Villages are the very embodiment of Englishness. The village inn and the local farm, great houses, humble cottages and beautiful country gardens speak of a way of life that has developed peacefully since Anglo-Saxon times. A few days spent in England's idyllic villages offers urban dwellers and foreign visitors a revitalizing glimpse of a more tranquil existence, full of history, legend, literature and artistic heritage. The richness and diversity of the English village is recorded here in absorbing texts by James Bentley and magnificent photography by Hugh Palmer. Grouped by area - northern, midland, eastern, southern and western - and sub-divided by county, this is a seductive celebration of our most beautiful villages.

"This book is a unique photographic tour of the most beautiful towns in every region of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. The towns of Britain's countryside are among the most charming and unchanged in Europe's history. From the Norman castle towns of the southeast to the spectacular Roman architecture of Bath and St. Albans, and from Celtic cottage farms in the Scottish lowlands to the stone and iron towns of the Welsh borders and the north, it is as much about the history of the Isles as it is about their beauty today"--Global Books in Print.

A personal, authoritative and beautiful celebration of Britain's finest villages

Photographs and commentary highlight some of the most beautiful towns and villages of Ireland.

The official TV-tie in to the popular Channel 4 programme 'Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages' Explore the most interesting and beautiful examples of British village life in this lavishly illustrated book, published as a companion volume to the highly successful Channel 4 television series, 'Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages'. Featuring gorgeous illustrations and dust jackets from Brian Cook's iconic designs, the book explores the villages as they appeared then and now. It's hard not to be enchanted by rural villages. From thatched roofs, charming churches, bunting, cream teas and the local landscape, they capture our imaginations. Structured by region, this book follows Penelope's journey through Britain across all four series, including the idyllic villages found in the Costwolds, the cosy cottages of East Anglia and the treasures nestled in the North Yorkshire moors. Pictured alongside Brian Cook's iconic illustrations, Hidden Villages of Britain takes you through the fascinating history and the curious customs and characters unique to each village and how they survive in the present. From bog snorkelling in Llanwrtyd Wells and gravy wrestling in Stacksteads to cheese rolling down Cooper's Hill in Brockworth and dwile flocking (where contestants seek to soak their opponents with a beer-soaked cloth outside the village pub), snippets of the history, life and traditions of each village are fully explored. Whether you are looking for a place for your next holiday, a guide to Britain's rural landscape or have a love for Britain's most inspirational settings, this book is perfect for the armchair traveller.

A companion to The Most Beautiful Villages of England features lavish photography of twenty-five ancient, rural, and seaside towns selected by the author as definitive of English small-town countryside life, in a visual tour that discusses how history, location, and building materials have contributed to the development of English town life. 16,000 first printing.

Britain's villages are world famous for their loveliness and idiosyncratic charm. Each village is different; travel across the country and you will unearth a joyous variety, from straggly Leintwardine in Herefordshire to BBC-film-perfect Askrigg in Yorkshire to higgledy-piggledy tourist hub Polperro in Cornwall to Miserden in Gloucestershire, with its staggeringly beautiful gardens, to Pittenweemin Fife, still eking a living from fishing, to the warring villages of Donhead St. Mary and Donhead St. Andrew in Wiltshire. History and architecture account for some differences-the memorials in churches, the details of door frames and chimney stacks-but there are also differences of spirit, and in how life is lived there today. What are the thriving local businesses? What are they selling in the shops-or are there shops at all? What are the traditions, old or invented? Who are the people who make these communities work? In this captivating volume, Clive Aslet draws on thirty years of travel in the countryside working for Britain's Country Life magazine to give us a living, personal, and opinionated history of five hundred of Britain's most beautiful and vibrant villages. Meticulously researched and drawing from conversations with local residents, publicans, and vicars, this book is both an indispensable gazetteer for anyone planning to tour the countryside and a portrait of rural Britain in a time of change.