I love the UK.

Primrose53, my DB and DSIL live almost opposite that garden in Norwich. It is a hidden gem.

It would be even better if our rivers and seas were clean to swim in, and our native species weren’t being depleted on a record level. Shame our environment is hardly ever mentioned in the election campaign.

How nice to see people expressing their admiration for this country instead of knocking it. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get out and enjoy our wonderful countryside and wildlife.
I don't understand why so many people are happy to see it all destroyed and the land covered in concrete.

Oh to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!
(apologies, this applies to the rest of the UK too!)
BUT since Brexit my soul is no longer here. I’m ashamed of our politicians and long to be part of the wider European community again 🙁

You've just reminded me, LaCrepescule, of how our beautiful country is also captured in works of art - poetry, paintings and music.

I, too, feel blessed to live in the UK. We lived abroad a lot while DH was in the Army, but we were always pleased to come home. I grew up spending a lot of time in the Peak District and it was our go to place when DH retired from the Army and we came to live here in South Yorkshire. It still is for me because I don’t have to drive very far to get there - but we also had a long standing love affair with West Wales, North Norfolk, and the East Yorkshire coast - Staithes, Flamborough, Whitby and Filey Bay. And latterly, glorious Northumberland! Britain? Bring it on!

It is a lovely country and often the loveliest parts are virtually unknown and not on the ‘tourist routes’. In fact the tourist towns tend to be very overcrowded with awful traffic jams so I always advise friends visiting to avoid them as much as possible. With a bit of research you can find the stunning unknowns and Utube is also very good for this.

We have enjoyed many many holidays in the UK and have lots of favourite places. Currently on holiday in Portugal and lucky enough to have already had one abroad holiday this year in Gran Canaria we are seriously considering making this our last. A major consideration is the ever rising cost of travel insurance as we age we have more and more to declare. Definitely more UK short breaks for us but I won't rule out seeing Italy a few more times before I throw in the passports.

Nandalot and Primrose - this hidden gem was where I met friends in the city when my oldest child was tiny. Happy days.

I feel very lucky to have been born and bred in England. I love my country and the whole of the UK. We have stunning countryside and wildlife, beautiful plants and trees, fantastic coastline and beaches, plus amazing buildings and history, arts and culture.

I love our history and pageantry. No country does "pomp and circumstance" like we do. And I love the seasons and changing landscapes.

Whenever I have travelled abroad, as the plane circles over the UK prior to landing and as a passenger I looked down on the patchwork of green fields, I would choke with emotion. There is nowhere else I'd rather live. It's not perfect - what country is? - but it's home and I feel very patriotic and proud of my country.

Forgot to say great thread annsixty. Thank you.

Yeah, great thread and full of suggestions about interesting places to visit.Am making a list right now.😍
Haven’t had a holiday for a long time but we should be able to have a week next year.Other than that it’s a day out now and again, I love getting out into the countryside and it’s never all that far no matter where you live.

Oh I wish it wasn’t such a loooong way for us to come. Could you just move it over into the Pacific? 🚢 You are so lucky you don’t have to travel so much, green with envy . 🍀

The UK has an awful lot going for it - I fail to see the attaction of the "usual suspects" - Tenerife, Ibiza, Cyprus, Crete and so on. As mentioned above there's a wealth of beautiful locations - straight up the M6 we have the Lake District, go a bit further and you're in Scotland, or go Eastwards and you get the Yorkshire Dales.

There are tons of places off the Tourist Trail - but I like to hope they won't get discovered! The Lake District doesn't half get crowded.

Outside of Preston is a delightful little hamlet/village called Chipping - it's one of those places where you have to agree to not have a satellite dish, television aerials, do anything to the exterior of your property that's not in character, etc. It's regularly in demand by TV production companies because it looks as if it's still in the 16th Century.

And anyway, national news footage of holidaymakers stuck at the airport due to a hold up (French air traffic controllers!) should surely put anyone off going to foreign climbs - everyone looks frazzled to bits, trying to kip on those dreadful plastic chairs!

I should like to thank you all so much for the appreciative and delightful replies.
I love it that we think our little Island is so beautiful and worth visiting all of it’s different and wonderful areas.

I was brought up on the Isle of Wight - magical!

I love the Isle of Wight - it so reminds me of the Essex countryside where I was brought up near Canvey Island - the rows of one-story buildings with the sea all around. It is like a throw-back to the 1950s.

Please could we extend this thread to the British Isles?
Otherwise the Channel Islands are not part of the UK and they are amazingly beautiful too ( a bit of a biased opinion).
But yes having seen a lot of the world I agree we are very fortunate and this is a special place.

Jersey and Guernsey are certainly beautiful. They were my little piece of home I could easily reach for day trips when living in France. You are very lucky dogsmother.

And not forgetting the Isles of Scilly!

The U is beautiful, especially in Spring. But, how many of you can remember what it was like in the 50s compared to the present day. When I was a child we used holiday with my Mum's family in S Wales. We walked for what seemed miles over the dunes to reach the beaches which were usually devoid of other people. Now the motorway towards Swansea crosses those dunes.

In Kent, where my DH live as a child, a pristine landscape has been destroyed also by a motorway.

There are hundreds of examples of similar destruction.

Yesterday we attended a ‘festival of voices’ concert in Dorchester Abbey - choirs from Gdd1’s primary school and 3 or 4 other schools. A spectacularly beautiful old building, in an incredibly pretty village, on a beautiful summer’s evening. As dd said, it doesn’t get much better than this.

I see that I missed off the K in my very first sentence.

I realise that I have been rather negative but the countryside has changed enormously during my lifetime.

Certainly the historic sites, the gardens, galleries and museums are fantastic. Sadly many of them are short of funding to keep them going and, whilst you appreciate these there are many who don't and oppose funding. They just don't realise the benefits to be gained from visiting a beautiful garden or looking at paintings.

As much as I love visiting other countries, I do absolutely adore my home country, Scotland. There's nothing like the feeling I get when I cross the border and instantly feel 'at home'. Stunning scenery, from amazing beaches to rugged mountains, steeped in history, great food too - what's not to love (apart from the midges, lol!)
We do have some beautiful places throughout the UK though - we spent many family holidays in the UK when our children were young, and even if we didn't always have great weather, they still loved getting out and about and exploring. I can only think of one place I really didn't enjoy (I think someone else has already mentioned it on here - begins with B - but the children loved it).

I do love the UK very much. I think it comes to some of us later in life, to quote my step-granddaughter when she was mid teens when I was trying to sell her the concept of Center Parcs "I don't feel I've been on holiday unless I get on a plane" I can remember feeling like that, I wanted something entirely different from homegrown experiences, food, culture, balmy heat, exotic aromas. I never thought I could embrace holidays in the UK the way I have over the past few years, appreciating its verdant beauty, but I do and for a small island there is a plethora of umpteen places that offer a gamut of spectacular scenery and monuments of historical interest. I've been lucky I've been to a lot of far flung places, places I could only dream about, now I'm much happier to not get on a plane and just pack up the car and drive somewhere that doesn't involve air miles.