Kettering

The market town sprawl might not win beauty contests, but there's something honest about Kettering's industrial backbone. This is proper working England - none of the tourist frills, just a town that gets on with business while offering surprisingly decent access to some lovely countryside.

Walk ten minutes from the centre and you'll find yourself among rolling fields and ancient woodlands. Gaultney Wood and Cransley Wood offer proper walking territory, while the twin reservoirs at Thorpe Malsor and Cransley provide peaceful spots for a picnic. The landscape here is quintessentially Midlands - gentle hills, patchwork fields, and enough trees to make you forget the A14's nearby rumble.

For something genuinely unusual, the Triangular Lodge near Rushton deserves the short drive. This bizarre three-sided Tudor folly is one of those English eccentricities that makes you wonder what the builder was thinking. Each wall, window, and gable follows the number three - a mathematical puzzle in limestone that's utterly barmy and brilliant.

Kettering sits well-connected on the A14, making it dead easy to reach from London or Birmingham. The town's no rural retreat, but that's exactly why staying at one of the nearby parks works so well. You get proper countryside peace at places like Overstone Lakes or Moon Valley Glamping Retreat, yet you're close enough to nip into town for supplies or a decent curry.

The surrounding area rewards exploration too. Market Harborough's just down the road for a prettier town centre, while Northampton offers more substantial attractions if you fancy a day out. But honestly, the appeal here is simpler than that - good walking, quiet reservoirs, and the kind of unpretentious English countryside that doesn't make a song and dance about itself.