Slowly Discovering Rural England

Your holiday starts with a road trip to England’s North Norfolk Coast. Wherever you’re travelling from, we’ll make sure you have a tailormade route to get you here. Prepare yourself for vast skies, welcoming villages, medieval churches and beaches just beckoning you to stroll and stroll for miles on end.

Your Accommodation in North Norfolk

At the heart of this close-knit village community for many years, your accommodation is a Victorian ex-farmhouse, expanded and remodelled into a superb place to spend a few days. Overlooking the RSPB reserve and distant beach, this stylish 26-room hotel features sumptuous accommodation, a secluded and peaceful garden and a relaxed fine-dining restaurant serving an acclaimed menu of imaginative dishes making excellent use of the abundance of local produce.

It’s just a five-minute drive this morning to the quayside for your first excursion. Boarding the charming little vessel guided by a friendly local skipper, you’ll set off on a voyage of gentle discovery along the North Norfolk coastline, taking in Scolt Head Island, the waters and landscape around it, crucial to wildlife and the local ecosystem.

The tour lasts around two hours, giving you plenty of time to continue discovering at your own pace for the rest of the day, perhaps heading to Burnham Thorpe, the village where Horatio Nelson was born and bred  – a peaceful, almost mystical spot and far contrast from fierce overseas battles.

The coast around your hotel is studded with jewel-like villages, with names like Wells-Next-The-Sea and Burnham Overy Staithe, and is home to wonderful, expansive, often deserted beaches as well as unusual birds and other wildlife. Take your time today and uncover some of the hidden corners in this delightful location – we’ll provide you with a plentiful list of recommendations to help you choose.

A fine day on the road today, first taking in the coast around the Wash before heading in to the flat expanse of rural Lincolnshire. You’ll cross Robin Hood country as you skirt the edges of Nottingham on your way to the tumbling landscape of the Derbyshire Peak District and your base at the village of Rowsley, where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent.

Your Accommodation in Rowsley

In our opinion, quite a treat is in store for the next two nights at this historic country retreat. On the vast Haddon Estate, rubbing shoulders with Chatsworth, this 15-room hotel dates back to 1652. Period pieces and art are everywhere you look, though bedrooms feature every convenience to make your stay as relaxing as possible. As famous for its food as its accommodation, dining here is a rare indulgence, with superb service complementing the acclaimed fine-dining menu.

Hotel guests are invited to take advantage of favourable admission rates at Haddon Hall and Chatsworth House and Gardens – though you could easily spend a whole day at either. Simple rural walking routes fan out from and circle back to your hotel, perfect for a post-breakfast stroll – while some of the Peak District’s most famous towns and villages are within a short drive. You surely won’t want to miss a Bakewell Tart in its place of creation!

Take the long way round today, crossing the heart of the Peak District and making your way in to Yorkshire. Travelling north-east, you’ll skirt Barnsley, Leeds and York, and the edge of the Howardian Hills on your way to you base for the next three nights in the historic market town of Pickering.

Your Accommodation in Pickering

On the hilly main street of this cute settlement, your accommodation is a centuries old ex-coaching inn run by the friendliest of families. After a day on the road, drop your bags in your spacious en-suite room then find yourself a cosy nook by a log fire, choosing a tipple from the bar. Later, enjoy dinner (included during your stay here) prepared by the hotel’s chef of 20 years – we can’t wait to get back to enjoy Yorkshire lamb from the charcoal oven again.

Just a moment’s walk from your hotel, Pickering Railway Station is something of an event in itself, its classic features frozen in time. Here, board the steam train for an evocative journey across the North Yorkshire Moors to the classic harbour town of Whitby. You’ll have a Freedom Ticket, allowing you to hop on and off, giving you the chance to explore stations recently made famous by TV’s Heartbeat and the Harry Potter movies. At Whitby you’ll find one of the UK’s liveliest harbour towns, rich in history, the ruined abbey overlooking colourful winding cobbled streets, and the place where the locals will tell you this is where to find the world’s best fish and chips.

A day of exploring at leisure today. You could elect to leave the car behind while you get under the skin of the ancient streets of Pickering, or the more intrepid might like to don the walking boots and take advantage of the Moors’ world-class routes and scenery. 

A last loping day behind the wheel, through some quite magnificent scenery. Our favourite route skirts the Moors before heading through rural north Yorkshire, onwards to historic Barnard Castle and crossing the staggering North Pennines on your way to proper Hadrian’s Wall country and the village of Haltwhistle.

Your Accommodation in Haltwhistle

Near the centre of this prettiest of Northumberland villages, this five-room, family owned B&B is owned and run by some of the friendliest people you could hope to meet. Recently created from the Victorian village schoolhouse, each of the en-suite rooms is a simple, comfortable haven, perfect for a peaceful night. Breakfast features daily homemade bread and the very best ingredients from the rich local larder.

Make sure you partake of a hearty breakfast, before getting in to stout walking boots and setting off to meet your next guide. Of all the local experts we work with, today’s has to be one of the best, a local with an infectious passion and bottomless well of knowledge of Hadrian’s Wall and the Romans’ time here in Border country. You’ll uncover details of the wall’s construction and sometimes brutal history, at a pace most suited to you. Along the way you’ll break for lunch – picnic by the wall if the weather is benign or cosy-up in a local pub.