
1. Ashwell, Hertfordshire
Human habitation can be traced back 4,000 years in Ashwell, proving that Bronze Age man was just as adept at finding a top slice of country life as commuter-belt man. Ashwell Springs makes a great picnic spot, but before you break out the wicker basket, make sure to explore the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Forester Cottages on the high street and the sixteenth-century timber-framed cottages at the junctions of Rollys Lane and Mill Street. For more modern architecture fans, Victorian residence the Bury, designed by Edwin Lutyens with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll, won’t disappoint.
Get there: Trains run from King’s Cross to Ashwell and Morden, taking about an hour. By car, it’s 45 miles from central London.