Charming old-world towns in Britain off the beaten path.
Less-touristed old-world towns in Britain, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Polperro
This particularly photogenic fishing village on the south Cornwall coast, Polperro is built around a compact harbour with tightly-packed historic fishermen's…
Conwy
Conwy Castle and the medieval town walls — both on the UNESCO World Heritage List — anchor this small walled town on the River Conwy in North Wales, where mo…
Kingswear
Right on the east bank of the tidal River Dart near its mouth, Kingswear is a photogenic Devon village sitting within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Nat…
Ilfracombe
A photogenic harbour town on the North Devon coast, Ilfracombe sits among cliffs and hills with scenic views in multiple directions.
Fortuneswell
A small conservation-area town on the steep northern slopes of the Isle of Portland in Dorset, Fortuneswell sits where Chesil Beach connects the island to th…
Salcombe
Photogenic little resort town on Devon's south coast, Salcombe sits along the steep western bank of the Kingsbridge Estuary — a sheltered ria that historical…
Tywyn
Home to the Talyllyn Railway and the Cadfan Stone — an early medieval cross bearing the oldest known written Welsh — this small seaside town sits on the Card…
Newlyn
England's largest fishing port sits on the shore of Mount's Bay in south-west Cornwall, where Newlyn's medieval quay — long a subject for the Newlyn School p…
Lichfield
Birthplace of Samuel Johnson — who compiled the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language — and home to a three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichf…
Blandford Forum
A remarkably intact Georgian town on the River Stour in Dorset, Blandford Forum owes its architectural coherence to a devastating fire in 1731, after which i…
Southport
Southport Pier, the second longest seaside pleasure pier in the British Isles, is the centrepiece of this Victorian coastal town in Merseyside, founded in 17…
Royal Tunbridge Wells
One of only three towns in England to hold the "Royal" prefix — granted by King Edward VII in 1909 — Tunbridge Wells in Kent built its reputation as a fashio…
Clacton-on-Sea
This seaside town on the Essex coast that developed as a resort from the 1870s, Clacton-on-Sea has a walkable centre with a concentrated food-and-drink scene…
Great Malvern
At the foot of the Malvern Hills — a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Worcestershire — Great Malvern grew from an 11th-century Benedictine pr…
Usk
A compact Welsh market town on the River Usk in Monmouthshire, with a ruined castle above the town and an arched stone bridge at its western entrance.
Lynton
A pocket-sized village on the Exmoor coast in North Devon, sitting above a steep gorge that separates it from the neighbouring village of Lynmouth below.
Llanfair Caereinion
Llanfair Caereinion, a little market town in Montgomeryshire, Powys, sits on the River Banwy in the Welsh hills and serves as the western terminus of the Wel…
Holmfirth
Best known as the filming location for the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, which ran from 1973 to 2010, Holmfirth is a stone-built West Yorkshire town in…
East Retford
Market town in Nottinghamshire sitting on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal, Retford (also known as East Retford) has a walkable centre dense with li…
Christchurch
Smugglers worked the rivers Avon and Stour through much of the 18th and 19th centuries in this Dorset coast town, founded in the 7th century at the confluenc…
Windsor
Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch, anchors this walkable Berkshire town on the south bank of the River Thames, just west…
Tonbridge
This walkable Kent market town on the River Medway, Tonbridge has a centre thick with listed historic buildings and churches, a real café and restaurant scen…
Alton
Heritage-dense market town in East Hampshire near the source of the River Wey, Alton has a compact centre with cafés and listed buildings within easy walking…
Chatham
Chatham Historic Dockyard, a museum built around the naval buildings that once supported one of Britain's most significant Royal Navy bases, anchors this Ken…
Godalming
A heritage-dense market town in south-west Surrey where the Rivers Wey and Ock meet, Godalming has a compact centre thick with listed buildings — several dat…
Bexhill-on-Sea
A seaside town on the East Sussex coast, Bexhill-on-Sea sits between Hastings and Eastbourne with a walkable centre full of cafés and a heritage-dense street…
Saltaire
Built between 1851 and 1871 by wool industrialist Sir Titus Salt alongside the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Saltaire is a Victorian model vi…
Welshpool
Welshpool, a modest market town in Powys, Wales, is home to what is claimed to be the largest sheep market in Europe, held every Monday.
Mossley
A pocket-sized town in Greater Manchester set in the Pennine foothills along the River Tame, Mossley draws the eye with a heritage-dense streetscape and a dr…
Dewsbury
A heritage-dense market town in West Yorkshire, Dewsbury sits on the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation, with a walkable centre thick with lis…
Criccieth
A tiny seaside town on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, Criccieth is dominated by the ruins of Criccieth Castle, which look out over…
St Albans
A cathedral city in Hertfordshire north of London, St Albans sits on the site of the Roman city of Verulamium — one of the first major stops on Watling Stree…
Cranbrook
Compact Wealden town in Kent where a working windmill rises above a street of whitewashed and brick buildings, with a walkable historic core, independent sho…
Towednack
This small churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, close to St Ives and the Atlantic coast, sitting within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty —…
Stamford
This walkable Lincolnshire market town with five medieval parish churches, a centre dense with listed stone and timber-framed buildings from the 17th and 18t…
Stockton-on-Tees
A market town on the northern bank of the River Tees in County Durham, Stockton-on-Tees has a walkable centre dense with listed buildings, historic churches,…
Dartford
A heritage-dense market town in Kent where the River Darent runs through the centre, Dartford sits on the old London-to-Dover road and has a walkable core wi…
West Alvington
Modest Devon village on the edge of Kingsbridge, West Alvington draws visitors with its striking Gothic parish church — visible here with its pinnacled tower…
Matlock
This small Derbyshire county town sits in the south-eastern Peak District, where the River Derwent runs through mountain terrain and scenic viewpoints are cl…
Croyde
Modest North Devon village on the west-facing Atlantic coast, Croyde sits near Baggy Point — National Trust land on the South West Coast Path — within the No…
Queen Camel
This golden-stone Gothic church with a tall battlemented tower dominates this tiny Somerset village on the River Cam, where heritage-dense streets and proxim…
Fareham
Walkable market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour in south-east Hampshire, Fareham sits between Portsmouth and Southampton with a centre full…
Montacute
This Somerset village a short distance west of Yeovil is built almost entirely of local hamstone and is thick with listed historic buildings, including a med…
Cocklake
A quiet Somerset hamlet on the Somerset Levels, Cocklake sits within the historic Isle of Wedmore parish, where a traditional village pub and listed stone-an…
Whitchurch
Claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire, Whitchurch is a heritage-dense market town in the north of the county, close to the Welsh…
Talgarth
A small Welsh market town in Powys said to have been the capital of the early medieval kingdom of Brycheiniog, Talgarth has a 14th-century parish church, a d…
Sandwich
Sandwich, in Kent, gave its name to the food by way of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and the word now appears in several languages.
Llandysilio
This modest Welsh village in Montgomeryshire, Powys, sitting on the eastern bank of the River Vyrnwy with mountain terrain nearby.
Wincanton
This compact Somerset market town where Georgian and older listed buildings line a lively high street, with independent shops and inns giving it a well-worn,…
Kendal
Known as the "Auld Grey Town" for its grey limestone buildings, Kendal is a market town in Cumbria just outside the Lake District, sitting on the River Kent.
Flexbury
A small coastal village in north Cornwall, Flexbury sits right on the water at Crooklets beach, a short walk from Bude.
Tamworth
Walkable Staffordshire market town north-east of Birmingham, Tamworth sits at the confluence of the River Tame and carries a dense concentration of listed hi…
Youlgreave
One of the larger villages in the Peak District National Park, Youlgreave sits on the River Bradford in Derbyshire and carries a heritage-dense streetscape f…
Chepstow
Chepstow's clifftop castle, often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain, rises directly above the tidal River Wye in this small Welsh border…
Glastonbury
This little Somerset town with an outsized reputation, Glastonbury is built around the ruins of one of medieval England's most important abbeys — the site of…
Abbotsbury
A compact Dorset village near the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Abbotsbury draws visitors to its swannery, subtropical gardens, and 14th-century St Cat…
Crewkerne
A heritage-dense market town in south Somerset, Crewkerne has a compact central core with cafés and restaurants and a concentration of listed historic buildi…
Hull
A port city on the Humber Estuary in Yorkshire with over 800 years of seafaring history, Hull pairs a walkable old town dense with listed buildings and histo…
Montgomery
Montgomery, a pocket-sized Welsh Marches town in Powys sitting close to the England–Wales border, is anchored by a castle begun in 1223 and a parish church s…
High Wycombe
A large market town in Buckinghamshire's Chiltern Hills, High Wycombe sits along the River Wye with a walkable centre dense with listed historic buildings, c…