How long is it since you felt the dew on early morning grass or watched the metallic gleam of dragon flies hovering beside a pond?

If the answer is ‘never’ or n’ot for a long time’, then we recommend a rural self-catering holiday.

Nature is for everyone and not a just a topic in primary school. One of the most popular BBC television programmes is ‘Countryfile’ which explores various aspects of the British countryside through the seasons and is followed by thousands. Encounter the countryside personally, not just visually through an electronic box. Take the children for a stay in the country and you will view the countryside through new eyes as you introduce them to plants and animals that they may have never seen before.

You will need somewhere to stay in the country and rural holiday cottages and pine lodges are the most comfortable form of accommodation. There is nothing nicer than having your own spacious holiday home with a front door that you can close when you prefer to rest and be alone.

Out and about in the countryside can be most surprising. How often have you driven down a narrow lane only to be met by an enormous flock of sheep coming directly towards you? All you can do is to sit it out until they pass.

You might be amazed to find herds of shaggy Highland cattle grazing peacefully on the Isle of Wight or of fields of bison and llama in Sussex and herds of deer in lots of locations.

I love to see those fierce country ‘guard dogs’, a flock of geese protecting their patch and beware anyone who comes to close because they will follow and hiss at your heels leaving you feeling quite silly as you gingerly retreat.

Stumbling across fungi can be quite fascinating, there are those that are as large as dinner plates and others that should belong in fairyland. Children love to hear tales of fairies and goblins and circles of mushrooms may just prompt your imagination.

On holiday in the country, you will encounter stiles, village greens, some with the old village pump as a momento of the past. Here is your chance to discuss the progress of technology throughout history and discuss how life is so much better now that we have hot and cold running water in our houses.

You and your family might just return from the countryside having had a wonderful time, a lot more educated and grateful that we were born in modern times.

Find a good quality family holiday cottage and appreciate Great Britain.