Ver Berkmoes - England: Lonely planet guide

Oxford, the
Cotswolds
& Around

The West Midlands
& the Marches

Cumbria & the
Lake District

Throughout its long history, its been a green and pleasant land, a sceptred isle and a nation of shopkeepers. Its stood as a beacon of democracy and a bastion of ideological freedom, as well as a crucible of empire and a cradle of class oppression. The Magna Carta, the King James Bible and the welfare state were all dreamt up here, but then again so were beer bellies, Bovril and Mr Bean. Its a nation of tea-tippling eccentrics and train spotters, of dog lovers and footy fanatics, of punk rockers, gardeners, gnome collectors, celebrity wannabees, superstar chefs, free-wheeling city traders, pigeon fanciers, cricket bores and part-time Morris Dancers. To some its Albion. To others its Blighty. To many its the most eccentric, extraordinary and downright incomprehensible place on earth. Welcome to England.

Few places can boast such a muddle of conflicting characters as this tiny country. Its a place where contradiction is soaked into the fabric of the landscape. For every green field and rolling dale, theres a flat fen or wind-battered stretch of coastline, and for every faded seaside resort, historic castle and thatch-topped village theres a gleaming new skyscraper, concrete office block or carbuncular car park to match.

Its a nation in thrall to its history but also addicted to a constant process of reinvention. Shiny new cappuccino bars, chain pubs and out-of-town shopping centres have plugged the gap left behind by closing post offices, country inns and village shops. Rural villages are filling up with second-homers and urban refugees, while the old smog-blackened cities of Englands northern heartland are finding new leases of life as centres of cultural adventure and artistic innovation. But while change is rampant in some corners, others remain stubbornly resistant to progress: despite huge investment, the trains havent improved that much, the National Health Service still doesnt work and England still cant string a few wins together at cricket (or football, or rugby, or tennis). Even the old NorthSouth divide is still alive and well: ask any northerner what they think about having to foot the multi-million-pound bill for London to host the 2012 Olympics, and chances are the answer wont be all that complimentary.

After a decade of unprecedented growth, soaring house prices and booming profits, underpinned by some dubious financial wheezes in the City, it looks like Englands financial bubble has finally popped. As we go to press in late 2008, the property market is in freefall, petrol prices had gone through the roof and unemployment, food prices and inflation are all on the rise. And no one neither the cabbies nor the newspaper commentators, and certainly not the mandarins and spin-doctors in Whitehall seems to have the foggiest idea where England is headed as the global downturn bites and the shadow of recession looms.

But beyond the dreaded return to boom-and-bust economics, there are deeper schisms at work. In the wake of continuing devolution of power from the central government to regionally elected assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Englands own identity has become a subject of fierce debate. Theres even the possibility that the centuries-old Union could be at risk of breaking up with consequences not just for Englands bank balance, but also for the nations fundamental sense of self. This cuts to the heart of some profound questions about what the notion of Englishness means in a globalised, homogenised world, about the values, beliefs and institutions that bind the country together. Ever nervous about causing unnecessary conflict between the countrys increasingly polarised communities black and white, Muslim and Christian, North and South, town and country England finds itself stuck in a kind of ideological limbo, with people wary of taking a stance that might be misinterpreted or misrepresented by the headline-hungry jackals of the British media.

This national process of soul-searching chimes in with a growing sense of unease about where English society is headed. A recent spate of stabbings and shootings coupled with the growing gang culture in many English cities, plus the continuing divisiveness of the wars in the Middle East and the fallout from the 7/7 tube bombings (committed by British-born extremists) all hint at the disaffection and disillusionment felt by many English communities. Even the most unbiased observer would have to admit that theres something slightly awry in a country that has more CCTV and speed cameras than anywhere else in Europe and where the nations kids have been dubbed the unhappiest in the Western World according to a recent Unicef poll.

Its perhaps unsurprising that record numbers of people are giving Blighty the boot in favour of pastures new. But others are opting to stay in England and go back to the land, quitting the cities for slower, greener, more sustainable lives in the countryside. Transition towns, organic farms, yurt campsites, rooftop wind-generators and grow-your-own vegetable patches are all the rage in England. In a world staring down the barrel of irreversible climate change, Englands newfound eco-consciousness might have arrived in the nick of time.

So while there may be choppy waters ahead, if theres one thing this plucky little nation has proven down the centuries, its resilience (so long as theres a nice hot mug of tea to hand, of course). More than 2000 years of history are packed into this pocket-sized island, and no matter what the future may hold, the true jewels in Englands crown its country houses, castles and chocolate-box villages, its landmark monuments and buzzing music scene, its sweeping countryside, revitalised cities and extraordinary coastline remain as bright and untarnished as ever. The wars are still raging, the economys looking dicey and the weathers as reliably awful as ever, but one things for certain England hasnt had her day just yet.