Hitchin

Georgian facades line the market square where Saturday crowds still gather round stalls selling everything from vintage books to proper pork pies. Hitchin has that rare quality of feeling genuinely lived-in rather than preserved for tourists. The weekly market has been running since 1194, and it shows - this is a proper working town that happens to be rather lovely.

Wander down to St Mary's Church and you'll find yourself at one of England's finest parish churches, its soaring spire visible for miles across the Hertfordshire countryside. The old coaching inns around the square still serve excellent pints, though you'll find the clientele is a mix of commuters and locals who've never left.

Just outside town, the rolling chalk downs stretch towards the Chilterns, dotted with ancient sites like Six Hills - a collection of Bronze Age burial mounds that predate Stonehenge. It's barely a ten-minute drive to reach proper countryside, where footpaths wind through beech woods and across fields where skylarks still nest.

Train connections to London King's Cross take just 35 minutes, making this a popular base for those wanting rural peace within easy reach of the capital. The surrounding area offers excellent walking, with the Icknield Way long-distance path passing nearby.

Staying at one of the local caravan parks or campsites makes perfect sense if you're exploring both Hitchin's historic centre and the wider Hertfordshire countryside. You're well-placed for day trips to nearby Letchworth - the world's first garden city - or even into the Chiltern Hills for more serious hiking.