Cirencester And South Cotswolds: Fill & Download for Free

As far as I know, there are two. The large town in South Yorkshire is the best-known one, but there is also a small village called Barnsley in the Cotswolds, about 10km north-east of the town of Cirencester.

Unusual.Most routes are radial from the larger cities. Because there are few reasons, other than doing it for its own sake, for doing so any sort of coast-to-coast journey will require a bit of bespoke planning.The closest I can think of to a single east-west road is the M62 transpennine motorway, from Liverpool to Hull, both ends of which fall short of the actual coasts.Other crossings could take the M2 from Dover, skirt London on the M25, continue on the M4 to south Wales, and then use the A48 and A40 to reach Pembrokeshire. Only the last bit sounds remotely interesting.Slow.A far more interesting way to see the country would be to Eschew major roads and use the .Minor road network. It will take you uphill and down dale, through - literally- Market towns and picturesque villages, and make you deeply familiar with the agricultura year. The dominant speed limits will be below the national 60mph - long stretches of 50 or even 30mph. Let’s pick one such route which includes some genuinely enjoyable driver’s roads and a lot of tourist attractions.Let’s go from Cley-next-the-Sea in Norfolk to Porlock Weir in West Somerset. Both places worth seeing in their own right, of course.We will go via Kings Lynn, Spalding, Stamford and Uppingham. Every one of which is worth spending time in. Lynn was a member of the Hanseatic League. You can take a water taxi through Spalding, visit Burgley House, and the Antique vendors of Uppingham.But we are on a trip. So drive past Uppingham School, and take the B664 to Market Harborough via Medbourne, for the finest driver’s road on our route. As you leave the town you make a hairpin descent of a surprising escarpment, and the enjoy the rolling hills and scenery all the way to ancient Harborough. It is a joy.Then head toward Lutterworth, and keep going west until you see signs for the Fosse Way, an ancient straight route from Lincoln to Bath which owes much to those invading Romans. Follow the Fosse, over hill and vale, through the Cotswolds and the many, many, distractions on the way to Cirencester. It has recently been downgraded to 50mph all the way.Next Bath. Then Wells. Through Glastonbury. On to Bridgewater. Kilve, Minehead, and Porlock Weir. Probably all at 30mph. You have crossed in this paragraph Roman Britain, Arthurian Legend, the battlefield where Alfred defeated Guthram , the Bloody Assize, and the place where an unwelcome visitor interrupted Coleridge and deprived us of the end of Kubla Khan. That unwelcome visitor became a trope for all literary distractions . The Person from PorlockAccording to Google that route, taken pell-mell, would take 6 hours and 11 minutes. I defy you to do that. Even if you resist the temptation to stop and stare - and why would you resist? - I can’t see it taking less than 8.I could write you itineraries from Whitehaven to Seahouses; from Aberdeen to Ayr; Fishguard to Whitby; they would be just as interesting, and equally slow.Hilly.With any luck.Any journey beginning in Wales will be far from Horizontal. The Scottish Highlands are not mis-named. The Pennines form a barrier to east-west traffic. The South Downs are named for an ancient word for Hill.There are flat bits - The Fens, The Somerset Levels, the Fylde. But there are also the Moors of Staffordshire and Yorkshire to break the monotony.Congested.Maybe you aren’t driving for fun. Maybe you are bring a lorryload of car spares in via Felixstowe, and delivering them to Burtonwood. Well, good luck with that. You will see a lot of motorways, and probably average 40mph. 33mph if it is raining.If you want to get to Heathrow, you will be on the M25. it is supposed to take 90 minutes to get from the Dartford tunnel to Terminal 5. I’ve done it in as little as 5 hours.Former Grammar School in Church Square... (C) Dave Spicer - Market HarboroughPorlock Weir - Lock and tidal pond (C) Rob FarrowM25 south of Junction 15 from the air (C) Mike Penningtonhttps://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4659056Queensferry Crossing on its first day... (C) Margaret Pennington

Try Cirencester, the capital of the Cotswolds.For: Great, historic market town with ready access to the Cotswolds AONB. Which includes Bibury, Burford, Winchcombe, Bourton on the Water, Slaughters, Broadway, Stow on the Wold, Cotswolds Way, etc. There is a good number of independent shops and a couple of supermarkets. Close to the A417 the M4, M5 link. Is a traditional town, with links to the Romans, Civil War and grew rich on wool trade. Dozens of coffee shops.A good range of jobs, with Dyson at Malmesbury, just down the road.Access to Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Oxford within striking distance.Against: Tourists force up the price of a beer and coffee. House prices. No rail station in town but close to Kemble, east, west and Cheltenham North, South.