A couple of months ago, I visited Wiltshire on holiday and decided to stay at the lovely village of Lacock for a couple of days. The key museum highlight of the village is of course Lacock Abbey and the Fox and Talbot museum, which I have shared in a separate post. In this post, I am focusing on the special highlights of my stay in the village and my morning walks around the village.
Each morning, I woke up to a view of a private garden that I had labelled the secret garden. I would have loved to explore that garden, if I had had the permission of its owner.
After making myself a hot cup of tea, I would go out for my much treasured morning walks, exploring the village without a soul in sight. The village is tiny with just four main streets in a grid like pattern, so I invariably ended up walking around several times during my stay.
The medieval village of Lacock was built around St. Cyriac’s chuch. The base of the current church was built in the 11th century, though there has been renovations made across the centuries.
Close to the church is King John’s hunting lodge, said to have been used by the King when hunting in the Melksham forest that surrounded the village then. The 13th century hunting lodge, which still has some of its original beam structure, is now a tea room. It was closed for renovations during my visit.
I took the tiny street near the church, leading towards Nethercote hill, and came upon the packhorse bridge over Bide brook. The packhorse bridge was the first bridge of its kind that I had seen. So, while I guessed that the path leading into and out of the brook was for carts carrying market goods, I had to read about it to learn that it had been used for packhorses during the wool trade heydays of the village.
Instead of continuing down Nethercote hill or taking the Lover’s walk footpath trail, I turned back and walked back along Church street. I passed Lacock bakery, which I had visited during the afternoon of the previous day to indulge in a sweet pastry.
Near the end of Church street, close to the main road, I came upon the Sign of the Angel, which had been a 15th century inn and was now a restaurant with rooms to board. Later in the day, when I was walking along the street, I saw tour groups gathering outside the inn and the tour leader was referencing Harry Potter so I guess this place must have been one of the many places in Lacock that was used in the movie. I was more interested in the fact that the village was used to depict Meryton village in Pride and Prejudice (the 1995 BBC miniseries).
From the corner of Church street and West Street, it was lovely to see my rooms above Quintessentially English and I wished that the cars had not been parked on the road, so I could imagine that I had traveled back in time.
Walking along West Street, I passed George Inn, which had been highly recommended for their food by Ollie and where I had planned to have one of my dinners but never did get around to it. George Inn has continued to be a bustling inn since it obtained its license in 1361.
Turning on to High Street, I passed the National Trust shop and Red Lion inn.
While I did not try out all three main inns in Lacock as I had originally planned to, I did have a lovely meal at the Red Lion. I am a fan of the chunky chips that is served in England.
Opposite Red Lion, at the start of East Street was the medieval tithe barn. This was the place where taxes was collected in the form of 10% of farm produce.
At one end of the barn was a small holding cell, which had been used to hold people overnight, who had too much to drink.
The next door village hall is used for community events.
Returning to High Street and walking further in the direction of the abbey, one passes the playing field managed by the Lacock Parish council.
The High Street curves around the low walls and perimeter fence of the abbey grounds and onto Hither Way. I enjoyed my views of Lacock Abbey and its grounds, from the road.
I walked up to the Wharf and Lacock bridge. This bridge has been in use since the 14th century and I read that it is sometimes inaccessible due to floods.
I became fond of the little village from my morning walk explorations during the two days that I stayed there and would highly recommend an overnight stay or more, rather than a day trip to the village. It adds to the experience of exploring Lacock Abbey.
A special highlight of my stay in the village was my accommodation. From the moment I saw Snoozums on AirBnB, I knew I had to stay there when I visited Lacock. Fortunately, the place was available on the days I planned to visit and it was right in the heart of the village, above a shop opposite the bus stop.
Quintessentially English is a delightful shop that Jacqui Sheard founded, so that she could make her passion for crafting handmade organic soaps her profession. The lovely scents of different bath products greeted me as I entered the shop upon arrival. I was soon ushered next door and up the stairs, to Snoozums, the apartment I would be staying at.
It was a lovely space with a living area, cosy bedroom and a private bathroom. Jacqui left a huge breakfast basket for me as well as some of the bath product goodies in the welcome tray.
In addition to my delight at staying at the cosy and comfortable apartment in a historic building, I enjoyed interacting with Jacqui and her husband, David. I also enjoyed helping Ollie with packing some of their Christmas orders and learnt about different bath products, in the process. Jacqui was very generous that she gave me an extra night’s stay free of cost, for helping them out with the Christmas orders, and dropped me at Chippenham for my onward journey at the end of my stay.
[Linking this post to Faraway Files #19 and The Weekly Postcard]
Perspectives Quilt 
Just by looking at the photos make me get back in time 😍 love those half-timbered houses :))
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The village was such a beautiful treat! Lovely to hear that you enjoyed the photos.
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it looks amazing! #farawayfiles
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That little village on the edge of the Cotswolds was so beautiful!
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It is just so quintessentially English! I love the frost on the ground too – gives it a timeless quality somehow. Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles, cheers from Denmark!
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True, Erin. Lacock has such a lovely quintessentially English vibe! I saw recent photos, on the National Trust IG page, taken around Lacock abbey with snowdrops, that were beautiful as well.
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Looks like the kind of perfect, quaint and peaceful little village I love to stroll through! #FarawayFiles
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I knew you would love the village, Lorelei! 🙂
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You know me so well already haha!
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How wonderful that you got to stay in Lacock, Ahila! We had such a lovely day there last year (I grew up in Wiltshire) and I love the thought of you wandering the streets early in the morning. It’s such a pretty village. I can thoroughly recommend a meal at the George Inn – it’s the quintessential British pub, with wooden beams, log fires and bay windows. Thanks for sharing this on #farawayfiles
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Wiltshire is a beautiful county to grow up in, Clare. I regret not going to George Inn for a meal, though it was just opposite where I was staying, but perhaps I should simply revisit in summer so that I could explore the rest of the abbey and the inns.
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I’ve actually seen videos and pictures of Lacock before and thought it looked absolutely beautiful! What a lovely little village to spend a few days exploring! #farawayfiles
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Since I first saw photos of Lacock abbey on a blog, I have kept seeing so many beautiful photos of the little village and simply had to go for a short stay. Hope you do visit the village, Chiera!
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This village is a 10 minute drive from my house! It’s wonderful, isn’t it?! Whenever we have people visit we take them there, plus I just love going to visit for a nice Sunday lunch and a stroll. 😀 #flyawayfiles
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How wonderful that the village is a short drive from your house! It is such a pretty village.
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I am officially jealous. I love Lacock but have never got to stay overnight and wake up there. #greenwithenvy Thanks for sharing with #farawayfiles
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🙂 I had to decide whether I wanted to visit Lacock from Bath on a day trip but knew that I simply had to stay in the village so I was lucky to find an affordable AirBnB listing in the heart of the village.
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What a great idea I wouldn’t have thought of Air B and B
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Looks like a ‘must stay’ for us, if ever we get to the UK again. Your photos and description make it very inviting! I will take more notice next time I see the 1995 film of Pride and Prejudice. Thanks for sharing.
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Hope you do stay at Lacock village, during your next visit to the UK. It is a special little village.
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Let’s hope so!
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Lacock seems like an escape into another time and place! I can visualize so many movies being filmed here and it seems the town hasn’t lost its romanticism. Thanks for sharing such a fun travel adventure!
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The village and abbey are very special and well maintained by the National Trust, that it was very easy to imagine how life might have been here in the past. Glad you enjoyed the post, Brooke!
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Looks beautiful. I remember Meryton village in the 1990s Pride and Prejudice. I love the idea of the holding cell. #farawayfiles
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It was interesting that the holding cell was right next to the tithe barn, which held all the taxes collected from the villagers. I would have assumed that drunks would be kept far away from all the taxes collected from the villagers.
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What a beautiful village. It looks like lovely place to visit
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It certainly is a lovely place to visit.
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My goodness you really captured the beautifully crisp winter’s light in Lacock Ahila. Beautiful photos without all the tourists we encountered there in early autumn. Looks like the perfect Cotswolds escape. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
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Thank you, Katy. I was blessed with beautiful weather during my stay in Lacock and staying in the village, allowed me to roam around taking photos before the day visitors came.
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So many cute little towns in England and Lacock definitely falls in the category. What a lovely place to spend a day exploring. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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True, so many pretty towns and villages in England and especially in the Cotswolds!
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Lacock looks like such an authentic English town. I’d love to explore all these sites and enjoy its relaxed atmosphere for a few days. I miss Europe! #TheWeeklyPostcard
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Lacock is a special village, that seems to have been frozen in time. Apparently, Henry Fox Talbot’s decision not to allow the railway line to pass by the village also contributed to this.
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Lacock looks so quinessentially English, absolutely lovely 🙂 Initially I thought a day trip to this village would suffice but looking at your photos of the shops, houses, abbey grounds and the accommodation rooms, you’re right, it’s worth staying for a night or two. Love your photos! #TheWeeklyPostcard
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It does look quintessentially English, doesn’t it? And I love that Jacqui’s name for her shop so fits the village. I would highly recommend a couple of days in Lacock, Kat.
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Beautiful pictures, Ahila! Harry Potter references AND Pride & Prejudice (1995 version)? Seems like a must-visit for me. That Pride & Prejudice series is a long time favourite of mine. I’ve watched it over and over!
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Thank you, Bryna. Apparently, it was more recently used to film Downtown Abbey.
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How lovely to share your morning walk with us so we are able to see all the beautiful sights of the village. Your room looks gorgeous and I love that you helped out with the Christmas orders and were rewarded with a free night.
#farawayfiles
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Thank you, Trish. The room was both gorgeous with great views and warm and cosy, which was wonderful during the winter.
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This looks like an incredibly charming little village, although perhaps a little chilly. The grounds especially look like a nice place to walk. #theweeklypostcard
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The village is very charming and yes, it was quite cold early in the morning but improved as the day went by. I am sure you would enjoy exploring the abbey and the village.
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I enjoyed your post and felt like I was wandering through the gorgeous village of Lacock. We were lucky enough to lunch at the King John Tea Rooms when we visited, which I have talked about in my latest blog post. 🙂
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How lovely that you were able to have a meal at King John’s tea rooms. It was closed during my visit. Will check out your blog post on your visit.
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