A very friendly information service manned by some wonderful ladies. Plenty of tourist brochures…read morefor the whole of Warwickshire. You can even buy castle tickets here at the reduced rate of 18£ and avoid the ticket queue at the castle. There is a gift shop here that has much better souvenirs than the tacky stuff at "you know where" Do spend 15 minutes browsing through the town history display behind the information counters. Very well illustrated and a nice overview before you visit the town. There's a yeomanry museum in the basement that's free to visit. When I told the lady at the desk that we had read about the history of the building, she took us upstairs to show us the gorgeous ballroom that's hired out for weddings.

I lived in Cottesbrooke for many years and I'm a little loath to tell you all about this one! It's…read morelike the land that time forgot. It's fantastic. The owners of Cottesbrooke Hall own most of the village and it's one of the prettiest in Northamptonshire. Well worth a walk through to see all the great buildings. The Hall itself is beautiful. Go to see the architecture and the equestrain paintings. And the grounds, managed by a succession of fabulous head gardeners, are awesome.

Fine red brick and stone Queen Anne house, begun in 1702. English and Continental furniture and…read moreporcelain, and renowned picture collection - particularly of sporting and equestrian subjects. Reputed model for Jane Austen's 'Mansfield Park'.

One of our Banbury team's top 5 cultural venues. The moated Broughton Castle is just outside of…read moreBanbury, and is one of the most romantically situated castles in the country. It has featured in films such as Shakespeare in Love.

St Mary's is a distinctive landmark on the A361 from Chipping Norton to Banbury, its 198ft spire…read moredominating the landscape for miles around. It has always been an important church, benefitting from Royal patronage from its earliest days. There was probably a church here in Saxon times, but the first written record is when William I granted it to Westminster Abbey in 1067. King Stephen endowed a chantry here, and Henry II made a gift of its endowments to Godstow Abbey, an act clearly important enough for Westminster Abbey to appeal unsuccessfully, as it turned out to the Pope. So much for its history. The building we see to-day is a text-book of mediaeval church architecture: it has some remnants from the Norman period, a 12-13th Century Early English nave and porch, a 14th Century decorated gothic tower and chancel, with some spectacular perpendicular gothic additions from the 15th century. The first thing that strikes you on entering the church is the size of the building: in the 14th century, the aisles were doubled in size to the width of the nave, giving the church a spacious square floor-plan. The first furnishing of note is the font, a fine and rare example in the perpendicular style of the 15th century. Above, the roof is supported on corbels in the shape of human heads, in the shape of Kings, Queens, Bishops and a lady with a fine 15th century horned head-dress. Across in the north aisle is a remnant of a wall painting of St Christopher, separating the aisle from the north transept, an elegant pillar with an incredible capital carved with the heads of knights and ladies with linked arms. The other feature of the nave is the rood screen, a gift from Cardinal Wolsey in the 15th century. Despite subsequent defacing by iconoclasts, it still retains its painted panels, although some of the remains are very faint. The pictures represent saints and the doctors of the early church. The chancel has a fine Norman door-head from the period of King Stephen, with fish-scale, foliage and lozenge patterns. Opposite, the decorated windows have re-used some of the earlier Norman arches, with more zig-zag patterns. But the most dramatic addition is the large Milcombe Chapel, a bold exercise in 15th-century perpendicular. Huge panel windows fill every side. On one wall is a vivid and colourful 15th Century wall-painting depicting the life of a martyr, with different episodes all shown in the one picture. The chapel's west wall is dominated by the confident memorial to Sir John Thorneycroft (d. 1725). When built, this was sited against the Chapel's East window, effectively blocking it, much to the ire of the congregation. It was moved to its present, more appropriate, location during the 19th century restoration by G E Street. The exterior of the church is a match forthe interior. The Milcombe Chapel sports huge and well-preserved gargoyles, but it is the spire, west door and north wall for which the church is renowned: here, in 1340, a series of elaborate decorative carvings was added, around the door and the base of the spire, and along the cornice of the north wall. The West Door scheme depicts the Last Judgement, but the those on the tower and wall carry more whimsical themes, and include two monkeys riding a cat, a main whistling, two men sword fighting and dogs looking at a rabbit in a thicket. Piety can indeed have a sense of humour. The graveyard is pleasantly wooded, with some attractive 18th-century tombstones. The effect is spoiled only by the roar of traffic from the adjacent road. How many passing motorists realise the glory that they are passing at speed?

A magnificent church in a lovely setting of an old village with houses dating back to the 16th…read moreCentury. The tallest spire in Oxfordshire and a larger than normal church with a rich architectural history. Undergoing substantial internal work over the next years to make it once again the centre of the community. Well worth a visit. Tours can be arranged if you contact the church.

Oh gosh!! Can I give this place more than 5 stars?? Such an AMAZING experience and coming here,…read morewalking in the ruins of the castle, was such a childhood dream fulfilled!! As a youngster, I had read Sir Walter Scott's novel entitled "Kenilworth" - his version of the story of Queen Elizabeth, her rumored lover, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, and his wife who died by falling down the stairs. While Kenilworth is not my fave of Scott's novels (that privilege belongs to "Ivanhoe") seeing the actual castle walls and grounds, really vividly took me back to the high emotions of the book. I mean if those walls could talk!!!!They'd seen Queen's and King's and jealousies, murders, gossip, illicit love - such a gamut of human emotions and lives! My ticket cost me £11 and the one thing I wish I could do-over, was to have come at least 2 hrs earlier as I couldn't get to check out the Gate-house (the only residential building on the castle premises that is not a ruin!) or the exhibition in the former stables about the lives of the castle's inhabitants. The castle closed at 5pm, and I'd come after lunch but honestly, coming here should be a full-day visit. Basically Kenilworth consists of 3 ruins - the first and original Norman keep built by John of Gaunt, then a second building was constructed by King Henry and finally, the most grand buildings are the Elizabethan state apartments, built by Dudley to commemorate Queen Elizabeth visit (a part of me was thinking, wow, a whole new building built for a stay of 19 days!!). The architecture is SO Amazing! Beautiful highly decorated windows, fanciful turrets, hidden staircases, and then to top it all off, a marvelous grand hall, remnants of which are still awe-inspiring! The grounds too, are another marvelous wonder. For Queen Elizabeth's first visit, Dudley had created an Elizabethan Garden, which the National Trust has faithfully reproduced as closely as possible, thanks to a historical record written by a courtier who was there while Dudley was entertaining (pun intended) the Queen. I went there towards the end of my visit, and loved seeing the bird-cage and walking among the garden paths. Glimpses of the beauty and a great view of the Elizabethan garden can also be seen from John of Gaunt's tower. The garden is also great as the Bear Motif of the Dudley Family has been reproduced multiple times. Being so old, there is some natural erosion and damage to the castle walls, but you can still see how thick they were and overall, they are remarkably well preserved and standing as a testament to English history. Really enjoyed my visit here and highly recommended! Yelp 148/ 2019

Absolutely stunning castle in the West Midlands, in Warwickshire. According to the website, "The…read moreruins are best known as the home of Robert Dudley, the great love of Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley created an ornate palace here to impress his Queen in 1575." And truly, this castle is a work of art. I loved the gift shop! The people working were friendly and approachable, offering shots of mead and wine before we went inside the castle. We went on a particularly sunny and hot day, so it made the outdoors area even more special. The grounds were stunning. Be prepared to spend a few hours reading placards and just taking in the beauty of the old buildings. We stopped inside the old stable house for lunch, which has been renovated for a museum and cafe. I got a sandwich, gingerbread man (hehe), and lemonade for around £6.50, which wasn't too bad. The Elizabethan gardens are particularly beautiful. It has been recreated to show what Queen Elizabeth I would have seen 400 years ago. I also love that they have events all year long, including jousting! Beautiful place. Would absolutely love to visit again.

You know those amazingly warm and sunny weekends? Well we don't get them too often and when they…read morehappen I get the urge to do something quintessentially English. So last one day recently saw a much needed drive out of Brum and into the countryside. I'm not a National Trust member but I am starting to wonder why? Our visit to Packwood House was fantastic. You can go into the house and even have a tour but we wanted to experience the gardens, herbaceous borders and huge yew topiaries up close. The house is originally 16th century and features several gorgeous blue and gold sun dials - so check your watch against them and see which are still set to GMT. The gardens are beautiful and kept in stunning condition. Mostly they are comprised of some very distinct and large yew topiaries. The highlight has to be walking up the helter skelter style border to reach the top of The Mound which is adorned with a large yew tree. From there you can take in the views, enjoy the cool shade and benefit from some much needed peace. The rest of the gardens are a mix of wild and wonderful plants and the look must change considerably throughout the year. Don't miss out on walking around the back of the house to catch the very unique sun dial monument. A great day out even if you are not a National Trust member - stunning!

Packwood is another National Trust property right on the doorstep and one that makes me so glad…read morethat we got membership for a Chrismas present. The gardens are the usual lovely mixture of more formal with some stunning yew trees to admire, plus the broader park land. The formal area is very children friendly and there's a lovely little raised mound right at the back that's lots of fun to run up. The pak land has a great walk and there's a large pond/small lake with ducks. It's a good place to explore and there's the usual wooded area to wander around too. The National Trust is so much better at welcoming families and Packwood now has so much more to offer children such as outdoor games and family activities during holidays. Picnics are welcome too. There isn't a cafe or restaurant although you can get coffee and snacks from the reception area. The toilets are in the car park.

Lovely post office, extremely helpful and very patient nothing like the miserable lot I've…read moreexperienced in Milton Keynes, more about these at a later date. Located in the town centre this post office is very close to disabled car parking, with nearby restuarants and other facilities close to hand.

The good thing about this post office is that the queues are generally not too long. It also has…read morequite a reasonable stock of items to help you with your posting, including boxes, envelopes, bubble wrap bags and a selection of writing accoutrements. It is also quite central which means you can do your other shopping while in town (though Buckingham is a market town with a quite small range of shops. The post office is also slightly novel in being the route to access a restaurant just above the counters. This was quite a fun place for a meal. The staff are always helpful.

Oh the town planners of England! This is an architectural gem, an absolutely beautiful building…read more However, it's sort of tucked away. There are no site lines of this building. In another time they would have built open space, a park, a few fountains! Somewhere where people could sit in the lee of the building and enjoy the view. Well you can't! So you'll just have to crane you neck and take a few moments to enjoy it in all it's glory. You may visit here to register a birth or death or to attend a civil wedding - on any day there is usually to be found a wedding party. If you work for the council it will be your place of work and you can hire it for conferences or a party. If you've no reason to visit then take advantage of the Heritage Weekend and you will get a great tour of the interior.

This is an absolutely stunning building set in the heart of Northampton's town centre. The first…read moretime I visited the building was when I went to a friend's wedding, although as I say the building was stunning the civil ceremony was a complete shambles. What a shame to hold such a wonderful ceremony in an equally wonderful building but to have it ruined by the conveyor belt service! To start as we arrived to the venue the poor wedding party before us were being shouted at to get in the ceremony room as they had other weddings that day! After being herded through like sheep we were barely able to enjoy the ceremony, which they seemed to cut short as the next wedding was due to start! As we were led out of the room the next party was led into the room! Such a terrible disappointment, after seeing such a beautiful venue!