Visit Cheltenham Spa

Nestling at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point of the Cotswolds, Cheltenham enjoys a beautiful location. Surrounding the town are the picturesque villages of the Cotswolds and the Severn Vale, historic castles and churches, beautiful gardens and stately houses and rural landscapes unrivalled in their charm and tranquillity.

Echoing around the medieval walls of the Great Hall at the Hotel De La Bere in Cheltenham is the story of an American tourist doing “The Heart of England”. When he returned to his wife who was resting at the hotel he exclaimed: “Honey, I have walked the length of the Promenade at Cheltenham and darned if I spot the sea”. It was water of a different kind, however, that made Cheltenham famous.

Over two hundred years ago, it was King George III, residing at the spa town for a month to take the waters and recover from a bilious attack, who made the town fashionable. The Royal seal of approval brought the rich and famous of the time to Cheltenham and it became known as the “merriest sick resort on earth”. The spa waters can still be taken at the Pittville Pump Room. Pittville, is set in rolling parkland and must be one of the most enjoyable places to spend a Sunday. Every Sunday from May to the end of September, the Pump Room opens its doors to tasty Sunday brunches, afternoon cream teas, live music in the bandstand and horse drawn carriage rides round Regency Cheltenham.

Spa towns have long been associated with health, leisure and well-being, none more so than Cheltenham. With the pace of modern life becoming more hectic, the allure of a break in a Spa town is becoming more appealing. The traditional water treatments of old have given way to modern therapies, however, enabling Cheltenham to maintain it’s spa status in the modern era.

Today, visitors can still escape to Cheltenham to pamper themselves in one of the Spa’s health, beauty and fitness centres, or experience one of the extensive range of complementary therapies on offer from the town’s numerous registered practitioners. Try a little spa therapy for yourself and relax in the care of a qualified therapist to ease away the stresses of the world.

Cheltenham celebrates its place in history at the town’s main Art Gallery and Museum which features a world renown collection relating to the English Arts and Crafts movement, inspired by the genius of William Morris.

Today the Regency town stands as one of the most beautiful inland resorts. Visitors soon discover why Cheltenham has claimed more awards in the annual Beautiful Britain in Bloom competition than any other town. Wherever the visitor goes, flowers proliferate during the Spring, Summer and Autumn months along the elegant Promenade, within the many parks and gardens, and cascading from hundreds of hanging baskets outside shops, office buildings, hotels and private residences. They provide a beautiful floral walk. Try one of the guided walks of Regency Cheltenham organised by the tourist office. The qualified guides bring to life the history of the town and will keep you entertained with tales from the past.

Cheltenham welcomes its visitors with a fine selection of  gracious hotels and cosy guest houses. The stately Queens hotel stands at the head of the Promenade. Its imposing facade of Corinthian columns is modelled on the Temple of Jupiter in Rome. The tourist office can provide details of a wide range of accommodation to suit all pockets and tastes.

When your sightseeing for the day is done, Cheltenham has many restaurants to suite every taste, particularly in the Montpellier and Suffolk areas of the town. Fashionable new brasserie restaurants such as Le Petit Blanc, on the Promenade and the Daffodil, imaginatively set in the town’s old Daffodil cinema, complement the many cafes, wine bars, and bistros. The Cheltenham tourist office provides an excellent guide to eating out in Cheltenham listing over a hundred restaurants offering a choice of cuisine from around the world.

Shopping in Cheltenham is one of life’s pleasures. The town’s distinct quarters, each with its own style and speciality combine to provide choice and variety in a relaxed atmosphere. The Promenade is one of the finest shopping areas in the country and home to many of the best known fashion houses. In the High Street there are fashionable shopping arcades such as the Beechwood Shopping Centre with its fountains and waterfalls, and the Regent Arcade Shopping Centre with its fascinating “Wishing Fish” clock designed by Cotswold artist and craftsman Kit Williams.

A truly continental flavour can be found in the Montpellier and Suffolk areas, where there is an abundance of specialist boutiques, gift shops and antiques’ dealers, together with fashionable wine bars and pavement cafes. Cheltenham is an important centre for collectors of antiques, with monthly fairs staged at Cheltenham racecourse.

Cheltenham has a refreshingly liberal attitude to street buskers and pavement artists. Fancy dressed performers lend sound and colour to the town centre to entertain shoppers and create a festive atmosphere.

Racing is the sport most associated with the name of the town, and every year 15 days of racing are staged at Cheltenham racecourse, the home of National Hunt Racing and the stage for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The premier event of the National Hunt racing calendar brings over 130,000 visitors flocking to the town every March for the three-day racing festival. If the prospect of sharing your quiet break in the Cotswolds with so many others is a little off-putting, but you still want to enjoy the racing, then try one of the smaller meetings in the calendar. Full details of the Cheltenham racing programme can be obtained from the tourist office.

Cheltenham’s calendar of events brings visitors from across the world to the town. Known internationally as a leading cultural centre, Cheltenham presides over its famous International Festival of Music each July. The fringe festival features dance, music, theatre and children’s events. In October, the world’s oldest literature festival features leading authors in a programme of talks, readings, lectures exhibitions and tours.

In July, cricket fans have the opportunity to enjoy the annual cricket festival held in the ground of Cheltenham College to honour the memory of one of England’s greatest sporting heroes, W.G. Grace. New festivals have been added to the town’s programme in recent years, with a Folk Festival in February and the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival in April.

All the excitement of international rally driving comes to Cheltenham in November, as the town reverberates to the sound of highly powered rally cars in the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, the final round of the World Rally Drivers’ Championship. The world champion is crowned in Cheltenham.

Cheltenham ”en fete” is a great place to be, but if you want to escape the activity, it’s also a great base from which to explore the beauty of the Cotswolds villages and countryside. During the summer months the tourist office organises scenic coach tours visiting the many well known beauty spots.

If you want to go your own way, however, ask at the tourist information centre for a copy of “The Romantic Road”. Priced at £3.95, these circular car tours take you off the beaten track to discover the many hidden delights of the Cotswolds and trace the stories of the many artists, writers and craftspeople who have drawn their inspiration from this area of outstanding natural beauty. Along country roads, many dating back to Roman times, “The Romantic Road” leads you through peaceful river valleys, complete with their manor houses, traditional pubs, tea houses and famous wool churches. En route you will pass many well known attractions including Sudeley Castle, Chedworth Roman Villa, Barnsley House Gardens, and Prinknash Abbey together with locations associated with the great nineteenth century poet designer and craftsman, William Morris.

The Cotswolds were made for walking and cycling with over 3,000 miles of public footpaths to be enjoyed. Cheltenham is at the mid-way point of the Cotswold Way, a 100 mile national walking trail from Chipping Campden to Bath, following the line of the Cotswolds Ridge. Cheltenham tourist information centre offers a wide range of walking and cycling guides, maps, and trails for you to explore. Cycle hire can be arranged locally.

Cheltenham quite rightly describes itself as the “Centre for the Cotswolds”, and a short break in this stylish spa town can be combined with everything that the Cotswolds has to offer, even though, as our American visitor discovered, you can’t see the sea from the Promenade.