Warwickshire lies at the very heart of England and is associated with many of those who helped shape our nation, such as Simon de Montfort (‘Father of the English Parliament’) and Richard Neville (‘Warwick the Kingmaker’). More famous than these, of course, is William Shakespeare, the man who really put Warwickshire on the map.
The landscape itself is devoid of drama, but is at least green and leafy, its greatest asset its sheer Englishness. It is mainly rural and mostly confined to the Midland plain. The most notable feature of the plain is the River Avon, to the north-west of which is a landscape of scattered settlements, deeply-cut lanes and the gentlest of hills - this was Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden. Even today, dense hedgerows, small copses and statuesque oak trees recall the landscape that he knew. South of the Avon is a region called the Feldon, long renowned as fertile farmland, its prosperity reflected in the fine buildings which grace places such as Shipston and Brailes. Beyond the Feldon, the land rises gently to the Cotswolds, Warwickshire’s share of which is small, but quietly beautiful.
If the landscape lacks drama, the architecture makes up for it. Few English castles can compare with flamboyant Warwick, or the gloriously evocative ruins of Kenilworth. The neighbouring towns of Warwick and Leamington have now essentially merged into one, but the centre of each remains distinctive: Warwick a beguiling mix of timber, stone and brick; Leamington all Regency splendour and wonderful gardens. The market town of Stratford, meanwhile, makes the most of its river and canal, its Shakespearean houses just the icing on the cake.
