East Anglia

Unfurling gently eastwards to the sea, the vast flatlands of East Anglia are a rich web of lush farmland, melancholy Fens and sparkling rivers. The area is justly famous for its sweeping sandy beaches, big skies and the bucolic landscape that once inspired Constable and Gainsborough.

It's not all rural idyll though: rising out of the Fens is the world-famous university city of Cambridge, with its stunning classical architecture and earnest attitude, while to the east is the cosmopolitan city of Norwich. Around them, magnificent cathedral cities, pretty market towns and implausibly picturesque villages are testament to the enormous wealth amassed here during medieval times, when the wool and weaving industries flourished.

The meandering coastline is peppered with charismatic fishing villages and traditional seaside resorts, while inland lie the languid, hypnotic charms of the Norfolk Broads, an ideal location for serious relaxation.