Secret Britain - But Don't Tell The Americans!

The East Midlands, particularly Northamptonshire, has villages and small towns which would give the villages and small towns of the Cotswolds a real run for their money - loads of thatch, half timber, horses, hunting, small country lanes, stone and old brick built and fabulous churches; and wonderful walks through the countryside. Walking or riding on the canals is incomparable.

And no (or very very few) tourists.

Since they're all clustered and thus suitable for the nutty American idea of day trips from one to the other:

.Chepstow and Harlech castles
.Norfolk Broads
.Stornoway with a subdaytrip to the Calanish circles
.Stromness harbor
.Minack theater
.Sunrises: Mull Head, Aldeburg
.Sunsets: Cape Wrath, Tarbert harbor

Perhaps Ed, we could throw in TINTERN ABBEY(ruin in the Wye Valley), being as it is so close to Chepstow Castle? Both are within an hour of Bath or Cardiff.

You should have been here a few years back, Fab. Somebody was asking about where to find the evensong schedule for Tintern.

Nigel, your home turf sounds like a delightful place. I chatted with a man from The East Midlands last year in between flights in Pisa, and he went on and on about how lucky he was to live there. Sounds great, truly, like just the place one wants to find.
Go ahead and pm me your address, and we'll swing by for a few weeks! ;-)

Ssh! Don't tell them about the lonlier parts of the moors in the SW of England, the neolitic remains etc, the historic castles, Okehampton, Launceston, Tiverton, that the British don't go to. Don't tell them about the Roman baths in our local country park (Strathclyde Country Park, just off the M74 between Motherwell and Hamilton). Don't tell them about the Dark Skies park in Dumfries and Galloway, or New Lanark New Heritage and Falls of Clyde site in South Lanarkshire. And don't tell them of the Crannog on Loch Tay.

We must have some secrets from our American friends.

@ Nigel , I am intrigued by your post ( as usual ) . We will be in Northampton and that area this fall . Would you be so kind as to name a few villages in the area to be on the lookout for . Many Thanks , Steve

Okay, Ed already said some of my favorites and since were talking Britain, I'm adding

• a walk near Dunkeld followed by an evening of music and good drink and food at The Taybank.
• A picnic in the Ullapool Hills looking out on Loch Broom.
• Glen Affric
• The Black Isle

Pam

Oh my, this is wonderful! I have very little to add except to say that Harrogate and the surrounding area is beautiful and well worth a visit. I was lucky enough to accompany my husband on three separate business trips and found plenty with which to amuse myself while he was working. I loved using the local trains. I will keep a lot of this information for future reference and offer many, many thank yous to all who have posted.

I was going to add Harrogate as well. My brother was stationed there a couple years, and we found the area very nice. Of special note would be the village of Masham, wonderful small village with the added attraction of two breweries, the Theakston Brewery which is an operating Victorian brewery and gives a great tour; and the Black Sheep Brewery, more of a modern brewery.

Norwich - beautiful old cathedral and attractive streetscapes in the centre.

Suffolk - in the south of the county you will find countryside/scenes as painted by John Constable. The coast has some nice small seaside towns/villages ( eg Southwold). Inland there is beautiful rolling countryside and pretty towns/villages (eg as mentioned above Lavenham). Lots of large churches that are too big for the population they currently serve. Built in the 15 C from the profits of the then thriving wool trade and known as "wool churches". Norfolk and Suffolk have about 1200 medieval churches of all sizes between them.

This is wonderful. I was stationed at an RAF base in Northamptonshire in the mid 1970s and loved England and Scotland. I often wonder if there are strip malls there with the same chain stores we have here in the States now, or if the countryside and villages have retained the genteel rural look I remember. Hope to come for a visit within the next few years.

Many towns & cities have retailing parks on their edges - especially with supermarkets. Most city centres are thriving though some towns in say former coalfields are run-down.

Go on Google Earth & pull the little yellow man down to street level to see what things are like on the ground!

Here are a couple of places we really liked - it was a year we were searching for old churches with wall paintings: Asthall (12th century church with large tomb), Widford, Leclade, Inglesham - from 1100's; Minster Lovell.

@stephen

in Northamptonshire, have a look at

Rockingham and its castle at the top of a steep hill overlooking the Welland Valley and only a few miles from a Lands' End outlet (if you are so inclined)

Oakham (and Rutland Water - a large nature reserve with a huge bird population and biking trails), which although in the smallest county in England - Rutland - is very scenic and in addition to that fabulous Rutland Water has the above mentioned Lands' End. A drive along the north shore of Rutland Water towards Stamford is highly recommended, IMHO.

Stamford - only just across the border in Lincolnshire - is all limestone and brick with plenty of thatch for good measure, has plenty of churches and river side action, and just across the river is the huge Elizabethan pile called Burghley House which was built for Queen Elizabeth's First Minister, Lord Cecil. That's Elizabeth the First, not our current queen.

Silverstone, the home of the British (Formula 1) Grand Prix, and nearby the great open parkland of Stowe and all its surrounding villages.

While on the same topic, Brackley is a beautiful small town and also the home of the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

Brixworth has an ancient church and delightful village as well as a big reservoir with plenty of bird population - Pitsford Water - and, coincidentally, is where Mercedes make their racing engines.

Blisworth is the home to a long tunnel on the Grand Union Canal, more thatch than you can throw a stick at, a great walks. As far as I know - please correct me - there is no Formula 1 connection there.

Castle Ashby.

Geddington, home to one of three extant Eleanor Crosses and an ancient bridge across the river, wide enough for just one vehicle, and a ford, etc.

So many more ...

I too am always looking for these hidden places. We have been to many of those recommended by Nigel, and they are well worth it. Next month we will be in Norwich, Ely, King's Lynn, Castle Rising, Swaffham, the north coast, (all of these places recommended by Keith) and also Lavenham and Framlingham. Another place we really liked when we were in the Cottswolds a couple years ago was Broughton Castle.

I love Cirencester in Gloucstershire. A country market town dating from Roman times - a lovely museum with incredible mosaics in an old building, a lovely old church, The old Roman walls of the town, interesting shops (a butcher who had pheasants hanging in the window- hope he is still there!), beautiful and interesting country with Bronze, Iron and Roman monuments all over the place - lovely villages close by. Chedworth Roman Villa, complete with central heating and baths. Yes it does have a modern side with light industry and the edge of town supermarkets but, at least when I was there 10 years ago, the downtown was still vibrant.