Gloucester Audioguides

Gloucester Cathedral was founded in 681 AD and the present Norman and Gothic structure has stood since the eleventh century. Its fan-vaulted cloister, built between 1351 and 1412, is one of the earliest and most elaborate examples of fan vaulting anywhere in England. Filming crews discovered it for Harry Potter, and several scenes from the first two films were shot in the cloisters, which has given the cathedral a new pilgrimage of a different sort. Beyond the film connection, the medieval glass in the east window, installed to commemorate the Battle of Crecy in 1346, is extraordinary.

The Victorian docks, once the most inland port in England via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, have been transformed into the Gloucester Quays development.

The red brick warehouses that once stored imported grain and timber now house a shopping outlet, galleries, and the National Waterways Museum, which traces the history of Britain's 2,000-mile canal network through boats you can board and machinery you can operate. It's a more interesting use of old industrial space than most such regenerations, and the waterfront atmosphere is genuine.