The Reel of England: Uncovering the Most Quintessentially English County: A Complete Guide

Introduction: The Search for England’s True Character

For any foreign tourist imagining the countryside of England, it is highly unlikely to visualize anything else other than a quilt of green meadows dotted with small cottages made of honey stone, cricket being played on the village green in a courteous manner, and local pubs such as “The Royal Oak” offering hand-pulled ale. However, it must be understood that England is a country with different counties, each having its own distinct history. Therefore, the question as to what single county would be considered quintessentially English needs to be answered through exploration of a place outside the city limits.

Getting off a flight at a big airport may be a good start, with all the noise from the engines and the buzz of many different languages. But the real change does not take place in the sky but rather on the ground. Once you land, the most knowledgeable travelers manage to avoid the disruption of strikes affecting rail transport and overcrowded buses by booking a Heathrow Airport Taxi, which whisks them away straight to the embrace of the bucolic countryside of England. Within the hour, all the modern structures give way to the rustic charm of England’s past.

The Contenders: Why Not the North or the West?

There is Yorkshire, with its striking moorland and indomitable character, or Cornwall, with its mystical Celts and rocky coast. Although definitely English, Yorkshire is perhaps too large and wild, almost an empire unto itself. Cornwall preserves an identity that precedes even English history, as shown by its Brythonic names and pasties. But the idealized England has little to do with romantic coastal vistas and empty moorlands; rather, it is the domesticated countryside of enclosures, sheep, and the upper classes. Such places are found in the south.

For this idealization of the English countryside can be found most perfectly within those counties surrounding London on all sides, namely to the west, south, and east. These include the affluent but increasingly suburban Surrey, the hilly Hampshire with its fantastic New Forest, and even the flat, Holland-like landscapes of East Anglia. One must turn again to the Cotswolds, particularly to the county of Gloucestershire and even to its neighboring county, Oxfordshire.

Gloucestershire: The Postcard Come to Life

It goes without saying that the winner is Gloucestershire, in particular the Cotswold Hills that cross its east side. Why so? Simply because it contains everything in the book and, in this case, cliché is an accolade. In Gloucestershire, villages with limestone architecture such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury, and Castle Combe (which, strictly speaking, is located in Wiltshire, yet belongs to Cotswold), have stayed in a state of arrested development since the eighteenth century. Their streets are not paved with gold; instead, they are paved with golden-colored oolite stone that glimmers under even the most overcast skies of winter.

It can hardly be doubted that the archetypical county of England must have also been the most literary one. Gloucestershire is the homeland of Laurie Lee's "Cider with Rosie" and, therefore, of the quintessence of an idyllic English countryside experience. Its landmarks include royal Cheltenham, cathedral city of Gloucester, with beautiful cloisters that stand for a Hogwarts' hall in the movies about Harry Potter, and forest of Dean, whose antiquity reminds of something mythological, preceding Roman Britain.

Oxfordshire: The Scholarly Runner-Up

No discussion of the archetypal English county would be complete without mention of Oxfordshire. Where Gloucestershire is the pastoral archetype, Oxfordshire is the intellectual and institutional embodiment of England. The spires of Oxford are as famous as any thatched cottages. But a county is more than a town. Oxfordshire's villages, like Great Tew, Burford, and Dorchester on Thames, provide a similar honey-colored stone architecture. Nevertheless, the identity of Oxfordshire is somewhat compromised by its university community. Gloucestershire, however, remains more true to form with nature acting as the county's university.

Logistical efficiency is necessary for the foreigner visiting any of the two shires. For example, after spending time in the grand Bodleian Library or punting along the river Cherwell, the traveler traveling north to catch a plane needs a trustworthy taxi company. This is because if a subsequent stop involves catching a flight from London’s second largest airport, he will order a Taxi to Luton Airport to guarantee a seamless transfer from the serene shires to the tarmac. However, before rushing to the airport, the pilgrim will have stayed long enough to acquaint himself with a lifestyle that has not changed for over a century.

The Decisive Factors: Slow Pace, Real Ale, and Accents

It is the cultural indicators that make a place quintessentially English as opposed to just being pretty English. First, the accent. Being located at the junction between West Country and Home Counties, Gloucestershire has a soft, rural burr accent that isn’t cockney nor upper class. Second, the foods; the Double Gloucester cheese, the real ale from the Donnington brewery where deliveries are made using a horse-drawn dray, and lastly, the Gloucestershire old spot pig. Third, the traditions; Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling event, Tetbury woolsack races and hundreds of village cricket clubs.

There is no other county that can boast about having as many quintessentially English experiences as Gloucestershire. For example, while there is Thomas Hardy for Dorset, there is also its coastal area. Then again, while there is constable sky for Suffolk, it doesn’t have the rolling hill which imagination needs. The quintessentially English scenery – an inclining green hill populated with sheep, a dry stone wall, a lone oak tree, and a tower of a Norman church – isn’t vague. It is distinctly that of the Cotswold escarpment.

Why Not Kent (The Garden of England)?

Kent has been dubbed the “Garden of England,” and rightly so. Its orchards, oast houses, and white cliffs are all very beautiful. Yet the county’s closeness to London and proximity to the Channel Tunnel have made it into a transport corridor. Highways and express trains have carved out its landscape. The county’s sense of remoteness from everything in terms of its Englishness is diminished. The traditional county may very well feel somewhat lost in time, somewhere the twenty-first century can only pay a temporary visit. Gloucestershire, more specifically, Gloucestershire north of the Cotswolds near Chipping Campden, still possesses that quality of slowness.

Conclusion: A Living Museum, Not a Theme Park

So, the most quintessentially English county in all of England is Gloucestershire. There is no shortage of competitors, but Gloucestershire prevails because its character is uniquely its own. It provides the archetype for the English countryside that is exported to the rest of the world through movies such as The Holiday, whose locations include the Cotswold village of Shere - although Shere is located in the county of Surrey, its architecture is unmistakably Gloucestershire. It combines perfectly well-preserved Roman heritage (Cirencester), magnificent medieval architecture (Tewkesbury Abbey), and pristine pastoral beauty (Slad Valley).

For anyone who arrives there with a curiosity, the transition from the global cacophony of the airport terminal to the eternal click of a clock at a village hall is inevitable. No matter how one gets there (by private car service or public bus), the end result is the same. Gloucestershire is the archetype, not a copy of England. Gloucestershire is the county that features ringing of the church bells for evensong, where strangers will say "good morning" while walking down a path, and where the history is more than just an exhibit - it is your very surroundings.