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A trip to the picturesque and historic town of Tewkesbury today. It was about 30 minutes away from our base at Buckland Court and just north of Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Very easy to find a car parking space as we’d arrived in town early so we could grab a bite to eat for breakfast. We were doing a Tewkesbury Market Town and Abbey Treasure Trail today and hoped to see the highlights of the town.
We started the trail and soon stumbled across Café au Chocolat – their cakes looked amazing but we went for bacon and sausage sandwiches. Very generous with the fillings and the most reasonably priced breakfast of the week!
Tewkesbury reminded us a little of Whitby with all the narrow lanes that branched off the main streets. We were on the periphery of the Cotswolds but there were plenty of tudor style buildings adding charm to the streets.
One alley had a fabulous Cheshire Cat artwork displayed on the wall of one of the alleys. Created by a local school, it was fab and a great way to get pupils involved.
The trail took us by some of the historic pubs in the town. The oldest was Ye Olde Black Bear but the King John Bridge. We popped in to use the facilities and grabbed a drink. This was the oldest pub in town dated back to 1308. For an old pub, it had quite a modern feel inside whilst retaining the oldest of features. We sat outside under a large wooden gazebo that housed a giant TV screen (would be a great venue for watching sport!) and the heaters kept us warm.
Refreshed we headed on our way. We crossed the King John Bridge and followed the River Walk back into town. Tewkesbury was where the River Avon and River Severn met. Very quiet walk with the former flour mill looming up in the distance. It’s disused but a fabulous brick building. Hopefully it can be restored at some point.
We were now catching glimpses of the Abbey in the distance and this would be the final destination of our trail. As we crossed the river back into the town, there were some stunning old tudor cottages.
We rounded the corner and arrived at the Abbey. The Abbey escaped the Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. Whilst the Abbey was dissolved and all its valuables seized and placed in Henry VIII’s coffers, the townspeople purchased the Abbey for £453, the price of the lead on the roof and the metal in the bells, and it become their parish church.
We had unexpected timed our visit with the Abbey hosting the Museum of the Moon. The info and images looked intriguing. As it’s a parish church, it’s free to go in and as you enter the church, you are just blown away by the sight and how large the moon display was. It measured seven metres in diameter and featuring detailed NASA imagery. The Moon was lit internally and appeared to float amidst the gothic arches. The artwork is the creation of Luke Jerram and the Moon is just one of a series of his artworks.
We’ve since discovered that he has also created Helios (the sun), Gaia (earth) and Mars and these are also on tour. Helios will be at Winchester Cathedral in February/March 2026 so we’ll go down to see this.
The inside of the Abbey is pretty stunning. The splashes of colour on the ceiling and the tall gothic arches make this one very impressive Parish Churches. As a parish church, entry is completely free of charge but they were asking for donations to help with the running costs of the church. Would hope all visitors would be able to contribute if they were able.
After the Abbey, we followed part of the Battle Trail – Tewkesbury was a major battle ground in the War of the Roses. We skipped the part by the river but the rest of the walk was a little disappointing. We were expecting to see the Battlefields preserved as green fields. Instead, these fields were covered in housing with small areas preserved behind the Abbey. You did get quite nice views of the Abbey!
Before heading off, we went to The Royal Hop Pole for lunch (a Wetherspoons!). Again, it’s another old pub in town – the hotel was given permission to display the royal arms after the Princess Mary of Teck’s visit in 1891, and has been known ever since as The Royal Hop Pole. Quite interestingly, when Antiques Roadshow came to town, the table used to stack menus and condiments was taken along. It was revealed this was a genuine table from Tudor times and worth about £20,000. It’s still used to stack the menus!!
After lunch we decided to head to Odda’s Chapel, an English Heritage site on the outskirts of Tewkesbury. To get there, we past The Arrivall. Two wooden statues called Victor and Vanquished created to commemorate victory and defeat in the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471. Called The Arrivall as it was named after “The Arrivall of King Edward IV to reclaim his realm of England from King Henry VI.”
The figures are located on a roundabout to the south of the town. A little odd location as no place to stop to see the statues close up, so you can just take the photos as you pass by!
Odda’s Chapel (English Heritage) was located about 10 minutes out of town and tucked away down some narrow lanes. Built in 1056 by Earl Odda, it’s one of the oldest, most complete surviving Saxon Churches in England. It was incorporated into a farmhouse in the 17th Century and rediscovered in 1865.
