FCE 1 - TEST 3 - READING 3

 Favourite places

A Bruce

I don't like landscapes which are completely untamed. It's the human element which is important to me. It's the same when I travel abroad. Lovely villages with old temples attract me, not empty deserts. When I was eight, I went away to school in England and on Saturdays I would cycle to the village of Lastingham in its lovely valley. Cycling was a release from school. I loved exploring the bleak hilltops, the sheltered valleys and old villages. Coming from Scotland myself, I found the landscape familiar yet different and I still go back there today. I used to describe my adventures in my private diary. In a way, that was my first attempt at travel writing, at which I subsequently made my name.

B Sophia

There is a miniature railway that goes from Hythe to Dungeness, run by amateurs. I always travel first class as it doesn't cost much more than the regular fare. The scenery is not spectacular. The train moves across Romney Marsh with its sheep, and alongside a canal. But there is one point on the journey that I always look forward to -when our miniature world takes a detour through back gardens. For a few moments, we passengers spy on people at random points in their day, making a cup of tea, doing the washing up, unfolding a deckchair. I see myself in their eyes, a woman in a tiny train carriage, looking into other people's homes. It's the ordinariness of the landscape that attracts me. Just fields and sheep and a distant grey sea. That makes me look more closely, to search for something that opens my eyes.

C Matthew

The Hartland Peninsula is a remote and lovely coast. The beaches are hard to reach and scattered with rocks, so crowds are largely non-existent here. They attract a few brave surfers but most visitors prefer instead to reflect on the majesty of the sea. The coast, which faces the Atlantic, is notorious for shipwrecks. There are coast walks which you can combine with trips inland up beautiful damp valleys, full of oak trees, ferns and wild flowers. We stay in modest self-catering accommodation with a family who have some property in the village of Southole.

D Annette

My favourite place in England is the Trough of Bowland, a landscape of wide-open moorland which is perfect for hiking. There are not many residents and not many visitors either. It's an unknown corner, empty and remote, and I like the feeling of space. I discovered the area by chance when I was a student, and since then I've made an annual visit, either alone, or with my boyfriend, and now with my son. It has changed little since my first visit. Having a child makes these visits more special. It makes me sad that he's growing up in an urban environment.

E James

I purchased Glenthorne, my favourite house in Britain. It was a question of obtaining pure peace and reconnecting with my English roots and coming home. I grew up in what is now known as Sri Lanka, but at the age of twelve went to school in Devon, in the west of England. I used to cycle around the moors and village backstreets. We had a story about a place we would never cycle past: if you went down the driveway you'd never return. That place was Glenthorne. It's the place of my dreams. It's a magic, secluded, romantic house. You can't hear anything except sea, wind and birds.