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The Regency town of Cheltenham was the place where the Prince Regent 'took the waters' for the sake of his health in the early part of the last century and the town became a fashionable resort.
You can still taste the waters at the elegant Pittville Pump Room.
Cheltenham Racecourse, home to one of the most highly - regarded annual sports events, the National Hunt Festival, when thousands of Irish visitors flood into the town to drink Guinness and bet on horses - the Festival also has it's 'upmarket' element, with a huge amount of champagne being consumed during the week the March event marks the start of the English social season.
A statue of Edward Wilson, who accompanied the ill - fated Scott expedition to the South Pole, is in the centre of the town.
Also in the town centre is the Everyman Theatre, where Charlie Chaplin once appeared.
Brian Jones, of The Rolling Stones in the'60s, was brought up in Cheltenham, and is buried in the town cemetery.
Other interesting facets of Cheltenham are G.C.H.Q, the national 'listening station' that tunes in to other countries' business. In the eighties a spy was discovered there who had been providing information to Russia.
- Type:
- Landmark