If you are looking for a slice of England that hasn't been entirely polished for a postcard, the East Midlands is your place. It is a region that often gets overlooked by tourists racing from London to Edinburgh, but that is exactly why it’s so charming. You get the rolling hills, the crumbling castles, and the medieval spires without having to elbow a hundred other people out of the way for a photo of a stone wall.
Start your journey in Lincoln. It is a city dominated by a cathedral that was the tallest building in the world for over two hundred years until its spire collapsed in 1548. That is a very British sort of claim to fame, isn’t it? To get there, you have to walk up a street aptly named Steep Hill. My advice is to wear sensible shoes and prepare for your calves to have a serious chat with you halfway up. Once you reach the top, the reward is a magnificent Gothic masterpiece and a castle that houses one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. It is quite a humbling experience to stand in front of a document that basically invented modern law, even if you spent the walk up wondering if it was too early for a pint.
Speaking of pints, Nottingham is essential. Everyone knows it for Robin Hood, and while the statue of the man in green is a mandatory stop, the real magic is underground. The city sits on a soft sandstone ridge, and there are over eight hundred caves snaking beneath the pavements. You can even visit Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to be the oldest pub in England. Sitting in a room carved directly into the rock, you can almost hear the ghosts of crusaders arguing over whose turn it is to buy a round.
If you fancy something a bit more "green and pleasant land," head into the Peak District. It was the country's first national park, and for good reason. You could spend a week here just trying to decide which valley is the prettiest. Chatsworth House is the star of the show, often called the Palace of the Peak. It is so grand that it makes you feel slightly inadequate about your own living room decor. I once spent an hour in the gardens there trying to look sophisticated while actually just being fascinated by the gravity-fed fountain. For a bit of quiet, seek out Rutland, England's smallest county. Its motto is "Multum in Parvo," which means "much in little," and they aren't kidding. It is mostly just beautiful countryside, the enormous Rutland Water reservoir, and the lovely town of Stamford. It is the kind of place where time seems to slow down, and the biggest drama is whether the local bakery has any Eccles cakes left. The East Midlands isn't flashy, and it doesn't shout. It just offers honest beauty, a lot of stairs, and a very warm welcome.
Just remember to bring an umbrella, because this is England after all.
