TWO Gloucestershire villages have made it into a list of best chocolate box villages to visit in the UK.
Fulton Umbrellas, who provide umbrellas to the Royal family, placed Painswick and Bibury in the top tier “due to their stone cottages and features in famous movies such as Stardust”.
Painswick made it higher in the list than Bibury, but it was a close call. Fulton Umbrellas said:
“Also known as ‘The Queen of the Cotswolds’, Painswick is a historical wool town that marks the mid-point of the famous 100-mile-long Cotswold Way.
This characterful town is made up of narrow streets lined with famous Cotswold stone cottages where you’ll find many shops, galleries and places to grab a bite.
A trip to Painswick also isn’t complete without visiting the Painswick Rococo Garden, the country's only complete surviving garden of its kind.
Designed in the 1740s as a place to hold intimate garden parties, this garden is perfect for a romantic stroll or a peaceful afternoon away from the busy streets.
If you want to go a little further outside the Painswick and see more of the Cotswolds, the nearby villages of Sheepscombe, Edge and Slad are also around a mile away.”
They added:
“Staying within the Cotswolds, just over a 30-minute drive away from Painswick, is Bibury, a village that welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the world each year.
Bibury is enjoyed best with slow wanders around the streets and along the river Coln, which runs through the centre of the village. There are also pubs, cafes, and restaurants to sit, eat, and enjoy the view.
Bibury also features the famous Arlington Row – a line of picture-perfect 17th-century cottages that are perhaps among the most photographed cottages in the UK.
You may even recognise the quaint row from the film Stardust, which used the cottages as a backdrop to the fictional village of ‘Wall’.”
Other entries to the list included Haworth in West Yorkshire, the Scottish village Luss in Loch Lomond and the North Welsh village Portmeirion, which is famous for its unique pottery.