English Country Holiday Cottage Rentals near to cycle trails across the UK.

Devon is the only county in England to have two separate coastlines; the South West Coast Path runs along the entire length of both, around 65% of which is named as Heritage Coast.
Inland, the Dartmoor National Park lies wholly in Devon, and the Exmoor National Park lies in both Devon and Somerset. Apart from these areas of high moorland the county has attractive rolling rural scenery and villages with thatched cob cottages. All these features make Devon a popular holiday destination.
In South Devon the landscape consists of rolling hills dotted with small towns, such as Dartmouth, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Salcombe, and Totnes. The towns of Torquay and Paignton are the principal seaside resorts on the south coast. East Devon has the first seaside resort to be developed in the county, Exmouth and the more upmarket Georgian town of Sidmouth, headquarters of the East Devon District Council. Exmouth marks the western end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
North Devon is very rural with few major towns except Barnstaple, Great Torrington, Bideford and Ilfracombe. Devon's Exmoor coast has the highest cliffs in southern Britain, culminating in the Great Hangman, a 318 m (1043 ft) "hog-backed" hill with an 250 m (820 ft) cliff-face, located near Combe Martin Bay. Its sister cliff is the 218 m (716 ft) Little Hangman, which marks the edge of Exmoor  - source Wikipedia.

 << New Barn in Higher Clovelly, North Devon - sleeps 4 - Cycle routes close by

Somerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county.
The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the coast of the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the River Severn.
Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels.
Agriculture is a major business in the county. Farming of sheep and cattle, including for wool and the county's famous cheeses (most notably Cheddar), are traditional and contemporary, as is the more unusual cultivation of willow for basketry. Apple orchards were once plentiful, and to this day Somerset is known for the production of strong cider. Unemployment is lower than the national average, and the largest employment sectors are retail, manufacturing, tourism, and health and social care. Population growth in the county is higher than the national average  - source Wikipedia.

 << The Coach House in Wedmore, Somerset - sleeps 4 - Cycle routes close by

Dorset, is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305.
Between its extreme points Dorset measures 80 kilometres (50 mi) from east to west and 64 km (40 mi) north to south, and has an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi). Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. Around half of Dorset's population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation.

The rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density. Dorset's motto is 'Who's Afear'd'.
Dorset is famous for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, which features landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door, as well as the holiday resorts of Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth, Swanage, and Lyme Regis. Dorset is the principal setting of the novels of Thomas Hardy, who was born near Dorchester. The county has a long history of human settlement and some notable archaeology, including the hill forts of Maiden Castle and Hod Hill  - source Wikipedia.

 << Puddleduck Cottage in Christchurch, Dorset - sleeps 4 - 5 - Cycle routes close by

Hampshire, or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county has an area of 3,700 square kilometres (1,400 sq mi) and at its widest points is about 86 kilometres (53 mi) east–west and 76 kilometres (47 mi) [5] north–south. The county town is Winchester. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million. Christchurch and Bournemouth, within the historic borders of the county, were made part of the non-metropolitan county of Dorset in 1974.
Hampshire is a popular holiday area, with tourist attractions including its many seaside resorts, the maritime area in Portsmouth, and the motor museum at Beaulieu. The New Forest National Park lies within the borders, as does a large area of the South Downs, which has now become a National Park. Hampshire has a long maritime history and two of England's largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and the birthplace of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Hampshire is blessed with some of the most beautiful countryside and accessible coastline, offering a wide variety of sporting facilities and leisure activities.

 << Hedges - In the heart of The New Forest, sleeps 4 - 6 - Burley, Hampshire. - Cycle routes close by

The New Forest area is a National Park, and tourism is a significant economic segment in this area, with 7.5 million visitors in 1992.[10] The South Downs and the cities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester also attract tourists to the county. Southampton Boat Show is one of the biggest annual events held in the county, and attracts visitors from throughout the country  - source Wikipedia.

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of the border with Wales, 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Worcester, and 23 miles (37 km) northwest of Gloucester. With a population of 54,842 people, it is the largest settlement in the county.
The name "Hereford" is said to come from the Anglo Saxon "here", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crossing a river. If this is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye. The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd (or Caerffawydd, meaning "Beach Fortress").
 <<  RZ3 - Beaufort Lodge - Sleeps 8 - Kerne Bridge, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

It is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include: cider, beer, leather goods, nickel alloys, poultry, chemicals and cattle, including the famous Hereford breed. The city was the home of the British Special Air Service (SAS) for many years, although the Regiment relocated to nearby Credenhill in the late 1990s.

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km2 (861,000 acres). The ancient county town was Wilton, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council and its successor Wiltshire Council have been based at Trowbridge.
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge stone circle and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army.
The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral, and important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trust's Stourhead, near Mere.

 <<  P74 - Small Cottage - Sleeps 4 - Property Location: Hilmarton, Wiltshire

The New Forest area is a National Park, and tourism is a significant economic segment in this area, with 7.5 million visitors in 1992.[10] The South Downs and the cities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester also attract tourists to the county. Southampton Boat Show is one of the biggest annual events held in the county, and attracts visitors from throughout the country  - source Wikipedia.

The Isle of Wight is a British island and county of England, located 3-5 miles (5–8 km) from the south coast of the mainland in the English Channel. It is separated from the mainland by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire. The island is known for its outstanding natural beauty, its world-famous sailing based at Cowes, and its resorts, which have been popular since Victorian times as holiday destinations.
The island has a rich history, including a brief status as an independent kingdom in the 15th century. Until 1995, in common with Jersey and Guernsey, the island had its own Governor - most notably Lord Mountbatten from 1969-1974, after which he became Lord Lieutenant until his asassination in 1979.

<<  PJJO - Marine Villa - Sleeps 14 - 23 - Property Location: Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
It was home to the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and to Queen Victoria, who built her much loved summer residence and final home Osborne House at East Cowes. The Island's maritime and industrial history encompasses boat building, sail making, the manufacture of flying boats, the world's first hovercraft and the testing and development of Britain's space rockets. It is home to the Isle of Wight International Jazz Festival, Bestival and the recently-revived Isle of Wight Festival, which, in 1970, was the largest rock music event ever held. The island has some exceptional wildlife and is one of the richest locations of dinosaur fossils in Europe - source Wikipedia.

Sussex, is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West Sussex and East Sussex and the City of Brighton and Hove. The city of Brighton & Hove was created a unitary authority in 1997; and was granted City status in 2000. Until then Chichester had been Sussex's only city.

<<  PHG - Ouseside Cottage - Sleeps 2 - 4 - Property Location: Rodmell, Lewes, East Sussex.
Sussex has retained much of its rural nature: apart from the coastal strip, it has few large towns. Although in 1841 over 40% of the population were employed in agriculture (including fishing), today less than 2% are so employed. The wide range of soil types in the county leads to great variations in the patterns of farming. The Wealden parts are mostly wet sticky clays or drought prone acid sands and often broken up into to small irregular fields and woods by the topography, making it unsuitable for intensive arable farming. Pastoral or mixed farming has always been the pattern here with field boundaries often little changed since the medieval period. Sussex cattle are the descendants of the draught oxen which continued to be used in the Weald longer than in other parts of England. Agriculturalist Arthur Young commented in the early 18th century that the cattle of the Weald "must be unquestionably ranked among the best of the kingdom."[4] William Cobbett, riding through Ashdown Forest, said he had seen some of the finest cattle in the country on some of the poorest farms. Areas of cereals grown on the Weald have risen and declined with the price of grain. The chalk downlands were traditionally grazed by large numbers of small Southdown sheep, suited to the low fertility of the pasture, until the coming of artificial fertiliser made cereal growing worthwhile. Yields are still limited by the alkalinity of the soil. Apart from a few areas of alluvial loam soil in the river valleys the best and most intensively farmed soils are on the coastal plain, where large scale vegetable growing is commonplace. Glasshouse production is also concentrated along the coast where hours of sunshine are greater than inland.
There are still fishing fleets, notably at Rye and Hastings, but the number of boats is much reduced. Historically, the fisheries were of great importance, including cod, herring, mackerel, sprats, plaice, sole, turbot, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, oysters, mussels, cockles, whelks and periwinkles. Bede records that St Wilfrid, when he visited the county in 681, taught the people the art of netfishing. At the time of the Domesday survey the fisheries were extensive, and no fewer than 285 salinae (saltworks) existed. The customs of the Brighton fishermen were documented in 1579 - source Wikipedia.

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of Medway. Kent has a nominal border with France halfway through the Channel Tunnel. Maidstone is its county town and historically Rochester and Canterbury have been accorded city status, though only the latter still holds it.

<<  PFFQ - The Lighthouse - Sleeps 8 - 9   Bishopstone, Herne Bay, Kent.

    
Because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens, Kent is widely known as "The Garden of England" – a name often applied when marketing the county or its produce, although other regions have tried to lay claim to the title. Major industries in the north-west of Kent have included cement, papermaking, and aircraft construction, but these are now in decline. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt. South and East Kent rely on tourism and agriculture - source Wikipedia.

The Cotswolds is a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cheltenham. The name Cotswold means either "sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides" or it comes from the term "wold" meaning hills.

<<  NMJ - Corner Thatch - Sleeps 4 - Property Location: Morton, Worcester.

    
The spine of the Cotswolds runs south west to north east through six counties, particularly Gloucestershire, west Oxfordshire, and south western Warwickshire. The northern and western edges of the Cotswolds are marked by steep escarpments down to the Severn valley and the Warwickshire Avon. This escarpment or scarp feature, sometimes called the Cotswold Edge, is a result of the uplifting (tilting) of the limestone layer, exposing its broken edge.[3] This is a cuesta, in geological terms. The dip slope is to the south east. On the eastern boundary lies the city of Oxford and on the west is Stroud. To the south-east the upper reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Lechlade, Tetbury and Fairford are often considered to mark the limit of this region. To the south the Cotswolds, with the characteristic uplift of the Cotswold Edge, reach as far south as Bath and towns such as Chipping Sodbury and Marshfield share elements of Cotswold character - source Wikipedia.

Cambridgeshire also known, archaically, as the County of Cambridge; abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed from the historic counties of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, together with the Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough; it contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen. The county town is Cambridge.

<<  18978 - The Laurels - Sleeps 2  -  Property Location: Barley, Royston.

    
Large areas of the county are extremely low-lying and Holme Fen is notable for being the UK's lowest physical point at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The highest point is in the village of Great Chishill at 146 m (480 ft) above sea level. Other prominent hills are Little Trees Hill and Wandlebury Hill in the Gog Magog Downs, Rivey Hill above Linton, Rowley's Hill and the Madingley Hills - source Wikipedia.

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London and is one of the most populous counties in England. Essex County Council is the principal local authority for much of the county, sharing functions with twelve district councils. The county town is Chelmsford. The southern Essex boroughs of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea are governed separately by unitary authorities. It was established in antiquity and formed the eastern portion of the Kingdom of Essex. Sections of the county closer to London are part of the metropolitan green belt, which prohibits development. It is the location of the regionally significant Lakeside Shopping Centre and London Stansted Airport; and the new towns of Basildon and Harlow.

<<   BSO - The Reddings - Sleeps 10   Location: Tillingham, Southminster, Essex. Set in four acres of wonderful grounds, this elegant detached Georgian house is ideal for a relaxing holiday in peaceful surroundings.

    
The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches 482 feet (147 m). The ceremonial county of Essex is bounded to the south by the River Thames and its estuary (a boundary shared with Kent County); to the southwest by Greater London; to the west by Hertfordshire with the boundary largely defined by the River Lee and the Stort; to the northwest by Cambridgeshire; to the north by Suffolk County, a boundary mainly defined by the River Stour; and to the east by the North Sea - source Wikipedia.

 Great venue for Corporate Retreat!

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Felixstowe, one of the largest container ports in Europe.
The county is low-lying with few hills, and is largely wetland habitat and arable land with the wetlands of The Broads in the North. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<<   BSY - Mockbeggars Hall - Sleeps 16 - 21  Claydon, nr. Ipswich, Suffolk.

 Great venue for Corporate Retreat!

    
In the arts, Suffolk is noted for having been the home to two of England's best regarded painters, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable - the Stour Valley area is branded as "Constable Country" - and one of its most noted composers, Benjamin Britten. Other artists of note from Suffolk include the cartoonist Carl Giles (a bronze statue of his character "Grandma" to commemorate this is located in Ipswich town centre), poet Robert Bloomfield, writer and editor Ronald Blythe, actors Ralph Fiennes and Bob Hoskins, musician and record producer Brian Eno and Dani Filth, singer of the Suffolk-based extreme metal group, Cradle of Filth. Hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood is originally from Suffolk and the influential DJ and radio presenter John Peel made the county his home.

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich. Norfolk is the fifth largest ceremonial county in England, with an area of 5,371 km² (2,074 sq mi).

<<   Property Ref:  19871 - Ennerdale II - Sleeps 4  Property Location: Wroxham, Norwich, Norfolk.

    
Of the 34 non-metropolitan English counties, Norfolk is the seventh most populous, with a population of 850,800 (mid 2008). However, as a largely rural county it has a low population density, 155 people per square kilometre (or 401 per square mile.) Norfolk has about one-thirtieth the population density of Central London, the tenth lowest density county in the country, with 38% of the county’s population living in the three major built up areas of Norwich (209,500), Great Yarmouth (71,700) and King's Lynn (43,100). The Broads, a well known network of rivers and lakes, is located on the county's east coast, bordering Suffolk. The area has the status of a National Park and is protected by the Broads Authority.[3] Historical sites, such as the centre of Norwich, also contribute to tourism.

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire to form the county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998, re-establishing Worcestershire once more as an independent entity. Following the 1998 reform the crest of the Malvern Hills forms the east-west border between the two counties, with the exception of the parish of West Malvern in Worcestershire.

   
<<   Property Ref:   RFF1 - Glebe Cottage - Sleeps 5  - Callow End, Worcester

   
The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the Malvern Hills, and the spa town of Malvern. The southern part of the county is bordered by Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the Cotswolds, and to the east is Warwickshire. There are two major rivers flowing through the county, the Severn and the Avon.