Anne Bartlett Blue Badge Tour Guide

About

Guided Walks in and around Cheltenham.
Enjoy a morning or afternoon exploring the elegant spa town of Cheltenham with Anne Bartlett, a qualified Blue Badge Tour guide.

Click here to watch Anne’s YouTube videos showing you some of the sites you would see during her guided walk around Regency Cheltenham and click here to watch Anne’s introductory YouTube video of a walk around the English Heritage listed grade 2 Pittville Estate.  Admire Cheltenham’s wonderful architecture, wide tree lined avenues and attractive parks and gardens.

During the late 18th century, King George III came with his family to take the waters on the advice of his doctor.  This put the small market town of Cheltenham on the map. The rich, the famous and the fashionable followed, turning Cheltenham into a popular health resort with fine Regency houses, elegant pump rooms, and attractive pleasure gardens. We can re-discover this bygone age during our walks. But was it all polite society or was there more?

Add a visit to the Holst Birthplace Museum
Add a visit to the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum (due to re-open in 2022)
Add a visit to the Jet Age Museum, situated between Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Add a heritage steam train journey through the Cotswolds to the village of Broadway.

During your stay in Cheltenham, we can visit the historic Cathedral city of Gloucester.   From its early days as a fortified Roman town called Glevum. Anne will tell you stories about how Gloucester has played a prominent role in English history and show you its historic buildings.

The glory of the city is its Cathedral, its highlights include:
Impressive architecture and famous east window. 
Anne will tell you about the coronation of an English King that took place here, the only one outside Westminster Abbey since Norman times.
It was here where a state funeral took place for a murdered King.

We’ll visit the beautifully restored Lady Chapel
We’ll explore the Cloisters
We will look at the chapels, tombs, and plaques to discover amazing stories about some of Gloucestershire’s people, many of whom have made an enormous contribution to British life.

Walking away from the Cathedral’s College Green and its impressive historic buildings, we’ll make our way through College Court where, depending on numbers, we can visit the Beatrix Potter Shop and Museum. You will hear about a local true story which inspired the writing of “The Tailor of Gloucester.” No visit to Gloucester is complete without a visit to its historic docks, now a leisure complex.

Add a visit to The National Waterways Museum
Add a visit to The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum.
Add a visit to The Museum of Gloucester
Add a visit to the Jet Age Museum

Whilst you are staying in Cheltenham, we can also visit the nearby riverside town of Tewkesbury.

Click here to watch Anne’s YouTube video showing you some of the sites you will see during her guided walk around Tewkesbury.  
Tewkesbury has a glorious 900-year-old Norman abbey church, half-timbered buildings, and narrow alleys that lead off the main streets.  Tewkesbury sits at the confluence of the rivers Severn and Avon and was an important port, with river boats and canal boats trading up and down river from Gloucester to the Midlands and beyond. A walk around the town will reveal a fascinating history and heritage.  In 1471 a fierce and decisive battle between the supporters of two branches of the English Royal family took place here ending the Wars of the Roses.

We’ll wander through the town’s streets, alleyways and alongside the river to discover more about this intriguing town.

Add a tour of the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin
Add a visit to the John Moore Museum
Add a visit to the Town Museum
Add a visit to the Heritage Centre