Day trip to Cheltenham 16th July 2013 Today we had the first trip of our two weeks holiday in Malvern: we went to Cheltenham with the Hong Kong Chinese group. We left at 9 o’clock pm and arrived at 9.45 pm. There we had a city tour with Katy and Sophie, two of the Stafford House staff members, who taught us about the story of this city. Cheltenham, also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa city in Gloucestershire, located on the edge of the Cotswold Hills. It’s the home of an important horse race, the Golden Cup, part of the Cheltenham Festival, held every March. Cheltenham takes its name from the small river Chelt which rises nearby and flows through the town before join the River Severn. This city become a spa town in 1716. According to tradition, people from the town saw pigeons pecking the salt that formed around the spring of the river Chelt, and decided that the water was good for their health. The town received Royal Patronage in 1778 when King George III came to drink the waters. After this, Cheltenham became popular for people to visit, mainly between 1790 and 1840. This town is a regional shopping centre and, in 2006, it was voted as the most popular place in England to live. In one of its streets, Montpellier, there are houses that cost more than 4 million pounds! Cheltenham is also famous for its Regency buildings made of white limestone built between 1800 and 1839 and it’s the most complete regency town in England. During our visit Katy and Sophie showed us, besides Montpellier, The Montpellier Gardens, where a monkey, Mademoiselle Jenny, parachuted herself from a hot air balloon, becoming the first animal to parachute itself; the statue of Gustav Holst, the musician who composed “The Planets”; one of the most expensive Girls’ College in England and the place where you can taste the waters of the famous spring. After this we had one hour to go shopping and then we departed Cheltenham Spa at 12.45 pm to come back to Malvern, but before, we took a photo with all the Chinese group, screaming “England” instead of “Cheese”! It was very funny! Written by Ester
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:50:07 +0000