Britain’s Prettiest Places Inspired Dracula, The Prisoner, and Harry Potter!
Where would you visit? A tiny island, or a haunted abbey?
FBM Holidays released their list of Britain’s ‘Prettiest Towns and Villages’, with award-winning destinations, instagram favourites and holiday hotspots. Some destinations appeared in Harry Potter, The Prisoner, and Dracula!
Top Towns!
Keswick (above) was named the prettiest town, due to its beautiful setting in the Cumbrian hills. It has a thriving shopping centre, the Puzzling Place Museum (which is pretty weird and very cool) and a lot of lakes and fells for keen walkers.
Tenby (below), is a coastal resort in Wales. It came a close second. It’s admired for its long golden beaches, colourful houses, and beautiful coastline.
Magical Places
Lacock in Wiltshire, is home to a medieval abbey, which appeared in the first two Harry Potter movies, depicted as part of Hogwort School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Go inside, and you’ll see the huge cauldron that stood in one of the classrooms at Hogwarts. It’s an authentic Tudor cauldron dating to around 1500.
Other popular destinations on the ‘top ten’ lists include:
- St Michael’s Mount, a Cornish tidal island (top picture)
- Salcome, a pretty fishing village in Devon
- And the Welsh village of Portmerion, which famously featured in the 1960s television series, The Prisoner.
Escape to the Countryside!
Cotswold villages took three places, with Beaulieu named as one of the prettiest villages. It’s best known for its world-renowned motor museum. One of my favourite exhibits at Beaulieu is the Top Gear exhibition! The countryside’s nice too!
Painswick and Castle Coombe, also in the Cotswolds, were among the prettiest villages listed. They’re full of quaint stone buildings and gardens, abundant with flowers.
Visit the Coast! Get Aquainted with Dracula!
Whitby in Yorkshire, pictured above, is known for its associations with Count Dracula. Author Bram Stoker stayed at the Royal Hotel on the cliff while he wrote his first draft of the script, which later became a novel. He was inspired by the local legends, the medieval parish church, and Whitby Abbey on the hill.
Whitby is a favourite holiday destination, known for its amazing fish and chips and it’s links to Captain Cook, who trained there as an apprentice seaman. Cruises depart from the harbour on a 40% replica of Captain Cook’s ship, the HMS Endeavour. There’s also a Captain Cook Museum, for those who like a bit of maritime history.
For more coastal beauty, Salcome, Devon, pictured below, is hard to beat for pretty scenery, and sunshine.
Find out more about Britain’s Prettiest Towns and Villages here.
