Castle Combe – The Prettiest Village in England

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this trip myself. All recommendations are my own.

The historic village of Castle Combe is located in the south Cotswolds in the beautiful county of Wiltshire. We visited for a Bank Holiday weekend and headed out first thing in the morning. The name of the village is a little misleading. When I first heard ‘Castle Combe’ I expected there to be a castle, but the 12th-century castle from which it took its name is no longer standing.

Make sure your camera battery is charged, because you are going to find yourself taking lots of photos of this beautiful village. There’s a reason people refer to Castle Combe as the prettiest village in England. It is utterly charming, so it is not surprising that this is a popular tourist spot. If you want to avoid the crowds, then get there early. Visitors must park in the designated car park at the top of the hill above the village. The walk down to the village takes about 10 minutes. It’s down a reasonable slope, but other visitors of varying abilities were managing it by taking it slow and there are beautiful buildings to admire on the way down.

Castle Combe is so picture perfect (kudos to the village for maintaining it so well) that you would swear you are on a movie set, and indeed the village has been used as a filming location for a number of TV shows and movies, including the wonderfully magical movie Stardust, the popular TV period drama Downton Abbey, and the moving story of War Horse (I’ve watched both the movie and the live performance and cried at both).

Although the village isn’t very large, there is so much detail to enjoy and behold that we spent over an hour here, but you could easily spend longer. As we walked down the road from the car park, we arrived at the 14th century market cross which was erected when the village was granted the privilege of holding a weekly market. You can’t miss it, it sits where the main streets converge at the heart of the village. Beside it is two village pumps and beside it is some stone steps which is an old mounting block for horse riders enabling them to comfortably mount and dismount. If you are a history buff, I’ve added a video below made by the Castle Combe and District Historical Society which gives more historical details about it.

Near the mounting block is The Court House, where sittings of the Court Leet were held in the Middle Ages. During restoration work in the 1970’s, a painting of the heraldic arms of Henry VIII was revealed. Across from The Court House, a resident was selling some delicious home bakes outside their adorable cottage door from a little gingham lined table using a charity box system, it was utterly charming.

We continued to walk down The St and to our right was a lovely war memorial with a little garden for the village soldiers that lost their lives in the First World War. Further down the street we found The Old Rectory Tea Room which features an adorable stable door. There is a little gift store in the front of the store, then it opens up to a cafe that feels more like a home. Advance bookings are recommended as this place is popular and not always open. However, there is another lovely cafe in the small side street beside the tea room called The Old Stables serving delicious home made food. There are also several other places to eat in Castle Combe including The Castle Inn and The White Hart. For a fine dining experience, eat at the Bybrook Restaurant – Manor House Hotel.

The detail on the buildings were so captivating that we took quite a while to get to the bridge in lower village, despite it only being a short distance. Apparently this part of the village was a big centre for the local wool trade. The village prospered during the 15th century when it belonged to Millicent, the wife of Sir Stephen Le Scrope, and then of Sir John Fastolf, a Norfolk knight who was lord of the manor for fifty years. He promoted the woollen industry and also supplied his own troops and others for Henry V’s war in France.

We walked a bit further until the village edge, then headed back up the road, continuing to enjoy the details of the buildings along the way. The tiny doors were so cute! Eventually we turned into visit St Andrew’s church and surrounding graveyard. Inside the church was an interesting exhibit on the filming of War Horse with photos of the film set. If you want to learn more about the church’s history, I’ve added another interesting video from the Castle Combe and District Historical Society below.

After visiting the church, we walked around the back and through a small gate which took us on to West St. The adorable cottages along this little street belong to the The 5-star Manor House Hotel and Golf Club which is in the west end of the village. We could tell that they were all rental cottages as the staff had the doors open cleaning and turning them over ready for the next guests. In fact, as we continued our exploration of Castle Combe, it did appear that a large part of the village is rented out accommodation owned by the hotel.

We continued up the street to see the Manor which was built in the 17th century and then rebuilt in the 19th. Behind the house is a large beautiful garden which we were surprised to find ourselves enjoying it alone. I’m not actually sure if non-manor guests are allowed to explore it, but we didn’t see any signs telling us to keep out, so we just walked around like we were meant to be there!

Afterwards we walked back up West St and out the main gates, then turned left to walk a short way up Park Lane to see the unusual cottage built over an archway. It is called Garrett House but for obvious reasons, it’s now called Archway Cottage. It too is now luxury accommodation for The Manor House Hotel. Beyond this is the hotel golf course.

If you love Castle Combe, then see my post on visiting the nearby historic village of Lacock that has been the filming location of numerous movies and TV shows including Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Pride & Prejudice. Wiltshire is also home to the world famous Stonehenge. Read my detailed guide to visiting Stonehenge to plan your visit. A short drive away is also the World Heritage Site of Avebury and its Neolithic henge monument that contains three stone circles.

Practical Tips for Visiting Castle Combe

• How long should I visit Castle Combe for? We spent a couple of hours exploring the village.
• Getting to Castle Combe:
  • By Car: We drove to Castle Combe along the B4039. Turn down Dunns Ln where you will see a large sign directing you to the free car park at the top of the hill. Although it is a little way to walk down the hill to the old village, it is a pleasant stroll past beautiful buildings.
  • Public Transport: Trains run from London to Chippenham (about 5 miles away) or Bath (about 10 miles). From either of these places you can either get a taxi or a bus from Chippenham.
• Tours: You can also visit Castle Combe on a tour:
  • Cotswold Chauffeur Tours
  • Mad Max Tours
  • Lion Tours
• Toilets: There are toilet facilities over the bridge in the lower village.
• Respect the locals: Castle Combe is a living village, so please respect the residents who live their and their property. So don’t just walk into peoples houses or spend an excessive amount of time with your nose pressed against their windows.
• Language: English
• Currency: British pound. There is no cash machine/ATM in the village. However, shops typically take card.
• Tipping: Not required, but people usually round up.
• Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets take a three pronged plug only used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in the United Kingdom as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
• Driving: In the UK they drive on the left hand side of the road with speed signs in miles per hour (mph).
• Navigating: We used Google’s free Offline Maps. Google Offline Maps allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow my detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps.
  • Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices.
  • If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a road map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!

Accommodation Options in and Around Castle Combe

Search available accommodation in Castle Combe

Budget

I’m afraid there is no budget accommodation in Castle Combe.

Moderate

• The Old Museum

Luxury

• Castle Combe Cottage
• The Castle Inn
• Keepers Lodge
• The Manor House, an Exclusive Hotel & Golf Club