Buckingham

Cobbled streets wind through this old market town where Georgian facades mask centuries of history. Buckingham feels refreshingly unhurried - the sort of place where locals still pop into proper independent shops rather than chain stores. The weekly market on Saturdays brings a proper buzz to the town centre, but come Monday morning and you'll have the place largely to yourself.

Oxford Bridge spans the Great Ouse, offering lovely riverside walks that most visitors completely miss. The bridge itself is a fine piece of stonework, but it's the meadows beyond that really reward a stroll. Grounds Farm Dog Walking Field proves popular with locals exercising their four-legged friends, while Friday's Spinney provides a decent woodland walk when you fancy something more secluded.

The surrounding Buckinghamshire countryside rolls away in gentle hills and ancient field patterns. This is proper English farmland - the kind painted by Constable, though without the tourists. Villages like Maids Moreton and Radclive dot the landscape, each with their own parish church and pub doing Sunday lunch.

Getting here couldn't be simpler. The A421 whisks you from Milton Keynes in twenty minutes, while the A413 connects north to Towcester or south towards Aylesbury. Buckingham makes an excellent base for exploring north Bucks without the crowds you'll find closer to London.

Staying at one of the nearby campsites puts you perfectly placed for day trips to Silverstone Circuit, barely ten miles away. Several farm-based sites around Dadford Road and the Silverstone area offer peaceful pitches with easy access to both the racing circuit and Buckingham's market town charm.