The English countryside is the heartland of romantic fiction. Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet found love surrounded by the beauty of Hertfordshire in Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Bronte's Catherine Earnshaw was swept off her feet by Heathcliff on the Yorkshire Moors in Wuthering Heights and even Gilly Cooper set all her steamy stories in the Cotswolds.

Relationships on Female First

Relationships on Female First

There's a reason why all these novels are set in the same sweep of countryside; lush green Britain is simple and beautiful; packed with secret beauty spots so couples can frolic in peace and privacy.

Here, Lucy Tittle, travel expert at easyCar Club, gives her top list of weekend escapes where couples can find their own romantic backdrop.

The Green and Pleasant Lands of Tisbury, Wiltshire

Even in winter, Wiltshire is a patchwork of different shades of luscious green. The picturesque village of Hindon is perfect for a weekend getaway, just two hours' drive from London - think quaint, crooked cottages and a village shop stuck in the 1950s.

Stay at The Lamb, a pub and restaurant, offering boutique rooms with four poster beds and freestanding bathtubs. Arrange for a bottle of champagne or prosecco to be waiting for you when you arrive to make the weekend extra special!

Follow the footpaths that zigzag across the rolling landscape and you can walk for hours without seeing another living soul - unless you count inquisitive sheep. End up at Great Ridge Wood, walking the Roman Road. Back at The Lamb, sit down early for lunch or dinner so you can grab a seat by the log fire. For local attractions, you can drive to the Neolithic site Stonehenge or visit Longleat Safari Park to see lions up-close.

Sophisticated seaside views in Folkestone, Kent

If walking along the beach is essential to your idea of a romantic weekend away, head to Kent and spend the weekend in Folkestone.

The town is fast shaking off its image as the grim seaside sprawl surrounding the Channel Tunnel. In the past decade, regeneration efforts have injected the once tired and decrepit town with life again. The 'creative quarter' and the Folkestone Triennial - the art festival which attracts internationally acclaimed artists as well as their well-heeled entourages of collectors and groupies - has transformed the place into a relaxed but sophisticated destination.

Walk along the golden beaches, admiring the white cliffs looming out of the sea in the distance. From the pubs that line the waterfront, watch fishermen steer their tiny boats back towards the harbour. These aren't just any pubs, they're proper British pubs complete with pool tables, jukeboxes, local ales and wonky windows. In the evening book a meal at RockSalt, run by the former head chef of Claridge's. Not only is the food good but the design is exquisite; come for the food, stay for the glass, curved timber and harbour views.

For something more low-key, buy fish and chips on the harbour and head to the bohemian bars which sit on the cobbled streets of the creative quarter.

Eco living: sleep in a yurt in West Wales

If you and your partner have been together for a long time, it's easy for trips away to become monotonous. If that's exactly what you were thinking, then maybe it's time to shake things up a little. Do something totally different and try sleeping in a yurt in the middle of the Welsh countryside! Find out why, over the past few years, 'eco glamping' has taken off in such a big way.

Yurt Farms offers glamping on a working, organic farm. Not only will your yurt have a wood-burning fire and a king-sized bed, you'll be given a basket of food fresh from the farm on your arrival. Cook it over the campfire in the morning, looking at the blue and spattered purple landscape of the downy Welsh mountains. The idea of a holiday like this is to go back to basics; leave your phone at home and relax. But if you are itching for some wholesome activities, visit the sheep, pigs, hens, goats and donkeys that live on the farm, or trek through the 150 acres of pasture, woodland and bluebells surrounding the campsite.

Run wild on the Scottish Heath

Dive face first into the Scottish wilderness. It may be a long drive from anywhere, but it's worth it. Just North of Glasgow, you can find the Drover's Inn - a traditional lodging where your carpet will be tartan and the stunning Loch Lomond will be just beyond your window. This used to be where Scottish 'drivers' - men who walked their cattle to the market - would stay as they made their way around Loch Lomond.

The countryside surrounding the pub-cum-hotel is some of the UK's most dramatic landscape. The mountains boldly rise above the glassy water while ginger cows peer through their fringes at the walkers and explorers passing through. Live music is a big thing here and the Drover's Inn attracts some of the area's finest folk musicians. This is a perfect base from which you can explore rural Scotland.


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