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

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.

Whether it's half-timbered, a mellow Cotswold stone, or Chiltern brick and flint, each traditional English village is unique. Some sit on ancient Bronze Age homesteads, others came into existence only in the last few hundred years. The prettiest of all appear here, surrounded by lovely landscape from Devon to the Lake District to Northumberland. "[A] handsome book...here is unspoiled village after village, beautifully delineated with photographs and well-matched by an informed and understanding text."--House and Garden.

An intimate guide to the villages of London, filled with great ideas for days out which will delight tourists and locals alike.

A fascinating compendium of interesting details, facts, customs and lore, this is an unabashed toast to the English village, as well as a record of a disappearing world.

"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.

Investigates the history of villages in England and what life in them was like from their early origins, some in the Iron Age, to the present and how they have changed