This red and noisy land

According to a report in the Home section of yesterday's Sunday Times the area of north west Cheshire where we live is one of the least tranquil areas in England. It is coloured fluorescent red whereas where we lived in Surrey is pale green. So, so much for the peaceful countryside. I didn't really need the Sunday Times to do a report on the issue . I could have told them if they had asked me. We live four miles outside Chester in a village which is essentially a farming community and we live between two farms. One farm is a dairy farm which is usually quiet but it can be noisy. The second farm is a battery chicken farm from which we get a constant hum of the machinery maintaining the temperature in the chicken sheds. Then not far from here are the A540 and A5117 roads which are currently undergoing major roadworks. Normally we can hear the hum of the traffic in the background and now we also have the whine of the roadwork machines. And not a day goes by without the piercing screech of sirens of police cars or ambulances. Our first house in Leatherhead was on a main road, near the railway station and not far from the M25. Our second house was in a quiet and attractive village between Leatherhead and Guildford. Both locations were quieter than this cottage in Cheshire. From the noise point of view our quality of life was better in Surrey - the green and pleasant land.