Quiet Country Within Hour’s Reach of London

“In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire,” according to Henry Higgins’ protege, “hurricanes hardly happen.” In fact, they’re as rare as North American tourists, who usually congregate in London, Bath, Stratford-on-Avon, Cambridge, Oxford and other worthy but over-visited places.

When I want a taste of the real England--where the scenery and food are mostly for local consumption, not tarted up for tourists--I head for the country. My favorite places are about an hour from London and can be reached by train, bus or car.

Like many people I go for nostalgia. Where else can you drive over hill and dale in a rental car listening to the world’s longest-running radio soap opera (“The Archers”) and returning the curious gazes of sheep?

And it doesn’t hurt that the cost of a stay in the country is about $20-$100 (for a double room), compared to an average $133-$150 at London hotels.

If you don’t know where to begin, follow Londoners on Friday nights as they head for nearby Hampshire, a favorite stomping ground. They regularly descend on quaint villages where they’re known as “the Green Wellie brigade” by locals who insist that the mud on their Wellington boots is artificial.

You’ll find them in front of the open-hearth fire in places such as the Hatchet in Lower Chute, a sprawling 16th-Century establishment and one of many country pubs that offer bed and breakfast accommodations.

Or you might consider a stay in Tunbridge Wells, an old spa town in Kent southeast of London. It’s only 20 miles from Gatwick Airport and is on a rail line.

From there you can view the hop fields while on day trips to, say, Canterbury Cathedral or Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s home.

Wells, in Somerset, is England’s smallest cathedral city. It’s seldom on a tourist’s checklist, being only 18 miles south of popular Bath. By day you can brave Bath’s crowds and tour buses to see its great abbey and Roman baths, then retire at night to one of Wells’ old coaching inns.

Wells is short on crowds but long on charm. Well water still flows through the gutters of the city streets. Take a walk before dinner to see the impeccable grounds of the Bishop’s Palace and the carved figures on the face of its 14th-Century cathedral lit by the setting sun.

This is Cheddar country, so stop at the cheese shop on the market square. Or you can make an excursion to watch workers at Lord Chewton’s nearby cheese factory making tall, cylindrical truckles of Cheddar like the ones for sale at Bath’s daily market.

Also southwest of London is hilly Wiltshire, home of mysterious Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral, which boasts the tallest medieval spire in the world (404 feet) and one of four Magna Carta originals.

For accommodations, try one of the area’s many fine village pubs or the Red Lion, a Salisbury coaching inn whose curiosities include a mechanized wooden clock carved by Spanish prisoners in Armada days.

Wiltshire fare--ham, bacon, and sausages--is an added incentive to venture this way. Contrary to England’s undeserved reputation for dreary and unseasoned food, I’ve found home-cooked meals here and elsewhere both generous and tasty.

The Horseshoe Inn in Ebbesbourne Wake draws a crowd on Sunday for its excellent roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding ($6.25; $9.50 for three courses).

Drawing those with a sweet tooth westward are the cream teas available throughout the counties of Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon. I nearly despaired of getting my mother home again once she got used to a mid-morning break of tea and a fluffy scone served with strawberry jam and heavy cream thickened to spreading consistency.

Travelers heading north from London for Oxford, where finding a parking space can take hours, may want to stay in a quiet town like Thame (pronounced tame). There, off the M40 road, I found refuge at Essex House, a sparkling Georgian brick hotel where the chirping of birds in the garden is about as noisy as it gets, and the breakfast menu includes quail eggs.

Finding a place to sleep in England’s shires can be done in many ways. If you travel in early spring or late fall when the weather is unpredictable, there’s less competition for lodgings. You can stop at whatever strikes your fancy. I make it a habit to find something by 4 p.m. (earlier on weekends or near London) to minimize chances of having to hunt a room in the dark on unfamiliar roads.

If you’re gregarious, try word of mouth. It’s sometimes the best method. Once it found me a cozy room in a huge 16th-Century Gloucestershire farmhouse with two-foot-thick stone walls.

Another foggy evening near Devon’s south coast, an inquiry at the pub where I had dined led me to stay in a congenial sea captain’s home across the road.

If you are more reserved, go to one of the Tourist Information centers. For a 10% deposit and sometimes a small fee, the helpful staff will find you accommodations from simple homes and farmhouses to luxury inns.

Britrail’s train pass costs $179 for eight days in economy class, but doesn’t get you into many of the smaller towns and villages. It may be worthwhile if you’re covering great distances or are using trains frequently. You can reach places such as Tunbridge Wells, Salisbury and Bath by rail, but a rental car is needed for traveling the back roads, unless you use the network of local buses.

If you rent a car, don’t forget extra costs such as Britain’s 14.8% value-added tax and fees for personal accident and collision damage insurance. The tax is unavoidable, but you may be able to get the insurance fees waived by using a gold credit card or by proving that your own automobile insurance policy covers you. (Take along a photocopy.)

Driving on the left side of the road is tricky. Be sure to ask the car-rental company for a guide to road signs and rules. Study them before you set out. If you’re going off the beaten path, a detailed Ordnance Survey map, available in bookstores everywhere, is a must.

The location of England’s more than 500 Tourist Information centers is well marked by signs. Each center provides information for a 50-mile radius. Travel directions and hotel, restaurant and sightseeing information are free.

Book A Bed Ahead helps travelers find accommodations in the area or beyond, for a deposit or a small fee. The centers offer booklets listing various types of accommodations, including number of rooms, facilities and rates. All are inspected annually and classified according to comfort and facilities.

Other useful guides available in bookstores are Egon Ronay’s “Lucas Guide” 1989 (St. Martin’s Press) and “The Best Pubs of Great Britain,” 16th edition (Globe Pequot Press, 138 W. Main St., Box Q, Chester, Conn. 06412.)

Other recommendations:

--The Star Hotel, High Street, Wells, Somerset. Features a cobbled inner courtyard with a pub on one side and a restaurant on the other. Ask for the renovated rooms with four-posters. Doubles with bath and breakfast, $70. Major credit cards.

--Chewton Cheese Dairy, Chewton Mendip. Open seven days a week about noon, for cheese-making tours and catered picnics. Restaurant serves cream teas and farmhouse lunches, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closes at 4 p.m. January-March.

--Red Lion Inn, 4 Milford St., Salisbury, Wilt. SP1 2AM. Doubles with breakfast, $116. Table d’hote dinner: Sunday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, beginning at 7 a.m., $20. Major credit cards.

--The Horseshoe Inn, Ebbesbourne Wake, Wilts. SP5 5JF. Two guest rooms in genial village pub near Salisbury, $25-$30 with full breakfast. Home-cooked lunches and dinners.

--Royal Wells Inn, Mount Ephraim, Kent TN4 8BE. 19th-Century hotel with excellent food and dining facilities. Doubles with bath and breakfast, $108 ($116 for four-poster rooms). Major credit cards accepted.

--Sainthill Farm Guest House, Churcham, Gloucester GL2 8AJ. Homey B&B; on large cattle farm seven miles from Gloucester. $20 per person for room and farm breakfast.

--Orchard House Hotel, Watersmeet Road, Lynmouth, Devon EX35 6EP. Small whitewashed hotel above the harbor. Doubles with breakfast, $21 per person. Meals available on request.

--The Hatchet Inn, Lower Chute, Hampshire SP11 9DX. 300-year-old thatched pub near Andover. Family flat in adjacent building, $46 a night.

--The Feathers Hotel, High Street, Ledbury, Herts. HR8 1DS. Luxury accommodations in an Elizabethan coaching inn. Doubles with bath and TV, $100-$131. Prix fixe dinner, $22 inclusive. Accepts Amex and Access cards.

--Essex House, Chinnor Road, Thame, Oxon OX9 3LS. Doubles with bath and breakfast, $80 a night ($63 weekends). Accepts Visa and Access cards.