Shires England — The

You don’t visit the Shires. You return to them.

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There is a version of England that exists beyond the M25. You find it when the dual carriageway narrows to a single lane, lined with cow parsley and hawthorn. This is the land of the Shires. the shires england

The word "shire" comes from the Old English scir , meaning a care or charge. And indeed, these counties feel cared for —not in a museum way, but in a lived-in, weathered way. You don’t visit the Shires

📍 • Yorkshire – God’s own county. Moors, dales, and the friendliest welcome. • Cotswolds (Glos/Oxon/Warks) – Postcard-perfect. Think Bourton-on-the-Water & Chipping Campden. • Shropshire – "The quiet one." Hills, castles, and hardly a tourist in sight. • Kent – The Garden of England. Orchards, oast houses, and white cliffs. • Devon & Cornwall – Cream teas (jam first? debate below) and rugged coastlines. You find it when the dual carriageway narrows

Why The Shires of England Still Define ‘Home’

From the limestone escarpments of the to the wild moors of the North York Moors , each shire has its own dialect, its own cheese, its own way of doing things. In Shropshire , they’ll point you to the Long Mynd. In Norfolk , the sky goes on forever. In Leicestershire , the pork pies are a religion.