BROWSE ENGLAND TRIPS
ENGLAND
Top 8 England Countryside Regions to Visit
A guide to the best places in the English countryside
England’s countryside rewards travelers who look beyond London. Some of the best regions of England’s countryside to travel to include Cornwall, the Lake District, the Cotswolds, and the Yorkshire Dales. The country’s regional landscapes each have their own defining culture and characteristics—from the honey-stone market towns of the Cotswolds and the granite headlands of Cornwall to the limestone uplands of the Yorkshire Dales and the sapphire lakes of Cumbria.
Most of these regions are best experienced on foot—that’s why our England trips are designed around the country’s great long-distance walking trails, with Trip Leaders who know these landscapes intimately and inns that have been welcoming hikers for centuries. Read on to learn more about England’s regions, what makes each part of the countryside distinct, and how to plan a trip to the English countryside.
The Cotswolds
Few regions in England have held onto their character quite like the Cotswolds. The wealth generated by the medieval wool trade built the villages here—Chipping Campden, Painswick, Broadway—and the area’s golden limestone is still the defining feature of every market town and country lane. Walking the Cotswold Way, a long-distance footpath that passes ancient abbeys, working farms, and viewpoints across the rolling countryside, is one of the best ways to experience this region. This is walking country in the truest sense: green, quaint, and not much altitude, with a good pub or a Michelin-starred kitchen waiting at the end of most days.
Some of the region’s best places to visit include Hailes Abbey, founded in 1246 by the Earl of Cornwall; Belas Knap, a Neolithic chambered tomb first excavated in 1863; Standish Park Farm, where an artisan cheesemaker produces award-winning Single and Double Gloucester cheeses that travelers taste firsthand on our trips; and Painswick, an old mill village overlooking a valley that’s changed little since the 18th century.
When to Visit
Late spring through early fall (May–October) is the best time to visit the Cotswolds, offering the most reliable walking conditions and the best light on the limestone. Summer brings the Cotswolds’ famous wildflower meadows into full bloom while September tends to be quieter, with golden fields and cooler temperatures.
Featured trip: Treasures of Wales & the Cotswold Way
The Lake District
The Lake District has inspired poets, painters, and walkers for centuries with its landscape of emerald fellsides dropping steeply to sapphire lakes, ancient stone walls tracing ridgelines, and farmhouses tucked into valleys carved by the last ice age—one glance and you’ll see why this is a hiking hotspot. William Wordsworth spent much of his life here, and his Dove Cottage in Grasmere remains one of the most visited literary sites in England. But the Lake District’s pull is ultimately physical—the hiking is serious, the weather is changeable, and the reward for a long day on the fells is a cozy inn and a well-earned pint.
Our trips that traverse the Lake District visit places like Roman bathhouse ruins, the “haunted” 13th century Muncaster Castle, and the district’s high point at Styhead Pass. Another can’t-miss spot is Lake Windermere, England’s largest natural lake, and Storrs Hall, a Georgian mansion on the lakeshore once frequented by Wordsworth.
When to Visit
May through September is the best time to hike the Lake District, with long days and more pleasant, drier weather. The Lake District is beautiful in autumn—bracken turns russet across the hillsides—though rain is more likely from October onward. Spring arrives early at lower elevations, with wildflowers along the valley paths by May.
Featured trips: England Coast to Coast; Hiking the Yorkshire Dales Way
The Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales, located just southeast of the Lake District, are full of ancient stone walls, fields dotted with barns, meadows threaded with rivers, and cobbled market towns that have barely changed since the 18th century. This is classic English countryside. The draw of the Yorkshire Dales is in its details—you’ll find endless trails to stroll, historic castles and churches to visit, and dramatic geological formations to hike to. The Dales are quieter than the Lake District and rarely feel crowded even at peak season.
Hike to Nine Standards Rigg, a set of ancient, mysterious stone cairns, or to Malham Cove, a 260-foot limestone amphitheater formed by glacial meltwater 12,000 years ago. Visit the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes to see the famous handmade cheeses it’s been producing for generations, Skipton Castle to see one of the most complete medieval fortifications in England, or Marrick Priory to see a 12th century Benedictine nunnery.
When to Visit
May through September is our favorite time to visit the Yorkshire Dales for prime walking season, with the best trail conditions and the widest window of daylight. While late spring brings wildflowers to the valley floors, summer is ideal for the high moorland sections.
Featured trips: England Coast to Coast; Hiking the Yorkshire Dales Way
Dorset
Dorset is where England’s countryside meets its ancient past on the southern coast. Three quarters of the county’s coastline is World Heritage-listed as the Jurassic Coast—sheer limestone and sandstone cliffs by the sea that have yielded ammonites and marine fossils dating back 185 million years. In Dorset you’ll find practically endless coves, coastal geological formations, turquoise water, and clifftop hikes to see it all. The South West Coast Path runs through some of Dorset’s finest stretches before heading west toward Cornwall.
Some of the best places to visit in Dorset include famous literary destinations like Lulworth Cove (Hardy’s fictional “Lulwind Cove” in Far from the Madding Crowd), the limestone arches of Durdle Door and Stair Hole, the village of Ashmore with its thatched cottages, and, about an hour’s drive inland, Stonehenge—the legendary circle of stone monoliths dating back 5,000 years and aligned to the summer and winter solstice.
When to Visit
Spring and early fall are the ideal times to visit Dorset to walk the Jurassic Coast—April brings mild temperatures and exceptional clarity from the clifftops, while September offers quieter trails and warm weather that lingers after the summer crowds have thinned.
Featured trip: Walking England’s Jurassic Coast & Channel Islands
Cornwall
Cornwall occupies a world of its own at England’s southwestern tip—a Celtic peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic, shaped by tin mining, fishing, and mythology. The 300-mile Cornwall Coastal Path traces the county’s entire perimeter, and the hiking is some of the finest in England, with towering granite cliffs, hidden coves, and headlands where the sea seems to surround you on all sides.
Follow the north Cornish coast and you’ll pass highlights like the medieval ruins of 13th century Tintagel Castle, the postcard-perfect fishing village of Port Isaac, and the volcanic rock stacks of Bedruthan Steps. Padstow is home to chef Rick Stein’s celebrated Seafood Restaurant, and further west, Land’s End—“Pedn an Wlas” in Cornish, meaning “the end of the earth”—marks England’s westernmost point.
The south coast has a different character—warmer, more sheltered, and lush with subtropical vegetation fed by the Gulf Stream. Visit St. Ives, an artists’ colony since the 18th century that holds a Tate gallery branch. In Fowey, discover the Menabilly estate where Daphne du Maurier set her novel Rebecca, along with the town’s smugglers’ pubs and tidal creeks. Fowey is a can’t-miss port town set where the Fowey River reaches the sea. And if you’re a hiker, consider walking parts of the Saints Way, an ancient pilgrim route running from Padstow to Fowey.
When to Visit
May through September is the best time to visit the Cornwall coast, with the Gulf Stream moderating temperatures even on the exposed north coast. May and early June offer long days and uncrowded trails; late summer brings the warmest conditions for coastal walking. The season runs well into September, when the light on the headlands is particularly striking.
Featured trip: Hiking in Cornwall
Cheshire
Tucked in northwest England between the Peak District and the Welsh border, Cheshire is one of the country’s most underrated walking counties. The landscape is gentler than the national parks to the east and north, with rolling farmland and black-and-white timber-framed villages. Hike parts of the Sandstone Trail, which runs 34 miles through the county’s quieter eastern reaches. The town of Chester retains its Roman walls almost entirely intact, and the two-mile circuit of the walls is one of the most complete urban walks in England. The Cheshire Plain stretches west toward Wales, broken by church spires and the distinctive red sandstone of the local countryside.
When to Visit
Spring and summer (April–September) offer the best walking conditions, with the Cheshire countryside at its greenest from May onward.
The Peak District
England’s first national park and one of its most visited, the Peak District divides neatly into two distinct landscapes. The White Peak in the south is limestone country—dales, dry stone walls, and river valleys carved through pale rock—while the Dark Peak to the north is defined by gritstone moorland, dramatic edges, and the exposed bog of Kinder Scout. Outdoor enthusiasts of all levels are drawn to this scenic region, from casual walkers to serious climbers, as are photographers. Visit Buxton, the elegant spa town on the park’s western edge, for a Victorian thermal bath and a market square that has barely changed in a century. The village of Bakewell is the namesake of the classic Bakewell pudding, and Chatsworth House was the filming location for 2005’s Pride and Prejudice.
When to Visit
While the Peak District is great to visit year-round, late spring through early fall (May–October) offers the most reliable weather conditions, with heather blooming purple across the moorland in August.
Kent
Kent, located at the country’s southeast tip just outside London, earns its reputation as the “Garden of England,” so named for its lush agricultural landscapes and orchards. The county is famous for the White Cliffs of Dover—striking, 350-foot, 8-mile long chalk cliffs that drop straight into the azure sea below. Romney Marsh is a tranquil coastal wetland for crowd-free cycling and walking, and the city of Canterbury is known for its cobbled streets, Gothic architecture, and the Canterbury Cathedral, the headquarters of the Church of England. Hikers can discover beautifully wooded walks in Oldbury Hill or Kent Downs, and history enthusiasts should check out Scotney Castle with its hop farm, typical of this region.
When to Visit
Late spring and early summer (May–July) are the best months for walking Kent’s orchards and downland paths, with blossom on the fruit trees in May and long days through June and July.
Small Group Adventure
England Coast to Coast
England
Level 4+
12 Days
From $8,195
Small Group Adventure
Hiking the Yorkshire Dales Way
England
Level 3
11 Days
From $6,595
Small Group Adventure
Treasures of Wales & the Cotswold Way
England, Wales
Level 3
11 Days
From $7,995
Small Group Adventure
Walking England’s Jurassic Coast & Channel Islands
England
Level 2+
9 Days
From $7,495
Small Group Adventure
Hiking in Cornwall
England
Level 3+
11 Days
From $7,795
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Talk to an Expert
Our Europe Specialists know every detail about our England Tours. They will be happy to answer any questions and help you choose the journey that’s right for you. Contact us to learn more or book your trip today!