Practical travel notes, honest impressions and hidden corners by Marcus Peter Lascelles.
I'm Marcus Peter Lascelles — a writer, slow traveller, and lifelong admirer of the English countryside. For the past decade I've been getting deliberately lost on B-roads, pottering through market towns, and drinking too much tea in village pubs with questionable Wi-Fi.
What began as weekend escapes from a desk job in Bristol has become something altogether more consuming: a quiet obsession with discovering what makes this island extraordinary. The Dales, the Marches, the Fens, the chalk downlands — England rewards patience and a willingness to park the sat-nav.
Here you'll find candid travel journals, practical tips shaped by genuine experience, hidden-gem recommendations, and the occasional editorial on why slow travel is the only travel worth doing.
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A practical guide to buses, trains, and your own two feet
"You don't need a hire car to discover Durham's cobbled lanes, Northumberland's wild coast, or the Victorian grandeur of Newcastle — you just need to know where to look."
The North East of England is one of the country's most rewarding regions for the independent traveller, yet it remains frustratingly overlooked by those who assume it's inaccessible without private transport. Having spent considerable time navigating its towns, moorlands, and coastline using nothing but public transport and a sturdy pair of walking boots, I can say with confidence: it is entirely doable, often wonderfully so.
Guides written from personal experience — no press trips, no sponsorship
Quiet dispatches from English roads, villages, and coastlines — written at my own pace, delivered to yours.
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A selection of notes shared by readers whose England journeys were shaped — in some small part — by these dispatches.
Marcus's piece on the lesser-known lanes of the Cotswolds completely changed our itinerary. We ditched the tourist trail and found a village pub with a fire going and the most extraordinary pie I've ever eaten. That afternoon will stay with us forever.
I'd been to the Lake District twice before and thought I knew it well. One read of the Ullswater back-roads guide on this blog and I realised I'd barely scratched the surface. We drove roads I didn't know existed and had the whole place almost to ourselves. Remarkable.
The practical tips on timing the Yorkshire Dales drive — what time to leave, where to stop for a proper breakfast, which viewpoints catch the morning light — were so specific and so right. This blog reads like advice from a trusted friend who actually knows England.
Have a story from your own England road trip? Write to Marcus — reader notes may appear in future issues.
Exploring England One Road at a Time
A personal journal of slow travel, hidden lanes, market towns, and the quiet character of England — written from the road by Marcus Peter Lascelles.
© 2026 mrmarcuspeterlascelles. All rights reserved.
Written from the road.
