Castle Combe (once voted prettiest village in England)
If you love a proper English village, Castle Combe is as good as it gets. Hidden amid the Cotswolds in Wiltshire, it has honey-coloured cottages that date back centuries, with thick stone walls and steep roofs.
This village has strict laws to preserve it from modern ugliness! Banned things include street lights (so take a torch at night!), aerials and large new-built homes. It features one of the oldest working clocks in England, yet has no face (medieval workers would listen to the chimes, to tell the time)
Today, the village is only home to around 50 people in the centre, with over 100 buildings having Grade II historic listing status, and most buildings are several centuries old.
Out walking? Follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. Keep dogs away from steep banks, mushrooms (and other toxic plants/trees) and on leads during nesting season (and near barnyard friends and wild ponies).
At the coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel).
Stop new home builds on rural land
Of course we need affordable housing to stop homelessness. But we don’t have to build it on rural land in pretty villages. There are plenty of old car parks and ghost towns to build on instead. Castle Combe has inspired many other villages to fight councils planning to ruin their areas by ugly new buildings, which also brings more noise and traffic.
One is Beadnell, a lovely village in Northumberland which also has a ban on new home building. And second homes. Residents say this has not just protected this gorgeous area (just a few miles from the Farne Islands) but has ‘breathed new life into the village’ with renewed community spirit.
Planners and builders can hire accredited ecologists at CIEEM, to avoid harming wildlife. Rewilding Britain recommends that if you are concerned over a planning project, to talk to your local Wildlife Trust.
