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.
Enjoy a taste of Grasmere Gingerbread
Stock up on one of the Lake District’s most famous exports: Grasmere Gingerbread.
Location: Ambleside, Cumbria
Forage tasty mushrooms for your dinner at Fungi Foray
Get an insight into the wonderful world of mushrooms, and find out what you can pick, and what you should avoid.
Location: New Forest, Hampshire
Enjoy a romantic escape at Overwater Hall
Book a table and a room at this elegant 18th century country house hotel within the Lake District.
Location: Ireby, Cumbria
Bathe in autumn colours close to the Falling Foss waterfall
If ever there was a magical woodland walk, it’s the two-mile circular trail through the trees from May Beck to the charming Falling Foss waterfall, all within Little Beck Wood Nature Reserve.
Location: North York Moors, near Whitby, North Yorkshire
October events: Taste the best of the Peak District this autumn
Eat, drink and be merry as you make your way around the stalls at the Great Peak District Fair and Buxton Beer Festival.
Location: Buxton, Derbyshire