Heart of England

The 'Heart of England' is a quaint name for the central region of England which includes the counties of the West Midlands and Birmingham, Warwickshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. The region boasts a diversity of beautiful countryside and industrial heritage.

This region is known as the Heart of England because it lies in the centre of the country but also because it contains so much that is quintessentially ‘English’ in its landscape, its history and its heritage.

To the south lie the Cotswolds hills, dotted with idyllic villages and pretty market towns like Bourton on the Water and Chipping Campden, all in the characteristic honey-coloured Cotswold stone. The nearby Malvern Hills, associated with the English composers Elgar and Vaughan Williams, are hardly less beautiful. There are many elegant spa towns; the most famous is probably Cheltenham with its Regency architecture, stylish shops and restaurants, music and literature festivals, and race course. To the west, on the Welsh borders, lie the lush farmlands of Shropshire and Herefordshire, with many interesting small towns as well as the cathedral city of Hereford.

The Heart of England is rich in literary associations. The jewel in the crown is Stratford, in Warwickshire, the birthplace of William Shakespeare: a lovely town on the River Avon, where you can visit historic buildings associated with Shakespeare and watch a Shakespeare play performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Warwickshire is also the home of the great novelist George Eliot and the location for her classic work, Middlemarch. Nearby Warwick Castle is a top tourist attraction in this area.

To the north of the region lie many towns and cities whose identities were shaped by the Industrial Revolution of 18th and 19th centuries. The ‘Black Country’ around Birmingham was the centre for the iron and coal industries, while Sheffield was famous for steel, and Staffordshire for the potteries where Britain’s most famous brands of pottery and china such as Wedgewood, Spode and Royal Worcester were made. This whole area is full of fascinating history, encapsulated in the museums at Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, near Birmingham. Birmingham, England’s second largest city, has superb Victorian architecture, top quality museums and arts venues and good shopping. Coventry is famous for its old and new cathedrals with some outstanding works of art, and for the folk heroine, Lady Godiva. Within easy reach of these busy urban areas are the stunningly beautiful hills of the Derbyshire Peak District, Britain’s most popular National Park offering spectacular walks, climbing, cycling or caving. Younger visitors to the region will enjoy a trip to top theme parks such as Alton Towers and Cadbury’s World.

Featured places in Heart of England

Cities and towns near here

  • Banbury
  • Blakemere
  • Bourton-on-the-Water
  • Cheltenham
    Located in the rolling countryside of the county of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham is a fascinating town boasting picturesque architecture and unique shops. Cheltenham is also known as the 'gateway to the Cotswolds' due to its convenient access to this picturesque region.
  • Chester
    Chester is on the 'must see' cities of the Heart of England. Small enough to walk around in a day, this fascinating city has over 2 miles of Roman Walls. Chester is a popular city in the Heart of England for students of English and is ideally located for day visits to Manchester, Liverpool and Wales.
  • Coventry
    Coventry is a city dominated by its stunning state of the art Cathedral, with wide pedestranised streets, modern architecture, good shopping facilities, fashionable restaurants, luxurious modern hotels, parks and gardens, theatres, and sports venues.
  • Evesham
    Evesham is a pleasant town on the banks of the River Avon.
  • Hereford
  • Stratford-upon-Avon
    Stratford-upon-Avon, a medieval market town established in 1196, occupies a unique position in British cultural heritage as the birthplace and home of William Shakespeare, Britain’s greatest playwright. Key properties associated with Shakespeare’s life have been exceptionally well preserved so visitors can experience a real flavour of life as Shakespeare and his contemporaries would have lived it. Stratford’s beautiful setting on the River Avon in the area known as the Heart of England, its excellent shops, restaurants, tea rooms and pubs, and the fact that it is the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, all make it a superb homestay location.
  • Worcester