It doesn’t happen often, but when England decides to switch off the drizzle and crank up the sunshine, something rather wonderful occurs. People emerge from their homes blinking like moles. Pub gardens fill as if summoned by an ancient instinct. Streets smell faintly of sun cream and chip fat. And suddenly, everything – from a paddle in a river to a warm pint on a village green – feels like the most brilliant idea anyone’s ever had.
So if the mercury’s rising and you’re lucky enough to have a day free, here are six excellent ways to spend a gloriously sunny day in this occasionally sun-kissed land.
Go all Riviera on the Cornish coast
You could close your eyes on Porthcurno beach and quite easily pretend you were somewhere in the Med. The sea is turquoise. The cliffs are rugged and satisfyingly dramatic. And the sand is the sort of stuff you’ll still be hoovering out of your car six months later. Cornwall does coastal beauty like nowhere else in the country, and on a sunny day it’s genuinely world-class. Stick a pasty in your bag, bring a bucket and spade, and channel your inner 1950s holidaymaker.
Take a punt in Oxford or Cambridge
There’s something gloriously absurd about watching tourists try to steer a flat-bottomed boat with a very long stick. But once you’ve stopped laughing and had a go yourself, you realise punting is a deeply soothing way to spend an hour or two. Choose Oxford for mellow honey-coloured buildings and riverside meadows. Or go for Cambridge if you like your views collegiate and your bridges slightly smug. Bonus points if you don’t fall in.
Swim in a lake in the Lake District
Wild swimming sounds more adventurous than it is. Really, it’s just bobbing about in cold water and feeling strangely proud of yourself afterwards. The Lake District is perfect for it, though. On a sunny day, Windermere and Derwentwater glint invitingly, and even the smaller tarns look like something out of a chocolate box. Pack a towel, lower yourself in slowly, and let nature do its thing. Afterwards, reward yourself with tea and cake. That’s compulsory.
Find a village green with a cricket match
There are few things more English than watching a local cricket team slowly amble their way through an innings while the sun lazes in the sky and someone’s dog runs off with the ball. It’s free, it’s peaceful, and you don’t need to understand the rules (no one really does). Buy an ice cream, find a spot in the shade, and marvel at how the players seem to be doing a sport and a nap at the same time.
Walk to a country pub and refuse to leave
The golden rule of an English summer walk is that it must end with a drink. Ideally in a pub that has a garden, a dog, and a slightly overgrown lawn with white plastic chairs that haven’t been moved since 1997. The Cotswolds, Suffolk, the Yorkshire Dales – take your pick. Plot a route that goes via a stream or a shady woodland path and feels vaguely virtuous. Then park yourself in the sun, order something cold, and never speak of returning to real life again.
Wander through Kew Gardens like a Victorian botanist
There’s something about sunshine and horticulture that makes people go a bit giddy. At Kew, it’s almost a requirement. The vast glasshouses shimmer in the heat, the palm trees swish obligingly, and everyone starts using words like ‘verdant’. It’s England at its most cultivated, but also its most joyfully eccentric – where else would you find a treetop walkway, a Japanese garden, and a café that sells rose lemonade all in one place?
So there you have it. Six ways to enjoy England when it behaves itself. Just don’t forget the sun cream. Or the umbrella, just in case.
