Weekend breaks in South West England

Roman baths, Georgian crescents and thermal spas

A dramatic harbour tucked into a steep wooded valley

The Venice of the Cotswolds, with low bridges over the River Windrush

A honey-stone town on the River Avon with a Saxon church

A creative harbour city of street art, bridges and independent food

A busy fishing port with a replica Golden Hind and cliff walks

Surf beaches, a tidal sea pool and a canal on the north Cornwall coast

England's biggest gorge, with show caves and the home of cheese

A Regency spa town, famous for festivals, racing and elegant squares

A golden-stone market town at the start of the Cotswold Way

A cobbled, car-free village stepping down the cliff to the sea

Honey-coloured villages, rolling hills and country pubs

Granite tors, wild ponies and ancient woodland

A historic harbour town on the River Dart, with a castle and steam railway

A cathedral city with Roman walls, hidden passages and a lively quayside

Moorland, dramatic sea cliffs and a famous dark sky

A maritime town on the third-deepest natural harbour in the world

A deep-water harbour town and Daphne du Maurier's Cornwall

A hilltop tower, abbey ruins and centuries of myth in the Somerset Levels

A hilly harbour town with Victorian tidal pools and a giant statue

Subtropical gardens and empty white beaches 28 miles off Cornwall

A World Heritage coast of cliffs, fossils and natural arches

A National Trust village that looks like a film set, with a photography museum

Two harbour towns split by a river, with a scenic branch railway

A harbour village with a water-powered cliff railway on the edge of Exmoor

A hilltop town with a ruined abbey and a claim to be England's oldest borough

A tiny harbour village famous for its Christmas lights

Cornwall's surf capital, with long golden beaches

A Cornish fishing harbour famous for seafood and the Camel Trail

A Cotswold wool town of steep lanes, a famous churchyard and a rococo garden

Cornwall's far-west gateway, with an art deco lido and St Michael's Mount

A smugglers' harbour of narrow lanes and cottages, mostly closed to cars

A chic sailing town on a sunny estuary, with sandy beaches and crab

A cathedral city with Britain's tallest spire and the gateway to Stonehenge

Golden beaches, art galleries and a pretty Cornish harbour

The highest town in the Cotswolds, with a big market square and antique shops

A Cotswold market town of antiques, a pillared market house and royal neighbours

A bohemian market town on the River Dart, with a Norman castle

A tiny cathedral city with a moat, swans and a medieval street

Roman baths, Georgian crescents and a thermal spa session, planned so the busiest sights are not rushed.

Honey-stone villages, short walks and a pub lunch each day, planned to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Beaches, galleries and a cliff walk, with the scenic railway to avoid the parking.

Harbourside museums, street art and a famous bridge in a lively, creative city.

Granite tors, wild ponies and a famous pub fire, on England's southern moor.

A cliff railway, a clapper bridge and wild red deer, on a moor that meets the sea.

A foodie harbour, a flat cycle trail and golden bays, all within a short distance.

Cornwall's surf capital, with big beaches and dramatic cliffs close by.

A World Heritage coastline of fossils, arches and cliffs, from Devon to Dorset.

Newquay is the best-known surfing town in England, and Fistral Beach hosts big surf events.

The Roman Baths are the remains of an ancient bathing and temple complex built around the hot springs at the heart of the city.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, completed around 4,500 years ago, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tintagel Castle is a ruined fortress on a dramatic Cornish headland, linked by legend with King Arthur.

Padstow is one of Cornwall's best-known food towns, centred on a working fishing harbour.

A gentle riverside walk between Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter is one of the Cotswolds' classic strolls, about a mile and a half each way along the River Eye, through meadows and past honey-coloured stone cottages.

Afternoon tea is a Bath tradition, and you can enjoy it in grand Georgian settings, boutique hotels or the Pump Room beside the Roman Baths.

Thermae Bath Spa lets you bathe in Bath's naturally warm, mineral-rich spring water, the same source that drew the Romans.

Bristol is the home of Banksy and one of the best cities in the UK for street art.

The Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best places in the world to find fossils, particularly around Lyme Regis and Charmouth, where the pioneering fossil collector Mary Anning worked.

The Camel Trail is a flat, traffic-free path along a former railway line beside the Camel Estuary, running from Padstow to Wadebridge and on towards Bodmin.

River boats sail between Dartmouth and Totnes along the tidal River Dart, passing wooded banks, creeks, boathouses and Greenway, once the home of Agatha Christie.

A small ferry runs across the Salcombe estuary to East Portlemouth, a quiet village with a long, sheltered beach, and another boat runs to South Sands, near Overbeck's.

Falmouth stands on one of the largest natural harbours in the world, and ferries and boat trips run to St Mawes, up the River Fal towards Truro and along the Helford.

Small boats connect the main islands of Scilly daily, so you can spend a day on Tresco, Bryher or St Martin's and return by evening.

The Dartmouth Steam Railway runs seven miles from Paignton to Kingswear, on the bank of the River Dart, along a spectacular coastal and estuary route.