Outside the M25

Charcuterie Curing Experience near Bray is a hands-on day learning to cure salami and chorizo in a farmhouse kitchen, followed by a long lunch of what you’ve just made, from £139. It has a waiting list for good reason. Hiver’s Rural Beekeeping and Beer Tasting takes you to Greyfriars Vineyard in the Surrey Hills, where you suit up, work the hives and then settle into a tutored craft beer tasting among the vines, from £68. Home Farm Glamping is luxury camping just 30 minutes from London — proper bell tents, proper breakfast, from £140. These are for the Londoner who periodically remembers the countryside exists.

The Great British Vineyard Expedition in Kent is a day exploring English vineyards with an expert guide — rolling hills, award-winning wines and zero jet lag, from £159. The Oastbrook Vineyard Tour and Tasting in East Sussex includes a guided tour, cheese and wine tasting and as much Sussex sunshine as the season allows, from £45. And the Luxury Under the Stars with Breakfast and Wine Tasting combines a vineyard overnight stay, a full wine tasting and a proper breakfast for two — an experience that belongs in someone’s top ten memories. This is a top pick by Indytute oficianados.

The Build Your Own Firepit in Somerset is a full day of metalwork building a fire pit or BBQ from recycled materials — satisfying in a way that is very difficult to explain until you’ve done it. Abseiling at Uphill Quarry in Weston-super-Mare is a 150-foot drop down a smooth rock face — properly guided, properly exhilarating, from £60. Avon Gorge Rock Climbing gives you the Clifton Bridge from a perspective most people never see, from £66. And Reach for the Stars is an astronomy workshop under genuinely dark skies — the one that makes you feel small in the best possible way, from £99.

The Bristol Old City Food & Drink Tour explores Bristol’s extraordinary independent food scene — the kind of tour that makes you wish you lived there, from £74. The Cheese Making Masterclass at Bath Soft Cheese Company is a full day at one of Britain’s most awarded artisan cheesemakers. At the other end of the country is Stockport Food Tour covering a city that’s quietly become one of the North’s most interesting places to eat. Back down almost the length of the country, Become a Home Barista in Bristol teaches you the techniques the professionals use (the ones that make buying an expensive machine actually worthwhile), from £84.

Picnic Cruise on the River in Oxford — a traditional wicker hamper on the water, punts, meadows — starts from £69 and requires almost no explanation. Often, an excursion from The Smoke needs an overnight stay or two so we have a few pricey indulgent ways to breathe fresh air for a bit longer... Bethnal and Bec Countryside Retreat — hot tubs, exceptional snacks and a no-Sunday-checkout policy in a proper rural setting — is the most consistently talked-about escape on the site, from £275. The Private Luxury Tipi in Kent is two nights under canvas in genuine peace and quiet, from £349. Happy Campers Campervan is a week in a retro VW through Norfolk for two — the one you save for a milestone, £495. Phew, because they’re worth it.

Yes — eVouchers arrive within 15 minutes, any time of day or night. We can send directly to them if that’s easier. And if you genuinely can’t decide — which, given they’re impossible to buy for nowadays is entirely understandable — our Super Voucher lets them do the browsing and choosing so you remain blameless.
All vouchers are open-dated, valid for 12 months, with a 6-month extension available for £20 if life gets in the way.

Making leaving the M25 behind, much easier.