There is a certain kind of English town that seems to move at a slower pace, one with lots of fine medieval and Tudor buildings, Georgian manors and plenty of cream teas. You might wrongly suppose this is just the stuff of TV costume drama and rural murder series. Yet in spite of the picture postcard looks, you can find such places that are not necessarily overrun with tourists. In fact, away from the more obvious tourist honeypots there are some lovely country towns that you might have thought disappeared some time towards the middle of the last century. One such is Tewkesbury, north of the Cotswolds, south of the Malvern Hills and at the confluence of two major rivers – the Avon and the Severn. It’s a perfect weekend destination. In fact, it could be just the spot, too, for Christmas or New Year.
The shops are small, local and eclectic with plenty of tea-rooms, museums and antique shops. The architecture is stunning – there are more than 350 listed buildings here. Little alleyways (around 30 of them) open into medieval courtyards, there’s a twice-weekly street market, a monthly farmers’ market, regular food and arts markets and a food and drink festival every June in the beautiful Abbey grounds.
So there’s no problem with shopping or, come to that, eating. What makes Tewkesbury so unique, though, lies at its very heart – its Abbey. Building work started in 1087 and it was consecrated in 1121. It has (according to no less an authority than Nikolaus Pevsner) “probably the largest and finest Romanesque tower in England.” It was also, though, at the very centre of local life so, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1540 and seized most of its treasures, the people of Tewkesbury paid what was then an enormous sum – £453 – to save what became their parish church. So go for the architecture but also for the music. The Abbey has a strong musical tradition – fine singing at Evensong and lots of concerts, too.
It’s a town with plenty of history. With the rivers transporting goods in and out of town, it was a thriving commercial hub in the Middle Ages and its mustard was famous – Falstaff comments on “Wit as thick as Tewkesbury mustard.” And 2021 will mark not just 900 years since the consecration of the Abbey but 550 years since the Battle of Tewkesbury when the Yorkists won a major victory over the Lancastrians.
I stayed just on the edge of town at Tewkesbury Park which overlooks the site of the battle. Although there is a newer section of the hotel, I recommend staying in the original house. It has just been refurbished and there are nine huge suites named after such local celebrities as King Richard III and Margaret of Anjou. It’s all pretty sumptuous with some unusual little luxuries – my freestanding bath came with a silver champagne bucket next to it. The views are sensational and the park is some 163 acres, much of it golf course but with lovely walks and cycle tracks.
The walks are, of course, lovely for dogs, too, and you can bring your dog to stay here. There’s even a Canine Retreat that includes doggy treats, suggested walks and sausages for breakfast. As well as the golf, there are tennis and squash courts, swimming pool, steam and sauna and the hotel has recently introduced spa treatments, too. The spa area is small but perfectly formed and has some very interesting and unusual treatments and products from the Natural Spa Factory in Bath. My favourites were based around gold – well, why not? So, tiny gold particles are used for their anti-inflammatory properties, prevention of collagen and elastin breakdown and increase of firmness. There’s a 23 Carat Gold Facial (the result is a really healthy glow) and besides the gold itself includes grape leaf, pearl and caviar extract. I also tried the Cleopatra body therapy – a gold and caviar scrub followed by a grape leaf extract wrap and a caviar and gold oil massage. Did you know Cleopatra slept in a gold mask?
So all this pampering, healthy outdoor walks and a charming town – it’s an ideal weekend escape. There are some really special Christmas and New Year packages on offer, too. For Christmas, there are drinks parties, lots of excellent food, a candlelit walk to Midnight Mass at the Abbey, plenty of mince pies and traditional Christmas dinner. The New Year celebrations come with lots of fizz, gala dinners and fireworks. I’ll just get prepped with that gold mask then…
Tewkesbury Park Hotel, Lincoln Green Lane, Tewkesbury GL20 7DN. Tel: 01684 295 405. Website.
