The 16 most Instagrammed villages in the UK

Car-free Clovelly is all cute cottages and cobbled streets leading down to the seafront. It’s easy to see why the ancient fishing village is the most Instagrammed in the UK.  

Italy or north Wales? This colourful coastal town on the edge of Snowdonia National Park was created in the twentieth century and made to look like it came straight out of the Italian Riviera. 

More? The best things to do in Portmeirion. 

The centre of this ancient, honey-hued Cotswold village feels like it’s been frozen in time. Why? No new houses have been built here since the 1600s.

Sold? The best things to do in Castle Combe. 

Located in the Peak District National Park, pretty Castleton is a social media fave thanks to its neat stone cottages, trickling steam and the ruined castle that presides over it all. 

This popular spot, right on the edge of one of the Lake District’s glassy waters, was praised for its picturesque qualities way before Instagram became a thing. It was once the home (and regular subject-matter) of poet William Wordsworth. 

Constructed out of classic Cotswold stone, Bourton-on-the-Water is known for its neat bridges and traditional cottages. Known as the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’, it’s regularly voted one of England’s prettiest villages. 

A small fishing village in the North York Moors National Park, Robin Hood’s Bay has narrow, hilly streets tumbling down to the seafront, and a wide sandy beach. 

Sat in the shadow of the huge, ancient and incredibly well-preserved Bamburgh Castle, coastal Bamburgh village is all neat stone cottages and smack-in-the-middle-of-nowhere rural vibes. 

Bibury looks like it’s straight out of a fairy tale. The most famous street is Arlington Row, a neat line of stone cottages along the banks of the River Coln that were built in the fourteenth century. 

The dramatic ruins of Corfe Castle in Dorset sit high above the village of the same name. There you’ll find pubs, B&Bs and tearooms that can trace their history back centuries. 

Surrounded by Dedham Vale, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that inspired painter John Constable, Dedham boasts a pretty pastel high street, cute tea shops and charming churches. 

Check out the best things to do in Dedham. 

Rural Lymm is an idyllic waterside spot known for its pretty walking routes. 

Part of the Polperro Heritage Coast, this unspoilt Cornish fishing village is populated with pretty white cottages and steep streets. 

Another of Cornwall’s charming fishing villages, Mousehole is an ancient arty community set around a neat and diminutive harbour. 

Villages don’t come more chocolate-box than Lavenham, a pretty and perfectly-preserved medieval wool town full of pastel-painted cottages and half-timbered houses.

Here are the best things to do in Lavenham. 

Lacock has had roles in countless period telly dramas. The village, which is almost entirely owned by the National Trust, is a total timewarp, with no TV aerials or electricity cables.