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.
Full steam ahead on the Kent and East Sussex Railway
Bring out your inner Casey Jones by stepping onto the footplate and heading out across the stunning Kent countryside.
Location: Tenterden, Kent
Trip-trap along the Red Squirrel Trail
This family-friendly cycle and walking path encompasses an exciting trail of artwork, sculpture and trolls under bridges.
Location: Newport, Isle of Wight
Travel across Hampshire’s countryside on the Watercress Line
Witness the sights, sounds, smells and magic of steam travel from a bygone age and journey through Hampshire’s countryside on a restored steam train.
Location: Alresford, Hampshire
Ride on down to the Didcot Railway Centre
Enjoy a trip to Didcot Railway Centre, whose magnificent restored engines will take you steaming through most of the Oxfordshire countryside.
Location: Didcot, Oxfordshire
See flowers in bloom at The Savill Garden
Enliven your senses with a walk around one of Britain's finest ornamental gardens.
Location: Windsor, Berkshire
Have a close encounter with Daleks and medieval peasants in Essex
Choose to travel back in time to medieval England in 1066, the toys of your childhood or even WWII (though chances are you’ll want to do all three).
Location: Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
August events: Discover the English countryside with BBC Countryfile Live
Head to the spectacular grounds of Oxfordshire’s iconic World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace, for BBC Countryfile Live, which will be hosted from the 1 - 4 August.
Location: Woodstock, Oxfordshire
