Attractions and Places To See around Strensham - Top 20
Best attractions and places to see around Strensham include a variety of historical sites, natural features, and cultural landmarks. This village in Worcestershire serves as a convenient base for exploring the River Avon, nearby Bredon Hill, and the wider Malvern Hills National Landscape. The area is characterized by its rural setting, offering both historic architecture and scenic vistas.
Best attractions and places to see around Strensham
- The most popular attractions is Parsons Folly on Bredon Hill, a man_made_monument that is an 18th-century stone tower. From its summit, visitors can see across Worcestershire to the Malvern Hills and into the Cotswolds.
- Another must-see spot is Pershore Old Bridge, a historical_site. This picturesque bridge, originally built in the 1400s, was a key crossing point for traders between London and Worcester.
- Visitors also love St Mary's Church, Elmley Castle, a man_made_monument. This 12th-century church features a 13th-century square base font and 16th-century pews.
- Strensham is known for its historic churches, stately homes, and natural viewpoints. Visitors can explore ancient landmarks, landscaped parks, and scenic natural features.
- The attractions around Strensham are appreciated by the komoot community, with more than 90 photos and over 160 upvotes.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
Parsons Folly on Bredon Hill
Highlight • Monument
The hill was once an Iron Age hillfort, known as Kemerton Camp and it then became an important Roman encampment. In the 18th century, the squire of Kemerton Court erected a small stone tower, Parsons Folly. A number of ancient standing stones also adorn the hill.
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Pershore Old Bridge
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St Mary's Church, Elmley Castle
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Croome Court
Highlight • Historical Site
The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust and leased to the National Trust, which operates it as a tourist attraction. The National Trust owns the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.
The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s. Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.
George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate in 1751, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate. It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work", and it is an important and seminal work. It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire). Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards. The house was visited by George III, as well as by Queen Victoria during summers when she was a child, and George V (when Duke of York).
A jam factory was built near Pershore railway station by the 9th Earl of Coventry in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam-making had ceased, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust during the First World War to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station. The First World War deeply affected Croome; there were many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the county, who needed a residence for his many official engagements. Croome Court was requisitioned during the Second World War by the Ministry of Works, and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed for two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.
The Croome Estate Trust sold the Court in 1948, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns from 1950 until 1979. In 1979, the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, the Hare Krishna movement) which used it as its UK headquarters and a training college, called Chaitanya College. During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room. ISKCON left the estate in 1984 for financial reasons. It held a festival at the hall in 2011. From 1984 onwards, various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course, before once more becoming a private family home, with outbuildings converted to private houses.
The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity, in October 2007, and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had been restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust. An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair. The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.
The mansion is faced with Bath stone, limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.
Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with Coade stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.
A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs. It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751–1752. On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.
The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by Joseph Rose, Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.
The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758–1759 by Capability Brown. The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.
The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases. King George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon. A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.
To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room. This was designed in 1763–1771, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by François Boucher and Maurice Jacques, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins. Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and door surrounds in 1949; they were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959, the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats. A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original. As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room; the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.
At the west side of the building is a Long Gallery[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ). It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton. As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery.
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Church of St Peter, Little Comberton
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Tips from the Community
Beautiful medieval bridge over river Avon. Incredibly well preserved given its age.
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Pleasant views of Malvern and the surrounding areas from up there. The folly is ugly as sin but then it IS a folly so... yeah. Not a particularly difficult climb to get up there from either direction.
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A worthy addition to the National Trust. Wonderful house, set in Capability Brown's first landscape park.
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The old bridge is picturesque, and its also a great place to while away an hour or two by the river.
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The folly itself actually looks like it really is an industrial tower housing mobile phone equipment, but the views are very good. Nearby is the Elephant Stone - it looks like an Elephant kneeing down. Not far from the Cotswold Stone drystone wall is the circular stone that marks the very top of Bredon Hill.
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Good parking, half a dozen spaces on Woollas Hill, near Deer Park centre. Views on way up to Folly are spectacular. Good to get the climb out the way early with gentle, long descent in to Broadway.
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Great church on the descent in Pershore direction. Beautiful mosaics inside
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Frequently Asked Questions
What natural features can I explore near Strensham?
The Strensham area offers several beautiful natural features. You can visit Parsons Folly on Bredon Hill, which provides scenic views across Worcestershire to the Malvern Hills and into the Cotswolds. The village itself lies on the banks of the River Avon, offering picturesque riverside scenery, and the River Severn is also just two miles to the west, with both rivers converging further south in Tewkesbury.
Are there historical sites to visit in the Strensham area?
Yes, the region is rich in history. You can explore Pershore Old Bridge, a picturesque historical site originally built in the 1400s. Nearby, Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion with extensive landscaped parkland designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The Church of St Mary, Elmley Castle, a 12th-century church, also offers significant historical interest.
What are some family-friendly attractions around Strensham?
For families, Croome Court offers expansive parkland managed by the National Trust, which is great for exploring. The newly refurbished Strensham Play Area in Upper Strensham is suitable for children of all ages. Additionally, many of the local churches, such as St Mary's Church, Elmley Castle, and Church of St Peter, Little Comberton, are listed as family-friendly and offer historical insights.
Where can I find walking trails near Strensham?
There are numerous walking trails around Strensham. You can find easy hikes like the 'Hiking loop from Great Comberton' or the 'Eckington Bridge – River Avon loop from Birlingham'. For more challenging options, consider the 'Bredon's Norton to Bredon Hill loop'. You can explore these and many more routes on the dedicated guide page for Hiking around Strensham.
Are there any easy walking routes suitable for all abilities?
Yes, several easy walking routes are available. The 'Hiking loop from Great Comberton' and 'The Fleet Inn – View of the Open Field loop from Twyning' are both rated as easy. For a comprehensive list of accessible and less strenuous options, check out the Easy hikes around Strensham guide.
What is the best time of year to visit Strensham for outdoor activities?
While Strensham's attractions can be enjoyed year-round, spring and autumn generally offer pleasant weather for outdoor activities like walking and cycling, with milder temperatures and beautiful scenery. Summer is also popular, especially for exploring the landscaped parklands and riverside areas. Always check local weather forecasts before heading out.
Can I find dog-friendly places to visit or walk near Strensham?
Many of the natural areas and walking trails around Strensham are dog-friendly, provided dogs are kept under control, especially near livestock. The extensive parkland at Croome Court, managed by the National Trust, often welcomes dogs in designated areas. Always check specific venue rules regarding pets before your visit.
Are there opportunities for road cycling around Strensham?
Absolutely! The rural roads around Strensham are ideal for road cycling. You can find routes such as the 'Upton-upon-Severn Town Centre – Upton Bridge loop from Upton-upon-Severn' or the 'Croome Court – Café Near Croome Court loop from Twyning'. Discover more options on the Road Cycling Routes around Strensham guide page.
What kind of views can I expect from local viewpoints?
From viewpoints like Parsons Folly on Bredon Hill, you can expect panoramic vistas across Worcestershire, including the Malvern Hills and south into the rolling Cotswolds. The elevated positions offer stunning landscapes, especially during sunset.
Where can I find information about parking for attractions like Croome Court?
For attractions like Croome Court, parking information is typically available on their official website. For other local walks, such as the Pershore Bridges Circular Walk starting near Pershore Old Bridge, free parking is often available nearby.
What is the significance of the River Avon and River Severn in the Strensham area?
The River Avon forms the eastern edge of Strensham parish, providing picturesque riverside scenery and opportunities for walks. The River Severn is also very close, just two miles to the west. These two significant rivers converge about four miles south of Strensham in Tewkesbury, making the area a notable confluence point in the region's geography.
Are there any community events or local hubs in Strensham village?
The Strensham Village Hall serves as an active community hub, hosting various events throughout the year. These can include an annual village show, cinema evenings, and quiz nights, providing a glimpse into local life and community spirit.
Where can I find a pub or cafe after a walk in the Strensham area?
While Strensham itself is a small village, the nearby towns and villages offer options. Upton-upon-Severn, a short drive west, has various establishments. The Strensham Services M5 also hosts several retail and food outlets like Pret A Manger and Costa, which can be convenient stops.
Most popular attractions around Strensham
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