A GROUP of Essex villages has been named among the UK's prettiest.
The villages, which include Finchingfield, Thaxted, and Castle Hedingham, were highlighted in a feature by Condé Nast Traveller.
This feature showcases the 15 prettiest villages within a couple of hours of London, particularly focusing on an 'arc' of locations stretching east from near London Stansted Airport.
In the piece, Condé Nast Traveller describes Finchingfield as neatly fitting ‘the image of a quintessential English village’, with whitewashed cottages clustered around a broad green edged by a duck pond and ‘crucially - some excellent pubs’, name-checking The Finchingfield Lion as a good bet for visitors.
The magazine also praises the village's cafes and tearooms, ideal for a relaxed day out from the city.
Thaxted earned its spot with its cultural and historical links, clearly visible in its medieval guildhall and the outskirts windmill.
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The article notes 'the tiny Essex town that inspired Gustav Holst' - whose tune ‘Thaxted’ later became known as ‘I Vow to Thee, My Country’ - also claims to be home to one of England’s oldest morris-dancing groups.
Visitors might encounter the 'merry jingle of bells and the stomping of feet' in early summer.
Meanwhile, Castle Hedingham was particularly commended for Hedingham Castle, said to be the best-preserved Norman keep in the country.
The article describes its 'storied stones rising above treetops and parkland.'
The village itself, with its historic buildings, steam engines, and the Lion & Eagle pub serving locally sourced dishes, also came under the spotlight.
The Condé Nast Traveller feature targets Londoners, suggesting they step beyond the M25 for "cottage gardens, hedgerows, and tumbledown pubs."
