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What to see on the route of the old Fosse Way

It's not quite as legendary as the USA's Route 66, but the Fosse Way cuts an arrow-straight swathe through some of England;s loveliest locations. Norman Wright tells us what not to miss.

Staring at Exeter, the cathedral is the central point of 2000 years of history, with visits to the city's underground tunnels also available, website: wwww.visitexeter.com. Powderham Castle on the Exe Estuary is open from April to the end of October www.powderham.co.uk.

Drive down the Exmouth and take an estuary boat trip or drive along the Seaton and motor up to Axminster that way.

Heading up towards Ilchester, close to Chard, is the Cricket St Thomas Warners Leisure Hotel, which in earlier times was the location for filming the TV series To The Manor Born and Penelope Keith www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk.

Ham Hill at Stoke-sub-Hamdon, just west of Yeovil, is a country park www.southsomersetcountryside.co.uk and scheduled ancient monument, and was an Iron Age fort as well as a Roman site. You can walk up the grassy hill to the war memorial which tops it for a magnificent view of the Mendip, Blackdown and Quantock Hills as well as the Dorset Downs. The Nettlebridge Valley Roman Coal Mines and the Somerset coalfield are featured in the Radstock Museum housed at the restored Radstock Old Market Hall.

With galleries on two floors you can learn about blacksmithing, coal mining,, shoe and boot making, printing and local breweries. There is a Victorian street and a reconstructed coal mine, and you can discover their shopping, home life, school life and leisure www.radstockmuseum.co.uk

Visiting the Roman Bath in Bath is really a must if you are travelling The Fosse Way but there's lots more to do and see in Bath, from the wonderful Regency architecture to the shopping and food www,visitbath.com.

From Cirencester northwards, the Costswolds countryside and towns and villages are easily visited. Bourton-on-the-Water and Upper and Lower Slaughter are very pretty. Both Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh are excellent for a stopover and a wander around the little shops. Both are directly on The Fosse Way. Venture a few miles off the route to Burford with its gentle hill with cafes, antique shops and boutiques.

The restored stately home and 'Capability' Brown gardens at Compton Verney also house six iimportant permanent art collections as well as visiting exhibitions www.comptonverney.org.uk

Stratford-upon-Avon for its Shakespeare heritage and Warwick for its historic castle are only a few miles from the route. For something simpler, take a picnic to Chesterton Windmill which is signposted off The Fosse Way. It is a gentle walk uphill to the windmill with some wonderful views. The mill itself is a stone arched building 350 years old. Close to Chesteron at Gaydon is the British Motor Museum with a fantastic collection of card and motoring memorabillia www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk

At Leicester the King Richard III visitor centre explains the discovery of the monarch's skeleton under a car park in the centre of the city and how it was identified and ceremonially buried in the city's cathedral, where you can visit the tomb www.kriii.com.

Lincoln is popular for city breaks so there's plenty to do if you at at or end your journey here- from the shopping street on the hill to the superb cathedral at the top and the museums, galleries and architecture www.visitlincoln.com

Have you ever travelled along the Fosse Way? What did you think? 

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