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Map of the Midlands. The Midlands embrace a green and pastoral landscape rich in historical, industrial and literary associations. The region stretches from the borders of Wales in the west to the gritstone ‘edges’ of the Peak District in the North and the mellow limestone hills of the Cotswolds in the South. The rivers that meander lazily through the region pass some of the islands most famous locations.
Rising in the mountains of central Wales, the River Severn – the longest river in Britain sweeps in a 200 mile semicircular curve to the Bristol Channel and Atlantic Ocean.
The River Thames rises in the Cotswold Hills near the Roman city of Cirencester, heads north-eastward to the University City of Oxford then turns south westward to leave the Midlands for London and eventually the North Sea.
The Midlands is known for its gentle hills, grazing sheep and stone-built villages and the Cotswolds. The Peak District, however, is embracing the most southerly part of the Pennines, and thereby marking the transition from lowland to highland England, Peak District National Park covers 555 square miles of gritstone and limestone, was the first to be so designated in the whole of Britain.
Birmingham, England’s second largest city, with its origins firmly rooted in the industrial past is located as the heart of the region and at the centre of a busy motorway network. The city is fast gaining an international reputation as one of the country’s leading venues for exhibitions, conventions and cultural events.
Places to visit
(refer to map of the Midlands)
Charlecote Park & River Avon, Warwickshire
Broadway Tower, Worcestershire
Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire
Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
All Souls College, Oxford
Windmill Hill, Upper Tysoe, Warwickshire
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