Ull have a fab time
HEAD to the gateway of the Lake District and save £140 or more while discovering Ullswater, one of England’s most beautiful lakes. Explore on a steamer, then get soaked under the 65ft Aira Force waterfall. Three nights for up to four people at Thanet Well Lodge Retreat, starting May 25, costs £539, or stay a week from £758, saving £196. See hoseasons.co.uk or call 0345 498 6130. WITH chocolate box prettiness, celeb residents and starring roles in period dramas, these little villages are ideal for a cream tea and a relaxing break.
Wisteria city Bibury, Gloucestershire
Christened “the most beautiful village in England” by artist William Morris, it features cottages of honey-coloured stone that line up on either side of a babbling brook.
This Cotswold village appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. Now Arlington Row, a line of 14th century cottages, appears in an equally important book – the British passport, where it is a watermark on the inside cover.
The row was in the news after the resident owner of a bright yellow Vauxhall was accused of destroying the view with his car. It was vandalised, and since replaced with a grey one. STAY: The Retreat, which sleeps two, is a perfect romantic bolthole on the edge of the village. Three nights cost £517, see sykescottages.co.uk.
Steep treat Clovelly, North Devon
This village, written about by poet Charles Kingsley and painted by JMW Turner, remains pretty much unchanged since Elizabethan times.
It has no traffic and its one cobbled main street piles down the hill to a 14th century fishing harbour. Vehicles must stay in car parks at the top, and village donkeys haul folk down.
Clovelly is owned by the descendants of the Hamlyn family, who charge an entrance fee and take care of its appearance – last year it won a Britain in Bloom gold. Those good looks also won it a role in the film the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, as a 1940s recreation of the prettiest of the Channel Islands. STAY: The New Inn, half way down the hill, is cosy. Doubles from £80 B&B, see clovelly.co.uk.
Lords and ladies Lacock, Wiltshire
Henry Fox Talbot, early pioneer of photography, lived in Lacock Abbey. After his death the whole estate, including most of the village, was bequeathed to the National Trust, who have frozen it in time – mostly the 18th century.
Lacock appeared in the Domesday Book with a population of 190, which has probably hardly changed. With a ban on anything neon or too modern, it is a go-to place for period dramas such as Cranford and anything Jane Austen. Fox Talbot museum explores the history of photos. STAY: The 15th century coaching inn Sign of the Angel was in a Harry Potter film. Doubles from £80 B&B, see signoftheangel.co.uk.
Heirs and graces Bamburgh, Northumberland
A village green, a majestic castle on a volcanic rock with a cricket pitch below, miles of golden sands – Bamburgh is a beauty.
The castle was the seat of the Kings of Northumbria in the Middle Ages. And the other famous resident of Bamburgh was Grace Darling, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter who became a Victorian heroine after rowing out in a storm to rescue sailors on the Farne Islands. Bamburgh’s RNLI museum celebrates her. STAY: Neville Tower is a holiday cottage that sleeps four and is within Bamburgh Castle. It costs from £715pw, see lovecottages.co.uk.
Summer lawns Alfriston, East Sussex
Cross an old English church, a village green, a manor house garden, a thatched clergy house that was the first ever National Trust buy (£10) back in 1896, and what have you got? Why, Alfriston, in East Sussex, of course.
Given its looks and location in the affluent South East, with the sparkling-wine-producing vineyards of the Rathfinny estate close at hand, there’s a very upmarket atmosphere here. Plus a goodly supply of smart restaurants and tea rooms. Come prepared with a full wallet, and preferably a shiny car. STAY: The Tudor-style Star Inn has recently refurbished boutiquey doubles from £60 B&B, see thestaralfriston.co.uk.
High tide Polperro, Cornwall
There was always going to be a Cornish village on this list, but which one?
There are so many which cluster around creeks and snuggle into coves, their fishing boats protected by stout breakwaters. We have