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3 Valentine’s Day “classics” that have inspired British authors

Romance is created by many different things – landscapes, music, food and art can all spark the emotion of romance. Over the years artists, playwrights and authors have been inspired by the UK’s beautiful stunning landscapes, towns and villages to create some of the world’s most famous works. These same locations can provide a perfect romantic getaway to enjoy rugged scenery, historical culture or a stone cottage with a roaring fire.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Known as Shakespeare’s country, the birth place of William Shakespeare is set in picturesque countryside and being surrounded by Shakespearean history is well known as a romantic retreat. Stratford-Upon-Avon provides an insight of romance in past times: William Shakespeare himself fell in love here with Anne Hathaway whose house is now open to the public; he died here and is buried alongside his love and their eldest daughter in the grade I listed Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Close by, the Royal Shakespeare theatre re-opened in 2010 after a large renovation project and is built close to the original site for the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.

The surrounding Malvern Hills are lovely to explore and looking out across the hills with the sky stretching out beyond stimulates feelings of tranquillity and peacefulness.

The Lake District

The Lake District provided inspiration for the “Lakes Poets”, a group of poets including William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. With light reflecting off the lakes, mountains casting shadows and stunning skies with breath-taking views the inspiration for writing, painting and drawing is all around. Organising a romantic break in the Lakes is not a difficult thing to plan with natural beauty surrounding the towns and villages that are part of this area.

William Wordsworth was born in the old market town of Cockermouth, the house he was born in is now owned by the National trust and open to visitors. Cockermouth is extremely pretty and peaceful with mountains and lakes close by.

Wordsworth also spent time in his mother’s hometown of nearby Penrith exposing him to the wildness of the Moors and perhaps inspired some of the melancholy in his poetry.

The Pennines

Part of the Pennines and surrounding areas are known as Bronte’ country – the name coming from the famous authors Bronte’ sisters authors of classic novels Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. This area encompasses rugged and outstandingly wild beautiful countryside and was the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. The village of Haworth was home to the sisters where they lived at the village parsonage and wrote their novels while their father attended to duties as Reverend in the nearby church. Now a museum owned and maintained by the Bronte trust the house is a must to visit.

The Pennine Way National trail is a staggering 260 miles of rugged hills and mountain tops that passes through Bronte country and on past Hadrians’ Wall – taking the full trail can take anywhere up to 20 days, but that’s not stopping you from enjoying the beauty through shorter sections of the route.

Visit any of the above and immerse yourself in the history, enjoy the culture and let romance take over.

Mark Davis is Search Marketing Director at HomeAway.

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