Villages of Britain : The Five Hundred Villages That Made the Countryside

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.

“Wonderful... Villages of Britain is a deliciously browsable guidebook as well as a glittering store of anecdote and esoteric information.” —Wall Street Journal

“This is an impressive and mammoth undertaking. Clive Aslet traveled the length of Britain, from southwest England to the Highlands of Scotland, in search of the 500 villages that, in his opinion, are remarkable in their own right or somehow representative of a type... He has assembled a quirky and idiosyncratic collection of miniature portraits... endlessly fascinating and compellingly addictive.” —Chicago Tribune

“This delicious narrative tour of British villages showcases the author's familiarity with his topic; Aslet ...knows his stuff — architecture, history, folklore, literary inspiration. It is great fun just to read the index: Little Eccleston, Little Giddin, Little Melton, Little Snoring, Little Steeping. Mostly print, with few illustrations, but Aslet is so entertaining you won't miss them.” —Seattle Times