Kingham, “the darling of the Cotswolds”, is a truly idyllic place. Besides being voted England’s favourite village by County Life Magazine, The Telegraph conducted a survey of more than 100 popular villages, balancing beauty with accessibility, landscape with community and good working services and Kingham topped the list as the best village of them all.

Kingham is indeed that rare thing, an unspoilt village. The water still flows along the Evenlode Valley, stone and thatched cottages still trim the village green. The Village Store caters for every need and the St Andrew’s church spire looks out over fields necklaced with dry stone walls in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Sitting on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds, unlike most of Cotswold villages that are built on the hills, Kingham is in the Evenlode Valley that runs between two of the highest market towns in the region, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Norton. 

No motorways or flight paths nearby but Kingham has its own train station, a mile from the centre of the village, which is just 90 minutes from London Paddington, making it both beautifully secluded and wonderfully accessible.