Countryside
Both genteel and wild, there’s nothing quite like the English countryside for rural escapes with its patchwork hills, dramatic dales, ancient woodlands and winding country roads. All well and good, but what is there to do in England’s countryside exactly? Quite a lot, actually. Admire the grand interiors of a stately home before catching a play in the surrounding gardens, travel back in time with visits to ancient stone circles and crumbling castles, or step into a chocolate box of quaint villages and market towns and live like a local, trying farmhouse cheeses, cream teas and real ales along the way.
Watch cheese making at The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company
Observe Cheddar’s last remaining cheesemakers as they go about their work and learn the tricks of their trade.
Location: Cheddar, Somerset
Enjoy the outdoors and its culinary delights at Talton Lodge
Surely there’s nowhere other than Talton Lodge where you could combine canoeing, Tug O’ War and sausage-making courses?
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Make your own cheese in rural Somerset at Hagley Bridge Farm
Learn how to fill your fridge with cheese, yoghurt and butter made by your own fair hand.
Location: Watterow, Somerset
Experience a revival of Cotswolds’ culinary traditions
Perfect your culinary skills at Thyme at Southrop’s cookery school, then explore some of the Cotswolds’ best restaurants in Bibury and Nailsworth.
Location: Southrop, Gloucestershire
Cookery and butchery courses at Coddy's Farm
Boost your culinary skills with seasonal cookery and butchery courses at Coddy's Farm, in Holmfirth. Great accommodation, great views, great food.
Location: Holmfirth, Yorkshire