Tell me about the loveliest/best villages in the UK 🙂

[LowbrowVictoriana]

I'm going to be acquiring a small campervan soon. I do love a nice village. What are some lovely ones that DH and I - sometimes just I solo - can visit?
Could be that they're pretty, historically interesting, other places of interest nearby, lovely shops, near some natural beauty... which villages do you love?

TIA 🌺

There’s a lovely little scattered village called Wiston near Steyning in West Sussex. It’s home to a very lovely chapel-of-ease known as All Saints Buncton which is long accessible by foot and is pretty much always deserted. Some of the graves in the churchyard date back to the twelfth century. The church used to house one of the oldest known examples of a sheila-na-gig, but the carving was chiselled off by vandals a few years ago. Nearby the Wiston Estate also makes excellent English wine.

Corfe Castle in Dorset

Elie in Fife

Plockton in The Highlands

Applecross in The Highlands

Troon in Ayrshire

Drymen in Stirlingshire

Dunkeld in Perth & Kinross

Whistable - nice shops, sea, quayside etc.

Many villages in the Cotswolds:

Bourton on the water
Bibury
Upper Slaughter
Lower Slaughter
Broadway
Castle Combe

To name but a few!

Many beautiful and historical villages Powys/Shropshire boarder

Bishops Castle
Montgomery
Church Stretton
Hay-on-Wye

To name but a few

Eyam is historically interesting.

You could visit Ilam and Dovedale whist you're in the area.

Dartmouth

Some of these are definitely more towns than villages!

I'd second Castle Combe, also Lacock nearby and much less touristy Biddestone which has a pretty duck pond

Thanks everyone. I'm making little plans on a map! These places all sound so lovely.

@Quisquam MIL lived in the Cotswolds, so I'm well familiar with it, having visited many times over the course of 30 years. It's gorgeous... so many less well-known little Hamlets to discover there, too.

Alfriston and Ditchling, in East Sussex - both lovely and have great campsites.

I had to look up Sheila-na-gig ,@ComtesseDeSpair , never heard of them before. Amazing how often something so seemingly sexual and pagan looking can be found in a Christian church.
What a shame about the vandalism 😡

Have you ever been to Portmeirion OP. More of a tourist attraction now but makes a lovely day out. Beaumaris on Anglesey is lovely too with views over the Menai straits and if you're a NT member, Plas Newyyd is worth a look if you're nearby. New borough is worth a look too as the forest goes to the beach.

Always fancied Portmeirion, @SiouxsieSiouxStiletto

I don't care if it's a contrived sort of place... and I've no objection to "touristy" places in amongst the authentic historic gems!

In a camper van — anywhere in Wales. In Powys you can stay overnight in any council run car park for minimal fee. Recommend Hay- On-Wye ( just behind the High Street) Brecon, near the canal.
In England West Bay, Bridport, Dorchester on market day.
Look at a site called MotorhomeFun as you’ll get lots of campervsn specific advice there.

Whitstable is not a village. It’s also crowded with increasing antisocial behaviour.

There's also Great Budworrh in Cheshire.

Dorchester in Oxfordshire.

Lots in Oxfordshire, can’t remember all the names though. Many straight out of chocolate-box-village Midsomer Murders. 🙂

Thank you, everyone, for all your suggestions and tips!

Some beautiful and interesting places here, plenty that I fancy visiting. 🙂

I'd echo the recommendations of villages / (very) small towns on the Shropshire/Powys borders.

Would add to the list:

Clun
Llanidloes

Further afield places like:

Ruthin
Tregaron
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (not a village but has to be visited).

While there were complaints above that some of these are technically towns, none of them are very big - even Hay-on-Wye has a population less than 2,000 - considerably smaller than many 'villages' in the South-East.

Thr Lake District has so many beautiful villages. Grasmere is my favourite and you can have a lovely coffee and walk around then walk to Easedake Tarn for a beautiful view and even a swim!

Imo Bibury is vastly overrated (there are some truly beautiful cotswold villages completely off the beaten track that make bibury look like a swindon suburb) but if you do go there, make sure it's off-season.

I've visited this off the beaten track church - it's very charming.

Second Alfriston and Ditchling

My vote is for Amberley in West Sussex. It's gorgeous

I agree Castle Combe is gorgeous too

Adlestrop
Romaldkirk
Appleby
Melmerby
Bowness on Solway
Wigtown
Garlieston Bay
Melrose
Coldingham Bay
Bamburgh
Pennan
Caldbeck
Staindrop
Oswaldkirk/Ampleforth
Hovingham
Bishop Monkton

More of a town than a village, but Tenbury Wells is lovely with good parking and shops.