I was told recently that many of Country Life’s readers were really city dwellers pining for the mud, manors and wellies of a pastoral existence, rather than rural folk themselves.

Well, it appears that many of us have been unable to resist this bucolic promise. The insurance arm of the NFU revealed today that 70 per cent of those living in the country have city origins.

“The attractions of rural life are clear with almost 2.4 million Britons moving to the countryside alone over the past five years,” says Lindsay Sinclair of NFU Mutual.

Live the dream? TV presenters Nick Barratt and Melissa Porter

Programmes such as BBC2’s TV show Escape to the Country or ITV’s Live The Dream have worked hard on this, tracking down metropolitan dwellers ‘keen to find a quieter, less stressful’ lifestyle to film, all jollied along by presenters such as the ever-cheery Melissa Porter (pictured).

And it appears to be working. The NFU reveals that 30% of the ex-townies canvassed said ‘friendlier people’ and a ‘stronger sense of community’ were the main reasons for their move along with a good place to raise children (37% of those canvassed), peace and quiet (64%), a better quality of life (53%), open spaces (48%) and closeness to nature (36%).

The survey also highlights the benefits of country living. Respondents were keen to point out just how they now talk to neighbours, visit local shops, go to the local pub and attend local meetings much more.

Also, NFU Mutual says its research shows rural people think urbanites moving to the country do try hard to integrate into rural communities – which goes against frequently-aired media comments about ‘city slickers’ irritating their new rural neighbours.

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