Gloucestershire, England
As well as providing some of the most glorious scenery and the prettiest villages in the country, the county is also home to the historic towns of Cirencester and Cheltenham. The most English and the least spoiled of all our countryside.
5.0 (12)
Essex, England
Bordering the north bank of the River Thames, Essex has long been a gateway to London, and while it contains much heavy industry and urban development, it also encompasses some lovely countryside, coastal attractions and important wildlife habitats. Northeast Essex has the true feel of East Anglia, particularly around the outstanding villages of the Stour Valley.
5.0 (24)
East Yorkshire, England
The southeastern corner of Yorkshire tends to be overlooked by many visitors. If only they knew what they were missing. Beverley is one of the most beguiling of Yorkshire towns and its Minster one of the greatest glories of Gothic architecture.
5.0 (15)
East Sussex, England
Nowadays, the East Sussex coast is the preserve of holiday-makers, taking advantage of the generally moderate climate and the bracing sea air. Free ebook download.
5.0 (14)
Durham, England
County Durham’s prosperity was founded on coal mining. Coal has been mined here for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 18th century that the industry was established on a commercial basis. When the railways came along in the 1840s, the industry prospered creating great wealth for the landowners, and occasionally great misery for the miners.
5.0 (13)
Dorset, England
Inland, gently rolling hills, woodlands and gentle river valleys epitomise the charms of unspoilt rural England. Delightful old market towns like Shaftesbury, Bridport, Blandford Forum and Sherborne have a settled graciousness, while villages such as Milton Abbas, Cranborne and Breamore are almost impossibly picturesque.
5.0 (24)
Derbyshire, England
Traditionally, Derbyshire marks the start of the north of England, and the county was also at the forefront of modern thinking at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The chief inheritor of this legacy is Derby, the home of Rolls-Royce and Royal Crown Derby porcelain, and it remains a busy industrial centre today.
5.0 (16)
Devon, England
Asked to describe the ‘ideal’ English countryside, many people would conjure up a landscape of green rolling hills, of bright, fresh streams tumbling through wooded valleys, of white thatched cottages clustering around a venerable church, with a picturesque inn nestling beside it. Devon, of course, but only part of it.
5.0 (32)
