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For us it is the countryside of England that is the draw of this small island with it's facinating history of world domination that is no longer that of territory, but certainly of influence.
Modern city development leaves many of us cold since glass buildings could be anywhere in the world. But the old building styles arose out of the necessities of the region and the building materials at hand. These express so much more poignatly the differences in even regions of the same country that make travel so interesting. Nowhere is this more apparent than in England.
The grey stone cottages of Cornwall, squat and huddles against the Atlantic storms contrast with the red brick of Hampshire. The meandering village streets with multi-paned windows, the wild ponies of the New Forest, the windswept moors of Devon, the cozy pubs with the walls darkened from centuries of pipe smoke and coal fires, tea rooms with dark furniture and white lace doilies all bring a sense of this island nation's rich past.
Before we started traveling with our dog Doogie,
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we did many stories and coverages in England where I had lived from 1951 to 1975. But England is not doggie friendly despite their self proclaimed "dog lover" status. Although, Ston Easton below will consider small dogs at their discretion.
Dogs are banned from all restaurants, food outlets and many hotels not to mention the severe restrictions of bringing a dog into the country that while less restrictive today, are anywhere from easy especially for Americans. But if you travel leaving your dog at home or you don't have one to begin with, England is a very special place to visit and one we can highly recommend.
The establishments we did cover are going strong today, even 20 years later and are much imporved since then. (We get reports from our contacts who do travel to England). So we can highly recommend the hotels, restaurants and pubs we list below. It is a falacy to believe that you can't get good food in England. They have some of the finest restaurants in the world.
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