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He made his name with a memoir set among the hillbillies of the rugged Appalachians – yet it seems JD Vance now favours altogether more gentle hills.
For his family’s holiday this year the US vice-president is understood to have chosen the Cotswolds, where Land Rovers outnumber pickup trucks.
Vance, his wife, Usha, and their three young children are expected next month to rent a property in the region – an increasingly popular choice for wealthy tourists – soon after Donald Trump, the US president, finishes a stay in Scotland.
Earlier in August, Vance and his family are expected to visit London, despite the vice-president having said – shortly before last year’s presidential election – that the city was “not English any more.”
In February, Vance lashed out at European governments – including that of the UK – accusing political leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration and running in fear from voters.
“In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” he told the Munich Security Conference, listing a string of cases he claimed were evidence. Britain was singled out for arresting a man praying near an abortion clinic.
But while Vance might enjoy the Cotswolds – home to the Chipping Norton set whose ranks include David Cameron and Jeremy Clarkson – a different reception could await when he later travels on to Scotland, which is home to anti-Trump sentiment.
In his Munich speech, Vance hit out at the Scottish government over abortion rights, saying it was distributing letters to citizens whose houses lay “within so-called safe access zones”, warning them that “even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law”.
He added: “The government urged readers to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thought crime in Britain and across Europe.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said Vance’s claim was inaccurate. It appeared to be a reference to the introduction of safe access zones within 200 metres of abortion clinics, banning any form of harassment.
“Private prayer at home is not prohibited within safe access zones and no letter has ever suggested it was,” added the spokesperson.
Vance’s trip to the UK comes at a time when tourist traffic going in the opposite direction has plummeted against the backdrop of Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
The number of UK residents visiting the US was down 14.3% in March compared with the same month in 2024, official figures showed. However, Britons continue to make up the largest number of overseas visitors to the US.
