West Country villages dubbed the 'poshest' in Britain

The Telegraph has released its newest list of the poshest villages across Britain in 2024. Over 48 villages were named and four are within the West Country, including Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire.

From rolling hills, a healthy choice of local pubs and restaurants to good travel connections and impressive schools, finding the perfect village that has both chocolate-box visual appeal with the necessary amenities such as a great pub can be tricky.

Frances McDonald, director of research at estate agent Savills, indicates that the search criteria have somewhat "shifted" over the past 18 months. However, some of the West Country's villages have been named the "poshest" multiple times by the publication throughout the years.

South Pool, Devon

South Pool has been ranked one of the poshest places in the UK (Image: Devon Live)

With a 900-year-old Grade I-listed church and the award-winning Millbrook Inn, South Pool boasts history, peace and traditional country life. The village is still active in 2024, with a true community still famous for its Easter duck race.

The village has around 150 residents and sits at the head of the tidal South Pool creek, just over three miles south east of Kingsbridge and two-and-a-half miles east of Salcombe, in the South Devon National Landscape, a designation formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its Grade I-listed Church of St Nicholas and St Cyriac, dates back to the 12th century and features the same bells which rang out nearly 250 years ago.

This kind of village life comes with a hefty price tag and a home in Devon's most beautiful village will set you back £844,429 on average. However, this is down from 2022, when the average cost of a house in South Pool, according to Savills, was just shy of £1 million.

Rock, Cornwall

We visited Rock after it was named one of the poshest villages in the UK (Image: Lisa Letcher/Cornwall Live)

Dubbed 'Chelsea-on-Sea' it is not surprising that Rock has been named among the most poshest villages for the third time. Located opposite Padstow on the north-east bank of the River Camel estuary, Rock is a coastal fishing village in Cornwall.

While Rock may only be a small village, it is overflowing with grandiose homes that are anything but humble, expensive restaurants and its own waterski school. It's also a favourite haunt for celebs and politicians including David Cameron.

In recent years it has become a household name as the place where Gordon Ramsay owned a home, having purchased a £4.4 million mansion in 2015. Rock also shot up in popularity in the 1990s when Prince William and Prince Harry visited for a holiday.

The village has been rising in popularity among wealthy people through the years causing, quite a lot of postcode envy, which is no surprise as the average house price in the village is a whopping £1,153,372.

Oddington, Gloucestershire

Generic street view of Oddington — Oddington, in Gloucestershire, is one of the UK's poshest villages (Image: Google Maps Street View)

Oddington is located just south of the A436 and two miles east of Stow-on-the-Wold. According to the latest consensus in 2011, the parish had a population of 417 people.

The average house price in Oddington, which is known for its tight-knit community, is £985,834. At the heart of the parish is the 12th Century Church of St Nicholas, built with limestone and a stone slate roof.

The Telegraph said: "The village hall is always full of events marking local traditions. One such tradition is the 'Christmas breakfast', which sees the community come together on a freezing December morning to enjoy porridge with whiskey followed by a full English breakfast."

Wellow, Somerset

A view of the village of Wellow, in Somerset — A view of Wellow (Image: Somerset Guardian)

On the surface, Wellow looks like a quintessential English village, but the small area is credited for its vibrant community, popular shops and pubs such as the Fox and Badger, and good stables. This West Country gem has been named a few times as the poshest throughout the years by The Telegraph.

The average house price in Wellow is a whopping £1,048,938, but in 2023 it was £954,993. A resident named Lyn Smith said: "It has a wonderful community that is for sure which existed pre-Covid. It's now even better. It has certainly got what you might call more upmarket over the last 20 years but not in a negative way.

"The new people that have moved here have quickly got really involved in village life, which is hugely valued as a result." She suggested that "posh" isn't the right word for Wellow but "charming" would be better instead.