The English ‘super village’ with 400-year-old riverside pub that’s one of the best places to live in the UK
A TINY ‘super village’ in the UK is home to a 400-year-old pub right on the riverfront – which is perfect for the summer.
Just an hour from London, Wye in Kent was named one of the best places to live in the UK back in 2013.
Just one stop from Ashford by train, the village is home to just 2,300 people.
Home to a number of quaint pubs, one of the most popular is The Tickled Trout.
The 400-year-old pub is right on the river Wye, with live music throughout the summer.
It also has it’s own purple ice cream van, selling homemade treats with flavours such as maple walnut and caramel latte.
Otherwise there is also The Kings Head, as well as The New Flying Horse Inn, which was named the Pub of the Year 2023 in the Shepherd Neame Pub Awards.
It also won the Shepherd Neame Wine Pub of the Year award in 2022.
Most of the pubs also offer rooms for tourists wanting to spend the night.
Make sure to visit on the weekend too, with a Farmers Market on the first and third Saturday of every month, as well as pop into gift shop Tickety Boo.
Wye is also popular with walkers, being in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Beauty.
One of the biggest landmarks is the chalk Wye Crown, cut into the hills in 1902 to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII.
If you need a break, at the top of the downs is a bench, with the words “The Best View in Kent” on it.
One keen walker wrote on TripAdvisor: “Stunning views across Kent.”
Another agreed: “Been coming here since I was a small child and am captivated every time.”
There are lots of new additions to the village in recent years too.
This includes a new tapas bar as well as cycle cafe.
Why Wye?
Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey gives her verdict on the Kent Village:
“Having visited the village weekly due to family living there, it is one of my favourite tiny villages I’ve been to in the UK.
“There are few chains in the village, bar a Co-Op, and you’ll be hard-pressed to visit any shop or pub without getting into long chats with the locals.
“Despite it’s small size, it has everything from amazing pubs (my favourite being The King’s Head) as well as tiny shops and amazing coffee shops.
“And for locals, there is a Post Office, butchers and library as well as kid’s playgrounds and tennis court.”
“It’s just an hour from London by train – so it’s an easy day trip for a quaint day by the river”.
If you fancy visiting, it takes around an hour by train from London, travelling from Stratford and changing at Ashford International.
Otherwise direct slow trains run from London Bridge, taking 1hr25.
Wye isn’t the only pretty English village to add to your staycation list this summer.
Bourneville, built by the Cadbury family outside Birmingham, is said to be like ‘going back in time’ with chocolate box houses.
However, alcohol is banned – and you’ll have to leave the village for a pub session.
Yorkshire’s Wentworth village is also said to look like something from the 18th century, with every door having to be painted the same Wentworth Green.
Also in Yorkshire is the village of Kilnsea, which has its own remote beach and pub with some of the best sunsets in the word.
Otherwise here is the “prettiest village in England”.