you’llneedto bringyourown
flatcap,shorttrousers,loavesof
breadandboneshakerbicycle
- notforgetting,of course,
a brassbandto playthesecond
movementof Dvorˇák’sninth
symphonyFromtheNewWorld
asyoutrudgewearilyuphill.
FGoldHillis in Shaftesbury
(shaftesburytourism.co.uk).
NORTHUMBERLAND
No,you’renotexperiencing
déjàvu.AlnwickCastle(pictured
above)owesits familiarityto its
starringroleas HogwartsSchool
of WitchcraftandWizardryin
twoof theHarryPotterfilms.
Orperhapsyou’veseenit in
Blackadder,DowntonAbbeyor
Transformers:TheLastKnight.
‘OnLocation’tourstakeyou
behindthescenes,or youcan
simplyroamthecastle’sdining
room, guard chamber, library
andstaterooms,admiringa fine
collectionof paintingsincluding
worksbyTitianandCanaletto.
FAlnwickis 35milesnorthof
Newcastle(castleentryfrom
£15.0 5;a l nw i c kc a s t l e.c o m).
Its oldtrainstationis nowlovely
BarterBooks;Alnmouthtrain
stationis fourmiles away.CUMBRIA
Thelargestof thefourislands
in DerwentWater,St Herbert’s
is namedafterthesaintwho
broughtChristianityto thearea
in AD685.Lookingfora bitof
spiritualrepose,heretreated
to thefour-acreislandwherehe
builta smallcellandlivedon
fish.Theremainsof hishermitage
canstillbeseenat thenorthern
endof theisland,whichyoucan
reachbycanoe.St Herbert’s
featuredas thefictionalOwl
Island in Beatrix Potter’sThe TaleofSquirrelNutkin(1903),and
alsoappearsin the 2016 film
versionof ArthurRansome’s
SwallowsandAmazons,
chroniclingtheadventuresof the
Walkerchildren’sLakeDistrict
holiday.Whetheryou’rea
squirrel,a hermitor a Walker
fan,packa lunchandletyour
imaginationfly.
FYoucanhirecanoesat the
marinain Keswick,theNichol
EndMarinein Portinscale,or
at thesouthernendof the lake
(visitcumbria.com).GLOUCESTERSHIRE
OntheEnglishborderwith
Wales,withtraitsof thelatter,
theForestof Deanis richin native
woodland,idealforeasystrolls
or serioushiking.Tranquil
pathspassancientoaks,while
theOffa’sDykePathskirtsthe
western edge. One part oftheforestis Puzzlewood,a maze
of moss-coveredtrees,weird
rockformations,tangledvines,
twistedrootsandrickety
bridges.Its manyscreencredits
includeepisodesofDoctorWho
andMerlin, as wellas scenesin
StarWars:TheForceAwakens.
FMonmouthis a handy
gatewayforDeanexploration
(wyedeantourism.co.uk).
Puzzlewoodis openat weekends
in springandautumn,anddaily in
summer(puzzlewood.net).HAMPSHIRE
TurretedHighclereCastleis
thefamilyseatof theEarlof
Carnarvon– butyou’llknowit
betteras thebackdropforthe
TVseriesDowntonAbbey,
JulianFellowes’fantasyof post-
EdwardianEngland.Fanswill
spotnumerouslocationsaround
thehouse– thegreathall,
drawingroom,library,dining
roomandseveralbedrooms
haveallbeenshownonscreen,
as hastheestate’sglorious,
1,000-acrelandscapedpark,
designedbynoneotherthan
Lancelot’Capability’Brown.
FHighclereis aboutsix miles
southof Newbury.It’sbestto
pre-bookticketsonline(£16;
highclerecastle.co.uk).NORFOLK
Lowtideat HolkhamBeach
revealsa seeminglyendless
sweepof white-goldsand
stretchingtowardsa distant
sea.Thehighesttidescreate
a dazzlinglagoon,thanks
to a crescent-shapedbasinfilling
upfast.Andthisis justpartof
a 14-square-milenaturereserve
of dunes,marsh,pinewoods
andscrub.GwynethPaltrow
wanderedhereat theendof
Shakespearein Love, andit’san
unrivalledspotfora windblown,
sand-dustedstrollundertheblue
domeof a northNorfolksky.
Afterwards,warmyourself
besidea fireat TheVictoria,
anatmosphericinnat thegates
of PalladianHolkhamHall.
FHolkhamsitsontheA149,
whichlinksthenorthNorfolk
shore’sbeaches,birdmarshes
and villages (holkham.co.uk).
PHOTOGRAPHS: JUSTIN FOULKES, DAVID TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY