A Town Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a dash of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly, nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.
Aesop, The Town Mouse & the Country Mouse (from the Library of Congress)
Are you a town mouse or a country mouse? Personally I choose the bustle and activity of city life over that in the country, although I can see the benefits that the latter offers. A bit of peace and quiet would be welcome sometimes, I admit. However, I can’t envisage living in a location where I can’t walk, or take easy public transport, to all the entertainments I enjoy, such as the cinema and galleries. I can’t envisage not having a wide choice of restaurants almost on my doorstep. And I can’t envisage the complexities of frequent travel abroad when an international airport isn’t within easy reach!
In Aesop’s fable the Country Mouse goes on to visit the Town Mouse, where enjoyment of ‘the leavings of a very fine banquet’ is interrupted by the appearance of a cat.
‘You may have luxuries and dainties that I have not,’ she said as she hurried away, ‘but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.’
Aesop’s moral is that: ‘Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty’. However, I first came across this fable as a child in Beatrix Potter’s retelling, ‘The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse’. Wikipedia describes her version thus:
… she inverted the order of the visits, with the country mouse going to the city first, being frightened by a cat and disliking the food. Returning the visit later, the town mouse is frightened of the rain, the lawnmower and the danger of being stepped on by cows. The story concludes with the reflection that tastes differ.
Two versions of the same story, two different conclusions. But both versions demonstrate that wherever we choose to live there are pluses and minuses. For Tina’s Lens Artists challenge I want to show the contrasts but also the similarities between town and country here in England. For the ‘town’ images I focused on my home city of London and my particular suburb therein, Ealing. Meanwhile the rural ones are drawn from various country stays. Because although I love my city life I can’t fail to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of our countryside, and always enjoy visiting rural areas.
I chose my feature photo, taken in my local Walpole Park, to illustrate that even in the city we can find areas that look and feel like the country! It’s also a lovely reminder of how beautiful autumn can be as we head into that season.
Views
Town
Looking towards Docklands from Greenwich Park, London
Country
Swaledale, North Yorkshire
Rivers
Town
Waterloo Bridge over the River Thames, London
Country
The River Tyne near Wylam, Northumberland
Lakes
Town
The lake in St James’s Park, London
Country
Bolam Lake, Northumberland
Beaches
Town
Beach on the Thames, near Blackfriars Bridge, London
Country
The beach at Durdle Door, Dorset
Wildlife
Town
Squirrel in St James’s Park, London
Country
Grey seals at Blakeney Point, Norfolk
Birds
Town
Robin in Walpole Park, Ealing
Country
Chaffinches on a gate post, Muker, North Yorkshire
Flowers
Town
Wildflower planting in Lammas Park, Ealing
Country
Bluebells in a Sussex wood
Homes
Town
Houses in Notting Hill, London
Country
Thatched cottage in Minster Lovell, in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds
Traditions
Town
Carnival by the Thames, London
Country
Rushbearing in Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire
78 Comments
navasolanature
Am no longer sure. I spent some days in London and quite nostalgic but think am country mouse now with occasional trips to London where I grew up, but by the river and much green!
Sarah Wilkie
From comments here it seems we are pretty evenly divided between the two, which is just as well as we can’t all live in the same place!
Marie
I’m with you on this one Sarah – love the countryside but always delighted to come home to all the amenities of my urban life! A great take on the challenge – you must have really enjoyed putting it all together…
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, this was a fun one to compile, trying to find appropriate parallels 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it Marie and to hear you’re another town mouse!
wetanddustyroads
I like how you approached this photo challenge. You’re right that there are pluses and minuses to every option, I see myself as a ‘country mouse’ (but I think you know that). I have two favourite photos – the lake photo in London (town – check) and Swaledale (country – check). Thanks for the beautiful comparison!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Corna 🙂 Yes, I know you’re a country mouse, so I’m especially pleased you liked the St James’s Park lake – it’s one of my favourite spots in London. And Swaledale is just gorgeous!
SoyBend
Nice way to approach the challenge, Sarah! I liked the two lake photos and the one of the seals on the shore.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Siobhan, and I’m pleased you like those photos 🙂
Suzanne@PictureRetirement
Sarah, I love how you organized this post. The contrasts are startling, but I was most soothed by your countryside photos. That beach in Dorset is just my cup of tea. As much as I love to visit both the countryside and big cities, I prefer to live in the quiet of a small town – less complicated and easier to navigate life.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Suzanne 🙂 The Dorset coastline is beautiful! But I found your comment about small towns interesting. Maybe it’s different in the US but I feel one of the downsides of living in a small town here is that it makes life more complicated as you don’t have everything you need within easy reach. Our countryside offers us peace and quiet, but the pay-off is that some of the necessities and desirables of life aren’t always easy to access! Where I live I can walk to shops, to the doctors etc. I can get to the nearest hospital by bus and to all the resources that London offers within less than an hour by Tube train. In our rural areas people are totally dependent on their cars so if there comes a time you can no longer drive you would be stuck. Our rural public transport is very patchy, and my impression is that in the US it is non-existent?
Suzanne@PictureRetirement
You are right Sarah. We are completely dependent on our cars in the US. Our transportation system is underdeveloped and does not cater to small towns and rural areas, and with the exception of New York and Boston, our big cities weren’t designed with ‘neighborhoods’ or to be walkable. Miami has been redeveloping with walkability in mind for the past 15 years, but before that, cars were essential.
Sarah Wilkie
We have a car but I would hate to be dependent on it, especially for evenings out (we both enjoy a glass of wine or two) 🙂
grandmisadventures
I’m a country mouse all the way- give me back roads and small town any day over the bustle of a city:)
Sarah Wilkie
I’m not surprised at that Meg, given how many lovely rural hikes you share on your blog!
Leya
Great post, Sarah, with clever organizeation for comparison. You made both places look good!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Ann-Christine 😊 I’m glad you think I made both places look good as that was my intention!
photobyjohnbo
A wonderful comparative gallery, Sarah! I, too, enjoy the amenities of city services nearby, though our North Dakota city isn’t a major metropolis. The advantage is that it’s only 10 minutes to the countryside, and if that’s too long, the city parks are a slice of country views.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John 😊 It sounds like you too have found a ‘best of both worlds’ place to live!
Sofia Alves
I love your comparisons, Sarah. And I have to agree with you, the countryside is ok for a few days but not longer 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sofia 😊 Good to know you’re another city lover – I’m not surprised having seen so many great photos of Glasgow from you!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Country for me. Of the various places I’ve lived, my unchallenged favourite was on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. Beautiful countryside, rural setting in a small town, but easy access to both London and Brighton. Love cities, as you know, but the peace of the countryside is where I prefer my base to be.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, I know your preference is for the country Phil – although you’re so rarely at home I’m not sure it matters!
thehungrytravellers.blog
😂
Alison
Loved the retelling of both the stories Sarah. You live in the best city in the world. Nowhere beats London, I love going back time and again. I feel very privileged being born there and also working there. I did not know there was a beach at Blackfriars! I wonder if people are brave enough to swim
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison 😊 I do love London but I’m not sure it’s the very best city – I’ve always had a hankering to live in Paris or New York though I doubt I’ll do so now. As for that little patch of beach, I don’t think anyone would swim there but I have seen children paddling.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
I can see that although you love my city life I can see how you appreciate and enjoy the beauty of your countryside, and enjoy visiting rural areas.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s it exactly – I love living in a city but can also enjoy the countryside 😀 Thanks Ritva
Leanne Cole
These look great Sarah, wonderful way to show them both. I would want both.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks very much Leanne 😊 Judging by your own response you pretty much HAVE both!
Wind Kisses
A lovely approach Sarah. You make me want both, which is usually the true me anyway.
Sarah Wilkie
Both would be great but failing that I think our leafy suburb is a reasonable compromise! Thanks Donna 🙂
equinoxio21
Excellent contrasts…
What on earth is rushbearing?
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 Rushbearing dates back to the days when church floors were spread with rushes which got gradually dirtier over the course of a year and therefore had to be changed when the new harvests were in. See: https://rushbearing.com/about-rushbearing/history/
equinoxio21
Interesting. I hate to think of the fire hazard with likely torches lit in the church. What a nice custom… Thank you.
Anonymous
What a fun post! I am more of a city mouse but I do love to visit the country every once in a while!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you ‘anonymous’ – we seem to be in agreement of visiting the country from time to time but choosing the city to live in 🙂
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
I like the way you have arranged your contrasts. Like you, I am wedded to the city and having everything on my doorstep. I like staying in more out of the way places but a week is usually enough!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anabel 🙂 Yes, I think based on your monthly round-up of activities we have a lot in common in our enjoyment of city life!
Wandering Dawgs
Sarah, beautiful photos of both the country and city.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much 😊
Klausbernd
Dear Sarah
We always find the town/city pictures more interesting than the country ones. It seems to us that the country pictures are much more alike, they
follow an iconographic cliché.
Thanks for showing your pictures
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
That’s an interesting point although I’m not sure I agree. There can be so much variety in landscapes even within one country and when you look at the different environments around the world, even more so. Deserts, mountains, open plains, rolling hills, lakes and rivers, forests and jungles … Arguably modern cities are more homogenous than rural environments, with the rise of globalisation?
Klausbernd
Dear Sarah
No doubt, there are a lot of different landscapes. But as I look at photographs, photographers seem to photograph them quite similarly. I suppose this has to do with our (romantic) concept of an idyllic landscape.
Klausbernd 🙂
Easymalc
Some great choices here Sarah. Personally, I’ve enjoyed living at different locations at different times of my life and I’ve enjoyed them all. As I’ve grown older, my perspective on where to live has changed along the way.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Malcolm 🙂 Interesting, I always assumed my perspective on where to live would change as I got older, but so far it hasn’t!
Tanja
Great comparisons. I’m a town mouse too but I have been enjoying the countryside more lately
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tanja 🙂 I always enjoy the countryside, I just wouldn’t want to live there!
Anonymous
We are two opposite ends of the spectrum Sarah but I do enjoy my infrequent forays into cities from time to time. Thanks for your post and the contrasting photographs – especially the Sowerby Bridge one that we watched again only a couple of weeks ago.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you – I’m guessing this might be Yvonne, based on the location and preference for the countryside?!
Teresa
Beautiful contrasts, Sarah! I am excited to see everyone’s take on the topic.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Teresa 😊 This was a fun challenge to work on and like you I’m enjoying other people’s takes too!
norasphotos4u
I like how you contrasted the city and country. Beautiful scenes of both
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Nora, I’m glad you enjoyed this post 🙂
the eternal traveller
This is a lovely gallery of photos, with happy memories of a few places we have been on our visits to UK. Here at home, we think we have the best of both worlds. Our city is only 90 minutes drive from Brisbane so it’s easy to go when we want to, but we’re right on the doorstep of many lovely rural areas as well. We have all the amenities here without the traffic and the crowds.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Carol, I’m glad to have brought back some happy memories 🙂 I feel we too have the best of both worlds. Our suburb Ealing is quite green, with lots of parks, but we also have nice pubs, restaurants, a cinema, reasonable shopping and are only 30 minutes by Underground from central London and 20 minutes from Heathrow!
Monkey's Tale
Great comparisons Sarah. Like you, I like to live in a city for the amenities, but love to spend as much time in nature as possible. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Maggie 🙂 Yes, living in a city but getting out into nature as often as possible seems to me the best option!
Ju-Lyn
A fabulous study in contrasts, Sarah! What fun to read this tale again, with your series of captures in mind. Isn’t wonderful that we can straddle both worlds with our travel? In reflection, I am firmly a city girl who seeks out green spaces and nature. Having recently been in the countryside in Hokkaido, I know I am not cut out for the quiet countrylife on an extended basis.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Ju-Lyn 😊 You could be describing me! ‘I am firmly a city girl who seeks out green spaces and nature’ – yes, and as you say, travel allows us to do just that!
Heyjude
What a fabulous way of showing the differences – which actually aren’t that different after all. Of course city life comes with its own challenges as does living in the country. I’m quite content with my country life now, but it wouldn’t have suited me twenty years ago.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Jude 😊 Yes, there are challenges wherever you live so in the end it’s a compromise. The best we can hope for is to be in the place with the fewest downsides and which offers us a lifestyle that suits our needs and preferences.
restlessjo
I like the way you’ve tackled this, Sarah. I always love that Greenwich skyline- it rivals any city anywhere, and you’ve made St. James Park very appealing too. Bluebells are a winner the world over xx
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jo 🙂 That Greenwich view is probably my favourite in London, and St James’s definitely my favourite park!
EgÃdio
What an interesting take on the challenge, Sarah. I liked your idea of the reversed roles. Your post showed the same scenes in different environments. I liked those photos a lot, especially the beach in Dorset.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Egidio, I’m pleased you liked my approach 😊 The Dorset coast is lovely, and is famous for the large number of fossils to be found there – it’s known as the Jurassic Coast for that reason.
Jim Earlam
Lovely collection Sarah 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jim 🙂
Tina Schell
Great idea, love how you organized this one Sarah. You’ve shown the best of both worlds despite your state preference for city life. The good news is if we choose the right place, we can live in our preferred environment yet enjoy access to the other. What could be better than that?! Marvelous images as always
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Tina 😊 I wasn’t sure how I would approach this challenge at first but once I got this idea I enjoyed finding the right images!
margaret21
I like these diresct comparisons betwen town and country in your photos, Sarah: showing that if we try, we can get a little bit of everything anywhere. Up to a point! A beach near Blackfriars Bridge though? Who knew? A bit mucky though?
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Margaret 😀 I don’t think I’d want to spend any time on that beach but kids seem to like it and there are usually a few mudlarkers.
margaret21
Yeah, but mudlarkers wear boots and suitably grotty gear!
Sarah Wilkie
Very true!
Anne Sandler
Although you like city life better, you did justice to both city and country choices. Great post Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne 🙂 I do love our countryside, I just wouldn’t want to live in it!
Annie Berger
How lucky many of us are to have choices like this, Sarah! Like you, I prefer a city life, but enjoy escaping into the mountains when we feel like it. They’re our ‘country,’ effectively! The images you showed of English countryside make me want to travel there as soon as possible.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie 🙂 I’m glad to hear you too have the balance of being able to live in a city but escape to the country (in your case mountains – how wonderful!) I hope your travels do bring you to England and we’re able to meet up!
Annie Berger
That would be so much fun!