Bank on a holiday at home

Motorists have been the Government's play-thing for some time now, writes Rural Affairs Editor Nathan Rous. The push-them-till-they hurt approach has saddled us with sky-high fuel prices, record speeding fines and extortionate insurance premiums.

The cameras are no longer in situ simply to record your speed; they are peering into your window to see whether you're applying make-up, chuntering on a mobile or pootling along sans seatbelt.

The police tell us offending levels have dropped in the past decade - hence the reason they have turned their supercilious attentions to the rest of us.

Check out their latest recruitment ad: "The armed response unit a little too scary for you? Why not hassle members of the public who may or may not have fallen foul of the trivial intricacies of the law."

That should get their numbers up. Luckily I'm giving each and every one of you permission to read tonight's paper while sitting behind the wheel, for given that it's Bank Holiday Monday the chances are you're among the millions of motorists stuck on the motorway with the engine off, windows down and a sea of new and used cars stretching out in front of you.

Whose idea was it to take the kids to the beach anyway? Yes, they had a whale of a time when sand dunes, ice creams, untangling kites and daring missions to the water's edge occupied their minds, but the seven-hour journey back has done no-one any favours.

And there are only so many ways you can answer "are we there yet?" without resorting to the age-old turn-the-stereo-up-until-we-can't-hear-them-anymore trick.

Granted, I'm a fan of Bank Holidays: the usual lack of desire which fills my heart on a Monday morning is replaced with a new-found energy which translates into a cooked breakfast, a leisurely look through the papers, a potter round the shops and a brisk walk; but trying to go anywhere special inevitably ends in a driving disaster.

But why are we all so desperate to flee the county? Shropshire has more than enough to offer the irascible parent and the hyperactive child when both work and school are out for the day.

Until I was given the rural beat two years ago I thought nothing of packing up and leaving the county in search of weekend treasures to entertain the family; treasures which gleamed brighter for the simple fact it took ages to reach them.

Yet Shropshire is bursting at the seams with such jewels - and they are right on our doorstep. From almost any point in the county you have a glorious mix of heritage, landscape, architecture and entertainment. Unfortunately we're just not very good at shouting about it.

Perhaps we need more rooftops. Therefore Shropshire needs to brand itself; dream up a corporate identity which shows off exactly what this talented county has to offer. It needs to reach out to the rest of Britain and give everyone a reason to see for themselves just how lucky we are to live within its borders.

Then, once the seething hordes arrive, we can drive to the beach without another car in sight.