These are the prettiest villages near London for a charming escape from the city – ranging from magical medieval spots to stunning seaside destinations

For a trip to medieval England, a journey to Lavenham is a far simpler feat than time travel. This idyllic village boasts over 340 listed buildings and a huge, decorative church that stands 141 feet tall. The high street is lined with brightly coloured buildings, including Corpus Christi Guildhall and the De Vere House, which you may recognise from the blockbuster ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. It’s the perfect village near London to visit if you’re a fan of stunning medieval architecture – or Harry Potter.

Earlier this year, it was also named one of the most underrated destinations to visit in Britain. So get on over for a visit before everyone finds out about it!

🚂 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Liverpool Street to Sudbury, with a change at Marks Tey. From there, hop on the 753 bus to Lavenham. 
🚗 1 hour 50 minutes by car. 

Shere is the village where Christmas dreams actually come true – that’s because scenes from ‘The Holiday’ were filmed here. But even outside of Christmastime, this quaint country village has everything you could ever hope for in a city escape. There are cute cottages and a 12th-century church, as well as traditional boozers and a lovely village tea room.

Follow in the footsteps of Cameron Diaz’s ‘The Holiday’ character and head on over to the White Horse Pub for a cosy drink by a warm, crackling fire in the cooler months, or explore the charming village sights in the sunshine. And be sure not to miss a visit to Shere’s atmospheric Silent Pool.

🚂 50 minutes by train from Waterloo (or Victoria) to Dorking, followed by a 25-minute bus ride on the 32 directly to Shere. 
🚗 Less than 1.5 hours by car. 

Rye is a gorgeous storybook village (okay, it’s technically a town, but we couldn’t leave it out!) in East Sussex. Filled with cobbled lanes with enchanting names like Mermaid Street and Wish Street, the place is just as magical as it sounds. The stone-paved streets and crooked, medieval, half-timbered houses transport visitors back in time. And it’s even located right by a number of stunning beaches – including the famed Camber Sands.

Rye is a perfect destination for gorgeous walks, and there’s also a castle and a few olde inns, making it an ideal place to while away the weekend or a charming day trip from the big smoke.

🚂1 hour by train from St Pancras International to Rye, with a change at Ashford International.
🚗1.5 hours by car.

If you’re after the absolute epitome of a pictureque English village to visit, they don’t get much better (or closer) than Cookham. While many villages near London require almost two hours of journeying, if not more, Cookham is a mere half an hour away by train. As if that wasn’t enough, it was recently ranked as the 13th most beautiful village in the country. And once you see the cobbled streets and thatched cottages, all right by the riverside, you’ll be inclined to agree!

🚂 Half an hour by train from Paddington.
🚗 Approximately 1 hour by car.

Calling all literature lovers and Austen fanatics. If you fancy visiting a bookish destination near London, this is the spot for you. Chawton is a teensy-tiny village that lays claim to the cottage where Jane Austen wrote her most notable novels. Here you can visit Jane Austen’s House (AKA Chawton Cottage), which boasts an impressive collection of Austen’s furniture, paintings, personal letters, jewellery, and even first editions of her novels. It’s almost like stepping right into the pages of her writing.

🚂 Between 2 to 2.5 hours from Waterloo.
🚗 Approximately 90 minutes by car.

How’s this for a truly jaw-dropping spot to visit? The entire village of West Wycombe is owned by the National Trust, and it’s easy to see why! West Wycombe is a true gem tucked away in the lush Chiltern Hills. It has been under National Trust ownership since the 1940s due largely to the pristine West Wycombe Park and its resident manor house.

However, there’s so much more to see and do, including historic churches, charming pubs, and the surrounding countryside that’s just waiting to be explored. You can even venture into mysterious caves that were once a meeting point for the Hellfire Club, an exclusive club for high society in the 18th century.

🚂 Around 30 mins by train from Marylebone to High Wycombe, and a further 10-15 mins by taxi/bus.
🚗 1.5 hours by car.

This award-winning chocolate box village near London is categorically beautiful. Oozing with culture, Finchingfield is home to many historical landmarks. Among them, the 18th-century Roundhouse, once home to author Dodie Smith of ‘101 Dalmations‘, the 15th-century Guildhall, now a museum and library, and Spains Hall, a gorgeous, imposing Elizabethan country house. Elsewhere, you’ll discover the village green, plenty of cosy country pubs, and even a windmill. It’s a delightful spot and well worth exploring if you’re looking for a bit of peace and quiet.

🚂 1 hour by train from Liverpool Street (or Stratford) to Braintree. From there, hop in a 15-minute taxi. 
🚗 1 hour 20 minutes by car. 

Much Hadham is a gorgeous little village in Hertfordshire, not too far from Stansted Airport. It may be small, but it’s certainly mighty and boasts a whole lot of culture. Visit the Forge Museum — housed in listed buildings dating back to 1480 – to learn about the history of this remarkable village. There are also loads of lovely country walks in and around the village, as well as a couple of great pubs to finish out the day. What more could you ask for? Plus, as the picture above makes clear, it’s equally pretty in the winter as it is in the summer.

🚂 40 minutes by train from Liverpool Street to Bishop’s Stortford, followed by a 25-minute bus. 
🚗 1 hour 10 minutes by car. 

This charming village in the countryside near London is packed full of thatched cottages and lovely country gardens. It got its unusual name from the joining of the villages of Great and Little Ambo back in the 1600s, and means “both Wendens” or “Wendens together”. 

Wendens Ambo is the perfect spot to begin a countryside walk, with its storybook looks and its easy-to-reach location. If you’re after an easy escape from London, then this is a great place to start.

🚂 1 hour by train from London Liverpool Street to Audley End. You’ll arrive smack bang in the middle of Wendens Ambo!
🚗 1.5 hours by car. 

Not too far from Wendens Ambo, you’ll find another of the prettiest villages near London – Castle Hedingham. This charming spot is home to a fairytale castle, which, funnily enough, is called Hedingham Castle. It’s one of the best-preserved Norman keeps in Europe – and you can stay overnight inside its luxurious royal chamber!

While the castle gets loads of visitors, the village itself is also well worth a wander around. It’s packed full of cute cottages and half-timbered houses. It’s also the starting point for the 150-year-old Colne Valley Railway – a short one-mile line where visitors can take a ride on a real-life vintage steam train. 

🚂 1 hour by train from Liverpool Street to Braintree, followed by a 45-minute bus. 
🚗 1.5 hours by car.

Next on this roundup of the most beautiful villages near London is the charming Great Missenden, which was once the home of legendary author Roald Dahl. Synonymous with leafy lanes, ancient churches, higgledy-piggledy streets, and rolling green hills, it’s a cute spot that has been used as the filming location for a range of different TV shows – including ‘Midsomer Murders’.

There are plenty of great walks and cycling trails surrounding the village itself, and you can even follow the ‘Roald Dahl Village Trail’. This will take you to Roald Dahl’s grave and past sites such as Sophie’s ‘norphanage’ in ‘The BFG’ and the library visited by Matilda.

🚂 40 minutes by train from Marylebone.
🚗 Less than 1.5 hours by car.

Tucked away in the rural Chichester district of the South Downs lies Lurgashall, a picturesque village near London with a population of just 600 or so inhabitants. There’s a pleasant village green here, and Blackdown – the highest spot in West Sussex – which is synonymous with the former Poet Laureate Lord Alfred Tennyson. 

Be sure to also check out The Noah’s Ark pub – a beautiful 16th-century country boozer with a cottage garden, open fires, real ales and locally sourced food to sustain you.

🚂 55 minutes by train from Waterloo to Haslemere. From there, you’ll need to catch two buses to get to Lurgashall. The journey should take around 2 hours in total.
🚗 Around 90–120 minutes by car.

Located right in the heart of the gorgeous New Forest National Park – Europe’s largest surviving area of ancient pasture woodland – Brockenhurst is a bustling village with wildlife at every turn, acres of unspoilt ancient woodland, and miles of walking and bike trails.

There are some great pubs here, as well as restaurants, boutique stores, quaint tea rooms, and some excellent accommodation options that range from campsites to B&Bs and self-catering spots. You’ll really feel like you’re in the countryside here – wild ponies, deer, and herds of cows regularly wander through the village!

🚂 1.5 hours by train from Marylebone.
🚗 Less than 1.5 hours by car.

When you think of quaint, quiet, and sleepy English hamlets, you’re likely imagining exactly what awaits you in Hambleden. This charming English village is so picturesque (after all, it is found within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), that it’s played the setting for a hefty list of blockbuster films. It’s featured in the likes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Into the Woods, and Nanny McPhee Returns. It even played the spooky titular role in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.

🚂 Less than 90 minutes by train and bus from Paddington.
🚗 Approximately 90 minutes by car.

Here’s another seaside spot for you, perfect for escaping from London and soaking up the sun or enjoying some fish and chips by the water. Birchington originally gained popularity as a seaside destination in the Victorian times, and has continued to pique the interest of those looking for a more peaceful coastal retreat ever since.

The water-bordering village is home to quiet bays and beautifully clear water, which you can check out from the stunning sandy expanses of Minnis Bay. Like many other day-trip-worthy villages near London, it’s also home to plenty of historic buildings, walking routes, and charming pubs. What more could you need?

🚂 Just under 2 hours by train from Victoria.
🚗 Approximately 90 minutes by car.

Turville is another teeny-tiny village outside of London that looks as if it’s jumped straight out of the pages of a fairytale. Slap-bang in the middle of the beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside, the village dates all the way back to prehistoric times, and has featured in a plethora of films and shows.

Turville is home to the Cobstone Windmill (the Potts’ family home in ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’) and St Mary the Virgin Church (as seen in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’). It’s also provided the backdrop for the likes of ‘Killing Eve’, ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’, ‘101 Dalmations’, and ‘Midsomer Murders’.

It was also recently named one of Britain’s best places to live, and its celebrity residents include Orlando Bloom and Tom Hollander (!).

🚂 Catch a train from Marylebone to High Wycombe (under half an hour) then use local buses to get to Turville.
🚗 Approximately 1 hour drive from London.

In keeping with our moniker as Secret London, we simply had to include this charming village. That’s because it was recently named one of the best-kept secrets in the UK property market. But more than just a homeowner’s dream, it’s also home to a historic watermill and the site of one of the first recorded cricket matches.

The village has less than 6,000 residents, and ‘Location Location Location’ star, Phil Spencer, supposedly once hailed Redbourn as “quite possibly one of the cutest villages I’ve ever seen”. When you visit, be sure not to miss the nearby Iron Age defensive enclosure (The Aubreys).

🚂 Around 1.5 hours from London, using a train and local buses.
🚗 Approximately 1 hour drive from London.

Here’s a pretty ancient addition to this list of the prettiest villages near London. ‘How old?’ you might ask. The village of Mayfield predates the Domesday Book! And to add some literary pedigree to its history, it was also the birthplace of everybody’s favourite nanny; author P.L. Travers was living in Mayfield’s Pound Cottage when she wrote ‘Mary Poppins‘.

The village is home to a whopping amount of historic buildings. The high street alone is home to over 40 listed buildings! It’s also home to The Middle House, which was recently named one of Britain’s best Tudor buildings. Dating back over 450 years, it’s filled to the brim with history and charm, and is now home to a cosy pub, restaurant, and beautiful boutique hotel.

🚂 Less than an hour by train.
🚗 Approximately 1.5 hours drive from London.

This tiny village is just under 2 hours away from London, and was recently named the second-best village in the UK. The ancient village sits (almost) entirely inside the world’s largest prehistoric stone circle, which is part of the Avebury World Heritage Site and looked after by the National Trust. The stone circle dates all the way back to 2850BC – 2200BC, and is completely free to visit – unlike nearby Stonehenge…

And of course it’s plenty picturesque, with charming thatched cottages, grand Georgian houses, a 19th-century pub, and the jaw-droppingly gorgeous 16th-century Avebury Manor,

🚂 Take the train from Paddington to Swindon (less than an hour), then take a local bus to Avebury.
🚗 Approximately 2 hours drive from London.