C

ider, swans and spectacular views. Three reasons why you’ll love Herefordshire. Located on the border of England and Wales, it’s packed with wooded hillsides, peaceful rivers and old English orchards where the trees bow under the weight of rosy apples in the late summer sun.

If you’re up for some walking, one of the best places to stretch the legs are the Malvern Hills, a series of soft green lumps that stretch about eight miles from Worcestershire down to Gloucestershire – conveniently passing through Herefordshire on the way.

On a clear day you’ll have uninterrupted views of Wales and the Midlands – a vast patchwork quilt of fields stretched out for 30 miles or more.

On the other hand, if you’re after something slightly less strenuous head to Hergest Croft, where you can amble around the gardens, soaking up the combined scents of roses, lavender and other gorgeous flowers. Come here in spring and it’s awash with bluebells and daffodils – creating a huge carpet of blue and yellow.

And there are cute little market towns, too. Like Ledbury, for example, where old half-timbered houses lean in across cobbled lanes – like wonky drunks huddling close for a chat. There’s a strong artistic heritage here, with poets like William Langland and Elizabeth Barrett Browning having called it home – and if you come here in July and you could check out the annual poetry festival.

It’s the best one in England you know.