For anyone who’d like to road-test life in the country, I have the perfect location.
Dreams of sheep-dotted dales and dry-stone walls are a reality on a staycation in Middleton-in-Teesdale, a picturesque market town popular with walkers in County Durham.
You can become the lead character in your very own Aga-saga if you stay at High Thearns, an immaculate, three-bedroom former cow byre, situated just a five-minute walk from the high street, which is full of independent shops and tearooms.