Say the word Essex and people tend to picture nightclubs, fake tan and reality TV. Which is, frankly, a little unfair. The real Essex is …
Essex is where England is not quite what you expect


Say the word Essex and people tend to picture nightclubs, fake tan and reality TV. Which is, frankly, a little unfair. The real Essex is …

If England ever had a stage set for charm it would be the Cotswolds. Honey-coloured cottages with roses climbing their walls, villages with names that …

Tucked into the east, where the North Sea gently brushes the coastline and the skies seem unusually generous, you find Suffolk. It is not a …

Tucked in the northwest, somewhere between the peaks of Derbyshire and the plains of Merseyside, you find Cheshire. It is a county of country houses, …

Just south of London, Surrey offers a version of England where the countryside feels particularly well looked after. The hedgerows are neatly trimmed, the villages …

If you head out into the east of England and keep going, eventually the hills run out, the roads get long and straight, and you …

Down in the southwest, where the cliffs get tall and the lanes get narrow, you find Dorset. It is a county that seems to have …

Right in the middle of England, Derbyshire rises gently into the sort of landscape that makes you want to take long walks and then immediately …

Just before England runs out of road, before the River Tweed curls out into the North Sea, there is Berwick. A town that has changed …

Let’s get one thing clear from the outset, North Wales is not just a lumpy bit of Britain with sheep and soggy hills. It is, …