Evesham & the Vale
Evesham sits inside a loop of the River Avon, at the centre of the Vale of Evesham — flat, fertile land that has been farmed intensively for fruit and vegetables for generations and still shapes the look and rhythm of the whole area.
The Vale's market gardening tradition is long-established, with orchards and market gardens spreading out from the town in every direction; asparagus grown in the Vale has a particularly strong reputation and its own season each spring. Evesham itself grew up around Evesham Abbey, a major medieval monastery largely destroyed after the Dissolution of the Monasteries — today its freestanding bell tower, built in the early sixteenth century, is one of the few substantial parts of the abbey left standing, in the middle of what is now a public park by the river.
The town also has a place in medieval English history as the site of the Battle of Evesham in 1265, at which Simon de Montfort was killed, effectively ending the Second Barons' War. The River Avon curves around the town on three sides, and the riverside walks and bridges are as much a part of a stay in Evesham as the town centre itself.
Where to Stay in Evesham
Getting around
Evesham has its own railway station, on the Cotswold line between Worcester and Oxford, with onward connections to London Paddington. The town centre, abbey park and riverside are all within easy walking distance of each other, and the surrounding Vale is best seen by car or on the area's network of quiet lanes and footpaths.