Don't know if these locales would be too twee for you but perhaps renting a cottage in Bibury or The Slaughters in Gloucestershire would fit the bill. If you are open to larger towns, actually small but handsome cities, I think Warwick or Durham could work for you.

a photo of each place from flickr:

Lower Slaughter (River Windrush)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithan...3640/lightbox/

Bibury (River Coln)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcdemou...8585/lightbox/

Warwick (River Avon)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidno...6515/lightbox/

Durham (River Wear)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3043687...0533/lightbox/

Second vote for the Helford River and Falmouth.

Swim from the little beach at the bottom of Heligan gardens, magical place.

The Pandora inn

http://www.pandorainn.com/

Is about as British pubby as it gets.





I

I guess you could swim in the Slaughters...why not just go over and WADE at Bourton-on-the-Water and EVERYBODY could take your picture, and I do mean everybody!!!

I have always wanted to visit one or more of these cottages. I have been on their email list for ages, but have never had (or made) the time to vacation with them. Grove Cottages: http://www.grove-cottages.co.uk/. Numerous locations to select from, generally, bikes available, and some on the coast. Walking seems to be a big feature, some canoeing, and perhaps the opportunity to borrow a dog to walk.

Other nice small towns with river walks: Salisbury and Winchester. And, of course, anything along the Thames will have access to the Thames River path. But forests other than the New Forest are pretty rare.

There are many delightful villages in the North with rivers running through them.

Burnsall with nearby Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire
Downham where they filmed "Whistle Down the Wind", Lancashire
Hebden Bridge with Hardcastle Craggs - a real gem with strong connections with Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, Yorkshire
Waddington - possibly the nicest village in the North, Lancashire