Southwell

Southwell is one of England's smallest cathedral cities — really a small market town in scale — built around Southwell Minster, whose Chapter House carvings of leaves and foliage are considered among the finest medieval stone carving in the country.

The Minster itself is Norman at its core, with a pair of distinctive pyramid-capped towers, and unlike most cathedrals it sits at the centre of an ordinary, unhurried small town rather than a tourist-geared city. The Bishop's Manor and the Archbishop's Palace ruins next door add to the sense that this is a place that's stayed still while everywhere around it grew.

Beyond the Minster

Southwell Racecourse, just outside town, is a Georgian-era course still running regular fixtures, and it's an easy way to spend an afternoon if you're staying nearby. The town is also the birthplace of the Bramley apple — the original tree, planted from a pip around 1809, still stands in a garden on Church Street.

Where to Stay in Southwell

Southwell itself is small, so options in the town are limited — these are genuine choices in Southwell plus the nearest larger-town alternatives around Newark.

• 
  The Saracens Head HotelHistoric coaching inn in the town centre, by the Minster.
• 
  The Crown HotelPub-hotel in Southwell town centre.
• The Bramley Apple InnPub-inn on Church Street, a short walk from the Minster.
• The Reindeer InnPub-inn on Westgate, in the town centre.
• 
  Kelham House Country Manor HotelCountry house a few miles away, near Newark.
• 
  Best Western Deincourt HotelNearest larger-town option, in Newark.

Getting there

Southwell has no railway station of its own — the nearest is Fiskerton, a couple of miles away on the Nottingham–Newark line. Most visitors drive or take a short bus/taxi from Newark or Nottingham.