Far out dude, it’s Dumfries
The stunning, massive landscape garden, the Crawick Multiverse, in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway was created by landscape architect Charles Jencks and replicates the known universe in a monumental way. It occupies the former site of an opencast coal mine, and is open to the public all year round. Around a 40-minute drive south is the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, another of Jencks’ creations, which he developed with his late wife Maggie Keswick. It is open to the public on only one day of the year, with 1,500 tickets available, so be prepared for the release date in February for a visit in May. Jencks and Keswick reshaped 12 hectares (30 acres) of their land as a celebration of nature and the laws of physics. This is truly a garden like no other. Just knowing it exists makes you happy.
For a starry-eyed stay, search for homes in Dumfries on Airbnb
Cut a fine figure in Frome
Although the fame of Frome as a centre of the cloth trade declined towards the end of the 18th century, there’s something about this ancient Somerset town’s winding cobbled streets that lends itself to the business of fashion. Today, the town prides itself on its many independent traders and designers, some whom have workshops in the same mill as their forebears. Look out in particular for the latest designs from Boho Clothing or Elli Fashion, something older from Lark Vintage or vamp it up at Deadly is the Female, where curves and 1940s glamour are the order of the day. On the first Sunday of the month, between March and December, the town celebrates its individuality with the Frome independent market, a cornucopia of local food and drink, arts, crafts, design and fashion that takes over the whole town.
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Hay-on-Wye is a bibliophile’s dream
Hay in Wales is a charming market town with a serious book addiction: there are around 20 booksellers in and around the centre, many with vast secondhand and antiquarian collections. Most notable of these, perhaps, is the shop belonging to Richard Booth, the man who started it all by buying the local castle and declaring himself king in the late 1970s. It’s called The King of Hay. Twinned with Timbuktu, an early seat of learning, Hay is also home to one of the world’s most famous literary festivals, which has taken place in May each year for the last 31 years.
For a literary lover’s escape, search for homes in Hay-on-Wye on Airbnb
Feast your eyes and bellies in Ludlow
This small market town in Shropshire, which the poet John Betjeman once described as “probably the loveliest town in England”, has also become a place of pilgrimage for foodies, drawn by the individual local shops and suppliers who occupy many of the town’s 500 listed buildings. Ludlow also has a thriving market, with a farmers’ market selling local produce every second and fourth Thursday of the month, though the main draw is the annual food festival, which takes place in September.
To get your fill of local fare, search for homes near Ludlow on Airbnb
In Saltaire there’s no trouble at t’mill
A Unesco world heritage site since 2001, the town of Saltaire in West Yorkshire is more than a picturesque living museum of the industrial revolution. The now-redeveloped Salts Mill that the town was built to service is still the hub of the community, and now offers an art exhibition space and a selection of independent local shops and businesses. On permanent exhibition here in the 1853 Gallery is one of the world’s largest collections of work by local boy David Hockney, who also designed the mill’s Cafe into the Opera restaurant.
For a cultural retreat oop north, search for homes near Saltaire
Marc Chagall and artisan gin: a perfect day in Tonbridge
The town of Tonbridge, Kent, has many things to recommend it, including a medieval castle and a beautiful artisan gin distillery, but its real gem is located two miles outside the town, in All Saints’ Church, Tudeley. This is the only church in the world with 12 windows all designed by the Russian-born artist Marc Chagall. The windows were commissioned in the 1960s by the wealthy parents of Sarah d’Avigdor-Goldsmid, who died in a sailing accident at the age of 21. The artist personally installed the last of them in 1985, the year of his death. The sight of them pierced by light at different angles as the sun travels across the sky is inspiring and unforgettable.
To find your own dreamy sanctuary, search for homes in Tonbridge on Airbnb
Whitby’s dark materials
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the ship carrying the titular vampire runs aground on the rocks beneath the ruins of Whitby Abbey of the East Cliff, and it is here, in Whitby, Yorkshire that the count begins to feast on the blood of young Lucy Westenra. For a spooky souvenir, take home a piece of local jewellery made from jet, a black semi-precious mineral that washes up, like Dracula, on the beach. And what better place for the world’s biggest gathering of goths? Since 1994, Whitby goth weekend has taken over the town in April and October for two days apiece of suitably dark live music and fancy dress frolics. A distinct steampunk flavour has been added in recent years.
For a spooktacular staycation, search for homes in Whitby on Airbnb
For more inspiration go to visitbritain.com/jointheworld
