17 trips to book a year in advance: from sun-drenched road trips to off-grid wilderness explorations

Best for: easy, restorative jaunts

We’re firm believers that you don’t necessarily need to board a plane in order to get that ‘holiday feeling’. Life is busy (beautiful, but busy), and the absence of a luggage weight limit, customs closure times and crowded airports is sometimes the biggest gift you can give yourself when booking a trip in advance. Which is why England has made it into our top 15 trips to book for next year.

England’s landscapes offer a surprising breadth of adventure for such a compact country, from the rugged drama of the Lake District to the chalk cliffs and wildflower-strewn downs of the South East and the mellow, biscuit-hued villages that string all of this together. A rich tapestry of moors that feel wonderfully remote, market towns that hum with independent food producers, and stretches of coastline where seals bob with the rhythm of the waves can all be woven together into a hearty staycation, with the added ease of just being able to ring up and book. Outdoorsy types can opt for hiking along windswept coastal paths in Cornwall, paddleboarding through still-water estuaries in Devon, or following ancient woodland trails in the New Forest, while those who prefer a slower pace can settle into long lunches at quaint English vineyards (Chapel Down in Kent and Rathfinny in Sussex, to name a few), wander through Sculpture Parks or spend languid afternoons in honey-stone villages where the loudest sound is often the church bell.

For those seeking the same sense of escape on a gentler scale, a clutch of estates across England is quietly rethinking the country house stay. Just outside London, The Grove in Hertfordshire is a firm family favourite, amid rolling parkland and its own championship golf course. The addition of two quaint cottages tucked into the grounds now offers a more private way to experience the estate, complete with its own golf buggy with which to explore the activities on offer, from mini landrover rides to archery and falconry. Further north, The Tawny in Staffordshire offers a more immersive relationship with the landscape, where architecturally considered treehouses and lakeside retreats complement rewilded gardens, slow food and miles of paths to explore. While in Hampshire, Avington Park Estate leans into its historic setting, pairing grand riverside scenery with elegant accommodation and access to fishing, open-water swimming and a string of tailored wellness facilities, including sauna pods and yoga weekends.

All this, though, with the caveat that the best Great British staycations get booked up 12 months in advance, so it’s worth getting your reservation in early, especially when travelling during peak periods. Anya Meyerowitz