We are a couple approaching 50, looking to move to a rural/semi-rural area with plenty of country walking on the doorstep, but with good links to London (e.g the train from King's Lynn doesn't take long, I wouldn't mind driving there for the infrequent occasions I'd need to go). We've found some affordable detached bungalows around parts of Lincolnshire and the Fens that look ideal (perhaps not Boston, we drove through it and it found it a bit soulless). We have been further discouraged by comments from a family member that the entire area is bleak, dismal, dark, there's no decent walking as it's all farmland, and that "the people are weird". 
It can't be that bad surely? We come from a coastal city in the south known for its rougher areas so we're not snobs, we just want a slightly more rural lifestyle out of town. Max price £200k.
Any suggestions for reasonable areas - and areas to avoid?