Toasty Tipis

Country or city? Or a bit of both? If you want to stick to the former, the folk here recommend getting your comfy shoes on for the hour-long walk to Long Itchington to sample local ales in the village’s pubs, or taking to two wheels on a nearby chunk of National Cycle Route 41. Should your break be incomplete without a gander at a grand old country pile or two, there are fine examples to visit at 12th-century Charlecote Park (20 minutes’ drive) and Compton Verney (15 minutes), where an excellent art collection is displayed in the handsome surrounds of a Robert Adam-designed mansion (and surrounded by gardens from the designs of Capability Brown). For more of a contrast to your days, mix in urban outings to visit the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa (10 minutes), stroll around the castle in Warwick (20 minutes) or see where Shakespeare used to hang out, and maybe catch one of his shows in Stratford-upon-Avon (half an hour).