HURTLING west, bound perhaps for the soft sand beaches of south Devon or the thunderous surf of Cornwall, brings the promise of lazy days, picnicking alfresco, immersion in an absorbing book, invigorating clifftop walks and a brief hiatus from the humdrum of everyday life. The destination is utopian, but reaching it can be as far removed from paradise as it is possible to imagine, for there are few fast roads that join the A30, which has the ultimate responsibility for transporting travellers into Britain's deep South-West.
The three-lane M5, which begins at West Bromwich and ends in Exeter, is businesslike, monotonous and built for swift journey times, barring when accidents induce tailbacks or sheer volume of traffic forces cars and lorries to a crawl. By contrast, the more southern A303, the best bet for Londoners leaving the capital or Home Counties residents escaping the likes of Sussex, Kent and Surrey, is renowned for its quirkiness, its frustratingly lengthy queues and its indecision-it switches from one to two lanes and back again with alarming regularity once past Solstice Services. Its twists and turns can necessitate repeated stomping on the brakes and its hills bring articulated lorries to a near standstill, together with their following packs of lighter vehicles. According to National Highways, there are in excess of 100 accidents along the route annually.
Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
