north to Goathland, where the station on the heritage North Yorkshire Moors Railway played Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film; see our guide to Harry Potter filming locations in Britain. In season you can ride steam trains between Pickering, Goathland and Whitby. Bridge repairs have affected Whitby services in recent winters, so check the railway’s timetable before you go. We recommend booking ahead: North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam experiences.

• Getting there: About an hour and a quarter by car. The Coastliner 840 bus from York to Whitby crosses the moors and has stops at the Hole of Horcum, with selected journeys via Goathland.
• Time to allow: A full day.

6. Brimham Rocks

High on the moor above Nidderdale, wind and weather have sculpted millstone grit into extraordinary balancing towers and arches. Owned by the National Trust and open year round, Brimham Rocks is pure fun for clambering, with sweeping views; on a clear day you can see York Minster. It sits just a short drive from Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, so you can combine the two; read our guide to Fountains and Tintern abbeys first.

• Getting there: About an hour by car, via Harrogate.
• Time to allow: Two hours, or a full day with Fountains.

7. Saltaire

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, Saltaire is the model village built by the Victorian industrialist Sir Titus Salt for his mill workers, with neat stone terraces, a grand church and a park on the River Aire. The vast Salts Mill, opened in 1853, now houses the 1853 Gallery with a permanent display of work by Bradford-born David Hockney. The mill is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

• Getting there: By train, usually changing at Leeds; Saltaire station sits beside the mill. This is the easiest car-free day out on our list.
• Time to allow: Half to a full day.

8. Burton Agnes Hall

Built between about 1601 and 1610 for Sir Henry Griffith, probably to designs by Robert Smythson, Burton Agnes is a glorious red-brick Elizabethan house on the edge of the Wolds, still a family home today. Inside are fine carved ceilings and an eclectic art collection; outside, a walled garden. A Norman manor house of the 1170s survives beside it. The festive opening (usually from mid-November to just before Christmas) is magical.

• Getting there: About an hour by car, between Driffield and Bridlington.
• Time to allow: Half a day.

If you would rather someone else did the driving, a guided North York Moors day tour from York covers several of these highlights. And if you do want a famous name, Castle Howard, half an hour from the city, remains a magnificent alternative.

Where to Stay in York

Grays Court

Tucked behind the Minster with gardens bounded by the city walls, Grays Court claims continuous occupation since the eleventh century and was once the residence of the Treasurers of York Minster. Its twelve bedrooms are individually designed, and The Bow Room restaurant holds three AA Rosettes and is listed in the Michelin Guide 2026.

The Grand, York

Built in 1906 as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, The Grand is the city’s five-star address, a short walk from the station. Its new underground spa, SubRosa, opened in late 2025 and has already earned Good Spa Guide Five Bubble status.

Middlethorpe Hall and Spa

For a country-house feel within reach of the city, Middlethorpe Hall is a William and Mary house of around 1699 set in some twenty acres, about two miles from the centre. Owned by the National Trust since 2008, it donates its profits to the charity, and it has a spa with an indoor pool.

A Sample Day: Abbeys and a Novelist

Leave York after breakfast and drive to Helmsley. Walk the Cleveland Way to Rievaulx, explore the abbey, then climb to the Terrace. Lunch back in Helmsley, then drive on to Coxwold for Shandy Hall and a glimpse of Byland on the way. Finish at Sutton Bank as the light softens over the Vale of York and the White Horse, and be back in the city for dinner. A Yorkshire walking guidebook opens up many more routes.

FAQs

Which of these day trips can I do without a car?

Saltaire is easiest, by train via Leeds. The Coastliner 840 bus reaches the Hole of Horcum and Goathland. For the rest, a car or guided tour is far more practical.

When is the best time to visit?

May to September, when every site is open. Late August brings heather on the moors, and several houses reopen for Christmas.

Is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway running in winter?

Mainly festive specials. Repairs to a bridge near Grosmont are planned for the 2026 to 2027 winter, so check timetables before planning a 2027 trip to Whitby.

Can I visit Rievaulx Terrace with National Trust membership?

Yes. Members still enter free but should book in advance through English Heritage, which now runs the site.