Winchcombe Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Ascending Cleeve Hil from the Cheltenham direction, you will arrive at Winchcombe. St. Peters church is guarded by forty of the country's finest grotesque gargoyles.

The church has an unusually fine weather cock measuring nearly 6 feet from beak to tail. Originally at the Church of St. Mary, Redcliffe in Bristol, it came to Winchcombe in 1872.

Guided Walking Tours

Walks start at the Tourist Information Office on Winchcombe High Street at 11.00am and 2.30pm on Sundays from Easter to October. Walking is kept to footpaths and suitable for all ages. You can apply in person or phone 01242 602925 or 07754 776508. The tour is free of charge (discretionary donations are welcome).

Walking Route 5 Miles approx 2.5 hours

Stride past Sudeley Castle then up and around the valley for elevated views across to Cleeve
Common and Charlton Abbots. Walk through tranquil countryside full of wildlife and flowers. For comprehensive guide see - https://www.escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/userfiles/file/walks/jubilee/winchcombe-and-sudeley-valley-final2.pdf.

Sudeley Castle

Set against the backdrop of the Cotswolds hills in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sudeley Castle & Gardens has played an important role in England’s history, boasting royal connections that stretch back over 1,000 years.

Inside, the castle contains many fascinating treasures from ancient Roman times to the present day. Outside, the castle is surrounded by award-winning gardens and a breathtaking 1,200 acre estate.

Located only eight miles from the picturesque Broadway, Sudeley Castle & Gardens is the only private castle in England to have a queen buried within the grounds. The last of Henry VIII’s six wives, Katherine Parr lived and died in the castle. She is now entombed in a beautiful 15th Century church found within the award-winning gardens.

The castle has opened even more of the family’s private rooms, some of which have never been open to the public before.

The additional rooms now open include the Major’s Dressing Room, the Morning Room, the Sewing Room, and the Haunted Staircase, as well as private bedrooms.

These rooms form part of an extended and revamped route around the castle, which includes the highly anticipated ‘20 Treasures of Sudeley’. A collection of artefacts and works of art of great historical importance which include Katherine Parr’s love letters, lacework reputedly made by Anne Boleyn, bed hangings made for Marie Antoinette and Charles I’s personal beer jugs.

Sudeley Castle’s magnificent gardens are world-renowned, providing variety and colour from spring through to autumn. The centrepiece is the Queens Garden, so named because four of England’s queens – Anne Boleyn, Katherine Parr, Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I – once admired the hundreds of varieties of roses found in the garden.

An owlery, pheasantry, adventure playground with picnic area, gift shop and café in the banqueting hall complete the perfect day out.

Open daily from Monday 17th March to Sunday 2nd November 2014, 10am to 5pm. A full calendar of events is planned, visit www.sudeleycastle.co.uk for more information.

Sudeley Castle & Gardens, Winchcombe, Nr Cheltenham GL54 5JD
Tel: 01242 604 244

2014 admission prices at Sudeley Castle & Gardens
Adults: £14
Concessions: £13
Children (5-15 years): £5 Under 5’s: FREE