Some ideas of places in England to go away from the normal tourist sights. Certainly my top three parts of rural England

1) Northumberland - the coastline around Bamburgh and Alnmouth, Lindisfarne, and a few points inland such as Cragside

2) The New Forest (this one *is* only just over the hour from London) West and inland from Southampton, East of Ringwood

3) Almost anywhere along the border with Wales - particularly the Wye Valley North of Chepstow (which isn't quite in England, but still...)

And while you're about it you could also go for

4) Suffolk, just North of Ipswich, around Aldeburgh with its associations with Benjamin Britten

5) Dorset - Abbotsbury is one of my favourite spots in England but the whole coastline around places like Bridport and Lyme Regis is wonderful

6) The North Yorks moors, South of Whitby - for beautiful hill scenery.

And if you aren't determined to limit yourself to England, think about going to the Brecon Beacons in Wales, or possibly going into Scotland

These are all quite close to the coast, which reflects my own personal tastes a little but also some idea of what is special to England.