Southwell is a small town with a cathedral, which tells you most of what you need to know. About seven thousand people live here, in a grid of Georgian streets around a Norman minster that would be famous anywhere else. It has proper shops, proper pubs, a racecourse, a National Trust workhouse and the tree that grew the first Bramley apple.
We are building Eden Pines, a glamping park on Oxton Hill a few minutes outside town, so we spend a lot of time here. This is what we tell people to do.
Southwell Minster
Begin with the minster. It was started in 1108, the twin pepperpot spires on the west front are unlike anything else in England, and inside, the chapter house has the carved stone leaves that art historians travel to see. Entry is free, the guides are volunteers who know it well, and the café in the old archbishop's palace next door is a good stop. Check for choral evensong if you are here late afternoon; the acoustics are the point.
The Workhouse and Infirmary
Ten minutes' walk from the minster, on the Newark road, is the National Trust's Workhouse. It is the most complete surviving example in the country, built in 1824 to a design that was copied across England, and the trust has restored it as it was rather than as a museum about it. It is sobering and very well done. Allow two hours.
The town
The rest of Southwell rewards wandering. King Street and Queen Street have the independents: a deli, a bookshop, a proper butcher, cafés and a few restaurants that people drive out from Nottingham for. Markets run on Thursdays and Saturdays.
- The Bramley apple tree
- The original seedling, planted in a garden on Church Street around 1809, is still there and still fruiting. Every Bramley apple in the world descends from it. The town celebrates with a Bramley Apple Festival each October.
- The Saracen's Head
- The coaching inn on Market Place where Charles I spent his last night as a free man in May 1646 before surrendering to the Scots at Kelham. Still an inn, still serving.
- Burgage Green
- The quieter, grander end of town, with Burgage Manor, where Lord Byron's mother lived and the poet spent his school holidays.
- The Archbishop's Palace
- The ruined medieval palace beside the minster, with a state chamber restored for events and a garden of plants grown in the middle ages.
Out of doors
The Southwell Trail follows the old railway line seven miles west to Bilsthorpe through farmland and woods. It is flat, traffic-free and good for cycling; bikes can be hired in town. Southwell Racecourse, just outside town at Rolleston, has flat racing on the all-weather track and jump meetings through the winter, with a friendly small-course feel and no dress code to speak of.
The countryside around the town is gentle: hedged lanes, small wooded valleys the locals call dumbles, and the Robin Hood Hills rising towards Oxton. Footpaths leave from the edge of town in every direction.
Days out from Southwell
Southwell sits in the middle of the county, which makes it a good base. Newark, with its castle, the National Civil War Centre and one of the largest antiques fairs in Europe, is twenty minutes east. Nottingham is twenty-five minutes south-west for the castle, the caves and the Lace Market. Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak are twenty-five minutes north up the A614.
Where to stay
The Saracen's Head and a few bed and breakfasts put you in the town centre. For somewhere quieter, Eden Pines is a few minutes west on Oxton Hill: six adults-only glamping pods, each with its own private hot tub, on a working smallholding with sheep, hens and beehives. Eat in town in the evening, then drive five minutes back to the hot tub and a dark sky. The park opens in December 2026.
Good to Know
Questions people ask
Is Southwell worth visiting?
Yes. The minster alone justifies the trip, and the Workhouse, the Georgian town centre and the countryside around it make a full day or a relaxed weekend. It is quieter and prettier than most visitors to Nottinghamshire expect.
How do you get to Southwell?
By car, Southwell is off the A612 from Nottingham or the A617 from Newark and the A1. The nearest stations are Fiskerton and Rolleston, both on the Nottingham to Lincoln line and a short taxi ride away, or Newark on the East Coast main line.
Where should we stay near Southwell?
For a country stay with a hot tub, Eden Pines at Oxton Hill is a few minutes from the town. It is adults only, with six glamping pods for two, and opens in December 2026.
What is Southwell famous for?
Southwell Minster, the Bramley apple, which was first grown from a seedling planted in the town around 1809, and the Workhouse, the best-preserved Victorian workhouse in England.
Stay nearby, with a hot tub
Eden Pines has six adults-only glamping pods with private hot tubs near Southwell. Opening December 2026.
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