Great West Way® Travel Magazine | Issue 01
The first edition of a brand-new magazine showcasing the Great West Way, Britain's newest touring route, has been launched. The Great West Way Travel Magazine features 84 pages of informative articles and stunning photography brimming with inspiration to explore further, delve deeper and uncover the essence of this unique part of England. It presents a series of inspirational themed features, articles and ideas suitable for visitors travelling along the route by road, rail, water, on bike or on foot. The magazine highlights the extraordinary variety of amazing tourism destinations and experiences along the route, each with something unique to offer. From idyllic countryside, beautifully quaint villages to elegant towns and buzzing cities, a route where creativity and culture rub shoulders with world-famous heritage.
The first edition of a brand-new magazine showcasing the Great West Way, Britain's newest touring route, has been launched. The Great West Way Travel Magazine features 84 pages of informative articles and stunning photography brimming with inspiration to explore further, delve deeper and uncover the essence of this unique part of England. It presents a series of inspirational themed features, articles and ideas suitable for visitors travelling along the route by road, rail, water, on bike or on foot. The magazine highlights the extraordinary variety of amazing tourism destinations and experiences along the route, each with something unique to offer. From idyllic countryside, beautifully quaint villages to elegant towns and buzzing cities, a route where creativity and culture rub shoulders with world-famous heritage.
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YOUR WAY ON THE WATER<br />
Like messing about in boats? The <strong>Great</strong> <strong>West</strong> Way offers<br />
dozens of opportunities to do just that, from captaining a<br />
narrowboat yourself to pushing out by canoe<br />
Words: Helen Ochyra<br />
We hope you will enjoy our selection of 10 of the best<br />
ways to explore the <strong>Great</strong> <strong>West</strong> Way by water:<br />
1<br />
CRUISE TO HENRY VIII’S HOME<br />
îClimb aboard one of Thames River Boats’ vessels at<br />
Kew and you’ll cruise past the glorious gardens before<br />
sailing around a bend in the river to encounter some of<br />
<strong>West</strong> London’s finest vistas, from the picture-postcard pubs<br />
of Richmond to the grand 17th-century mansion of Ham<br />
House and Garden. The cruise finishes at Hampton Court<br />
Palace, once home to notorious monarch Henry VIII.<br />
2<br />
TEST YOUR METTLE AT CAEN HILL<br />
îThe 28 Devizes Locks form one of the greatest<br />
challenges in English boating. Here you’ll rise 72<br />
metres (237ft) in just two miles, pushing open and pulling<br />
shut 28 sets of heavy wooden lock gates to travel uphill to<br />
the market town of Devizes. Fortunately you’re unlikely to<br />
be alone – this is a busy stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal<br />
and help is often at hand.<br />
3RELAX ON A NARROWBOAT CRUISE<br />
îDon’t fancy driving a narrowboat yourself? Take one of<br />
the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s tours instead, climbing<br />
aboard the Barbara McLellan at Bradford on Avon wharf for<br />
a slow cruise along a bucolic stretch of the canal. The bow is<br />
open for enjoying the view and there’s a licensed bar.<br />
4SAIL INTO WIND IN THE WILLOWS<br />
îCheck out the riverbanks that inspired Kenneth<br />
Grahame’s Wind in the Willows on a two hour tour<br />
of the Thames from Reading with Salters Steamers. Cruise<br />
through four traditional locks, passing Sonning and its famous<br />
bridge, before arriving at Henley, where you could visit the Wind<br />
in the Willows exhibition at the River & Rowing Museum.<br />
5HOP ON BOARD THE MATTHEW<br />
îCruise along Bristol’s old dock cranes in this fabulous<br />
and faithful reconstruction of the boat used by<br />
John Cabot when he discovered Newfoundland in 1497,<br />
and enjoy all the water activity that makes Bristol one of<br />
Europe’s most interesting maritime cities. →<br />
<strong>Great</strong><strong>West</strong>Way.co.uk 21
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