Car Hire Cheltenham - Mini guide to Cheltenham
With stylish shopping, stunning Regency architecture, fascinating museums and a host of festivals, the Gloucester spa town of Cheltenham deservedly attracts visitors from around the world.
Renowned as the best-preserved Regency architecture in Britain, the glorious buildings of the Promenade and Royal Crescent are a must, as is the Neo-Gothic Cheltenham Ladies College. For an overview of the history of the town, there’s no better place to start than the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum (Clarence Street). After that, why not taste something of the town’s past at the town hall where you can still sample the spa waters that made the town famous in the 18th C.
The city centre is not only home to many stylish shops and cafes, but a number of stunning parks. North of the centre is Pitville Park, complete with lakes and the romantic Pitville Pump Room where spa waters can also be taken. Leaving the city centre along the tree-lined Promenade will take you past the Imperial Gardens, a place to relax and enjoy the wonderful blooms that helped the town win the Britain In Bloom award.
For entertainment and nightlife, the town offers a range of options. Festivals are a major attraction year-round, with National Hunt horse racing dominating the winter, and music festivals, including The International Jazz Festival and The Fringe Festival, filling the summer months. There are also top class restaurants, great nightclubs and plenty of pubs, bars and cafes in the town centre.
Cheltenham is an ideal base for exploring the natural beauty of the Cotswolds hills. It’s particularly rewarding to hire a car and follow The Romantic Road, a route through the best of the Cotswolds’ stunning scenery, taking in rolling hills and valleys, peaceful rivers, and lovely sandstone towns, villages, churches, traditional pubs and manor houses.
Trains depart hourly from London Paddington station (which is conveniently linked by express shuttle train to Heathrow Airport), but occasionally you may have to change in Bristol (journey duration: two hours). Cheltenham is located just north of Worcester and motorists can exit the M5 at junctions 10 or 11 for easy access to the town.
