Glorious Gloucestershire Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The main city in Gloucestershire is Gloucester itself, but to include that would have been far too easy. To the south lies the large city of Bristol, which is a county in its own right. Gloucestershire is classed as mainly rural and contains the Forest of Dean, with the major rivers Wye and Severn forming its borders, and Westonbirt Arboretum, in the southeast.

I've mentioned the Forest of Dean, so we'll start with Lydney, located in the far west on the banks of the Severn. Also near there, as the name implies, is Newnham on Severn, further along the river by about six miles (just under 10km) and closer to Gloucester, which is itself on the river. Hartpury falls under the Forest of Dean for government purposes, but is not part of the forest geographically. Although it is classed as a village, it does have a university, which was originally a college operating courses in agriculture. Hartpury is often linked with Gloucester for sporting purposes, notably in women's rugby.

In the north of the county, not too far from its border with Worcestershire, lies Tewkesbury where two rivers, the Avon and Severn, meet, making the town prone to regular flooding. It has a famous church, known as Tewkesbury Abbey, with parts dating back to the twelfth century. A major battle of the Wars of the Roses was fought here in 1471. Cheltenham is another major town in the county. It is known for being a spa town, and has numerous buildings dating from the Regency period - the late 1700s up to about 1840. Sporting fans are likely to know it from the horseracing that takes place there, with March being known for the major race called the Gold Cup.

Heading south from Gloucester towards Bristol on either the old road, the A38, or the M5, we can make some detours to visit other locations en route. First stop is Slimbridge, home to the Wetland Centre founded by Sir Peter Scott, son of the explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who perished in Antarctica. It is not far from the Severn, as you'd expect. Further along is Berkeley, with its famous castle where King Edward II is said to have met a particularly grisly end, and where Edward Jenner created the smallpox vaccine.

On the eastern side of the major roads are Dursley and Stroud. Dursley isn't just the name of a family from 'Harry Potter', but a real place located where the Cotswold escarpment begins. It is not, however, a Cotswolds town. Stroud also borders the Cotswold Hills and the town has several steep streets as a result. Woodchester Roman Villa is located nearby.

In the south of the county is Chipping Sodbury, another of the many market towns in Gloucestershire. The town is 13 Miles (21 km) north-east of Bristol and dates from the twelfth century. The 'Chipping' part of the name just means that it is an historical market town (Gloucestershire also has Chipping Campden). It is also the birthplace of J K Rowling, the author of the aforementioned 'Harry Potter' stories.

We'll head over to the Cotswolds area, the part in Gloucestershire, the region known for its stone built cottages and natural beauty. The region spreads into Oxfordshire, with some parts in Worcestershire to the north and Wiltshire to the south. The largest settlement in the area is Cirencester, known to the Romans as Corinium; the town was on the Roman road called the Fosse Way. Tetbury is to the south of Cirencester and was known for the wool trade in the Middle Ages. Both King Charles III and the Princess Royal (Anne) have private homes near the town, Charles at Highgrove and Anne at Gatcombe Park.

If you've ever been sent a postcard with a picture of the Cotswolds, there's a very good chance that it was of Bibury, the village which sums up the region for many of us. It has a well preserved, and National Trust owned, row of houses called Arlington Row, shown in the cover photo for this quiz. Originally a wool store, the building was converted into cottages for the mill workers in the latter part of the seventeenth century. It is located on a tributary of the River Thames called the River Coln.

Also located on a river, this time the Windrush, is another village which attracts numerous tourists in the form of Bourton-on-the-Water. Most of the centre of the village is designated as a Conservation Area. It has a model village, a miniature sized version of the real village, which first opened in 1937. The model village includes an even smaller version of the actual model village, and is renowned for its accuracy and adherence to traditional building styles.

The final stop on the tour is Stow-on-the-Wold, situated in the northeast not far from the border with Oxfordshire. Another market town, it is also on the Fosse Way, and is believed to have originally been a fort dating from the Iron Age (1200-500 BC). Stow has numerous listed buildings, meaning they are of particular historic interest and are legally protected from being demolished or changed in any way without permission.

The seven incorrect answers are all located in Somerset, which is the county to the southwest of Gloucestershire.