Indeed, the term country can simply mean a region of land. It doesn’t necessarily imply a political or cultural unit, although of course it’s commonly used that

Indeed, the term country can simply mean a region of land. It doesn’t necessarily imply a political or cultural unit, although of course it’s commonly used that way. So in England ‘the north country’ can just mean an area roughly cognate with the northern counties, or maybe the regions bordering Scotland. Or you might say the west of a county is hilly country. It’s a loose term in that usage.