St Albans

Roman walls still circle the old part of town, a proper reminder that this was once Verulamium, one of Britain's most important settlements. St Albans has that rare quality of feeling genuinely lived-in rather than preserved for tourists. The market runs twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, spilling across the cobbles with proper local traders flogging everything from artisan bread to vintage vinyl.

Roman Villa sits quietly in the suburb of Gorhambury, where you can still make out the hypocaust heating system and some decent mosaics. More impressive is the cathedral, built partly from Roman bricks pilfered from the old city. It's a bit of a mongrel architecturally, but all the better for it.

Outside town, the countryside rolls gently towards the Chilterns. Broad Colney Lakes Nature Reserve offers good bird watching if you fancy a gentle afternoon wander. Park Wood provides proper walking territory when you need to stretch your legs after too much cathedral gazing.

Getting here couldn't be easier - direct trains from London St Pancras take just 20 minutes, while the M25 and A1(M) make driving straightforward enough. The surrounding Hertfordshire countryside opens up once you're based at one of the local holiday parks, giving you easy access to both London's attractions and the rolling farmland that still characterizes this corner of the home counties. St Albans strikes that perfect balance between having enough going on to keep you interested without feeling overwhelming.