Mar.05 by Guest Blogger

Expedition: Visit to England’s most beautiful village

Categories: Guest Blogs, Things We Love, Travels

Editor’s Note: Today’s blog comes from our new friend Robin Sondergaard, a student of architecture at Kingston University, just outside of London. One of the great things about blogs is you can be transported to a different place, exposed to new ideas, and get inspired by a fresh perspective. Robin’s overview of the village of Castle Combe does just that. And, of course, the use of stone is amazing! Robin has a great blog, so check it out!

After watching a few seasons of Inspector Barnaby here the other day, it appeared to me that I am actually in England, and that London is not the only city in this country. So, in this moment of enlightenment I booked train tickets to Southwest England and the small village of Castle Combe. It is said to be the prettiest town in England, so I thought it was a good place to start. At 6 am I took the train to London, got to Paddington station and then continued to Chippenham. Waited for the bus to pick me up, and arrived in Castle Combe before most of the tourists started to appear.

Castle Combe was once a British hill fort occupied by the Romans, and later the Normans, who built the fort up into a castle. The site of the castle is on a hill above the today’s village, but there is not much left of it. In the Middle Ages the little village became a significant industrial center for production of wool, and the town’s river, called By Brook, was providing power to run the mills. The village houses are all of typical Cotswold type, constructed in stone with thick walls and roofs made from split natural stone tiles. The buildings in Castle Combe are several hundred years old and have been listed as ancient monuments because of their historical importance. In modern times the town has been frequently used as site for film productions. Films like Doctor Doolittle, Warhorse, Stardust, The Wolf Man and some episodes of Poirot were partly filmed there.