They have the most marvelous history and great pubs.

Their countryside ain't half bad either...

The country estate we stayed at... Langley Manor

Not far from my home town of Swindon is another town called Lechlade, Moss may know of it.

There is a pub there, the name of which escapes me now, which backs up directly onto the river and so has a stunning beer garden. Many a day have I spent in that beer garden, drinking cider and dicking about on the waters edge with mates, it is an absolutely fantastic place and Britain is dotted with such places across the nation.

I have always said that Britain can be a magical place to be in the summertime, it's just a shame about the other 50 weeks of the year.

The Jigger Inn at the Old Course, St. Andrews, is a favorite of mine over the years.

Soap dodgers.

In certain respects there are a few things that are similar to Thailand... for instance the narrow TWO WAY roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. It reminds me of the sois in Thai cities where parked vehicles block 75 percent of the passageway.

It's okay when the drivers are polite and somebody backs up to find a wide enough place to pass. But, every once in a while you run into some git in a Mercedes, BMW, or Bentley that feels the roads all belong to them. They usually come from places like this...

I gotta say as a yank that I've got too many bad memories from 10 years of livin' in the UK to say much good about the place although there were some memorable ales and good pubs...nothin' like sittin' inna nice pub (no music or fruit machines) on yer own with a newspaper and a pint and mindin' yer own business...

most british landscapes remind me of large gardens probably because the place has been inhabited so long...not much in the way of spectacular wilderness like we got on the west coast of america. But some local guy in Derby took us once to a spot in the Pennines that looked like a Mordor landscape outta Lord of the Rings and I was favorably impressed; I lost a good opportunity to do more exploring on me own as I lived in the area...

the scottish highlands aren't bad either, me an' the ex-wife's old uncle paddy from Co. Laiose sittin' in the Monster Bar in Drumnadrochit speculatin' about what we'ed do if we caught sight of ol' Nessie...

What a great thread, although I think I am Bedlamising it by making it into a pub thread?

My favourites are the King's Arms, the Perch and the Trout in Oxford. Just even posting the photos makes me wish I was having a beer in any of them.

Here are a few more...

Bridgenorth...

Dunbridge

Ironbridge pub

Some of the pubs sell beats to a few of the trout streams where the fishing can be quite good...