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.