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Cultural Britain by county

Those who wander the British countryside, or tramp the streets of our towns and cities, will find it hard to avoid the monuments to and of our history: the castles and cathedrals, churches and canals. But another heritage overlays so many of the same places, a heritage of art and literature and music. In terms of scale our great cathedrals certainly dwarf the little blue plaques and even the statues that commemorate the artists who have contributed so much to our national culture and identity. But in terms of their legacy the judgement is far finer. The landscapes and special places that have inspired the music, the books, the paintings that in turn inspire us can by and large still be enjoyed, providing an extra dimension to the understanding of those works. From Shakespeare to Sayers, The Beatles to the Brontes, from Irvine Welsh to Walter Scott and Benjamin Britten, we hope the guides in this section will facilitate that understanding, or just enhance a visit to the area in question. These guides serve another purpose too, reminding us of the diversity of landscape within the British Isles. The wilderness of Exmoor in Lorna Doone country contrasted with the gentility of Jane Austenâs Hampshire; the bleak Suffolk coast that was so dear to Britten seen against the cosiness of Laurie Leeâs Cotswolds; and contrasts in time too, for example in the cityscapes of Delius in Bradford and Lowry in Manchester or more contemporarily Irvine Welshâs Edinburgh. So why not read a good book, or listen to some great music, and lose yourself in the treasure house of art and place that is Cultural Britain. | A E Housmans Shropshire | Arthur Ransomes Coniston Water | Benjamin Britten Country | Bon Scott and Kirriemuir | Burns Country | Cadfael Country | Cider with Rosie Country | Constable | Delius's Bradford | DH Lawrence Country | Dickens and Kent | Dorothy L Sayers - Nine Tailors and the Fens | Dylan Thomas Country | Elgar Country | Irvine Welshs Edinburgh | Jane Austens Hampshire | Kirriemuir and JM Barrie | L.S. Lowrys Greater Manchester | Lorna Doone Country | Morse and Oxford | Pooh Country | Roald Dahl's Buckinghamshire | Shakespeare Country | Sir Walter Scotts Borders | Sir Walter Scotts Trossachs | Tennyson's Lincolnshire Wolds | The Beatles and Liverpool | The Brontes | The Cornwall of Du Maurier | The Darling Buds of May | Thomas Hardy | Vaughn Williams' Surrey Hills | Wind in the Berkshire Willows

Cultural Britain by county:
England: Berkshire(1) | Buckinghamshire(1) | Cambridgeshire(1) | Cornwall(1) | Cumbria(1) | Derbyshire(1) | Dorset(1) | Essex(1) | Gloucestershire(1) | Greater Manchester(1) | Hampshire(1) | Kent(2) | Lincolnshire(1) | Merseyside(1) | Nottinghamshire(1) | Oxfordshire(1) | Shropshire(2) | Somerset(1) | Suffolk(1) | Surrey(1) | Sussex(1) | Warwickshire(1) | West Yorkshire(2) | Worcestershire(1) | Scotland: Ayrshire & Arran(1) | Borders(1) | Edinburgh and the Lothians(2) | Fife(2) | Perthshire(1) | Stirlingshire(1) | Wales: Anglesey(1) | South Wales(1) | West Wales(1) | click for strange British folk customs

County Pages
England: Bath | Bedfordshire | Berkshire | Bristol | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire | Cheshire | Cleveland/Teesside | Cornwall | County Durham | Cumbria | Derbyshire | Devon | Dorset | Essex | Gloucestershire | Greater Manchester | Hampshire | Herefordshire | Hertfordshire | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | London | Merseyside | Norfolk | Northamptonshire | Northumberland | Nottinghamshire | Oxfordshire | Rutland | Shropshire | Somerset | Staffordshire | Suffolk | Surrey | Sussex | Tyne & Wear | Warwickshire | West Midlands | Wiltshire | Worcestershire | East Yorkshire | North Yorkshire | South Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | Scotland: Angus & Dundee | Argyll | Ayrshire & Arran | Borders | Dumfries & Galloway | Edinburgh & the Lothians | Fife | Glasgow | Grampian | Highlands | Isle of Islay | Isle of Mull | Isle of Skye | Lanarkshire | Perthshire | Stirlingshire | Western Isles Wales: Anglesey | Mid Wales | North Wales | South Wales | West Wales | Northern Ireland: Belfast | County Antrim | County Armagh | County Down | County Fermanagh | County Londonderry | County Tyrone Offshore: Guernsey | Jersey | Isle of Man | Isle of Wight | Isles of Scilly | Orkneys | Shetland Isles