If you were to design the prettiest village in the world, odds are, you couldn’t come up with anything much better than Lacock. Timber-framed cottages, historic rose gardens, one grand country house, medieval boozers and a babbling brook, they say life has little changed here in 200 years.
The quintessential English village, life started in Lacock with the Abbey. This 13th-century convent later became a family home for the Sharington and Talbot families. It was Henry Fox Talbot, in 1835, who created the world’s first photographic negative of a window in the South Gallery.
Lacock Abbey passed into the National Trust’s care in 1944 and is now recognised as the ‘Home of Photography’ with a significant photographic collection in the Fox Talbot Museum. Probably more famously, however, it’s been used as a filming location in ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Downton Abbey’.
What else is there to see in Lacock?
Just outside, the Abbey is home to a handful of beautiful and lively gardens—like Lady Elizabeth’s Rose Garden, planted with Georgian era varieties, and William Henry Fox Talbot’s exotic greenhouses in the Botanic Garden. From the Woodland Garden to The Orchard, and even the parkland in the spring and summer months, there’s plenty of flora to find.
Leaving the Abbey behind, the village itself hosts a 14th-century tithe barn that only adds to the medieval setting, alongside a historic high street—where you can pick countless artisan gifts, food-to-go from the deli, or a coffee and cake from The Stables cafe. For a proper country pint, head to The George Inn (dating back to 1361).
To take it all in, the National Trust has even drawn up an easy walk that explores the whole of the village and “some of the off-the-beaten-track paths.” It promises picturesque cottages, a game of Pooh sticks, and views of traditional English countryside. You can learn more about that here.
How do I get to Lacock?
Roughly 30 miles from Bristol, it can take between 45 minutes and an hour to drive to Lacock. Follow the M32 and M4 to the A350 in Wiltshire (taking exit 17) and follow it to Lacock.