Very little has changed in over 200 years to the houses and buildings in Lacock village. It's so remarkable that it feels like a toy village perfectly preserved in time. It's a quintessential Cotswolds village that has been used as a film location in many famous television shows and films.
It's one of the nearest National Trust sites to Bristol beaten only by a handful of other parks and gardens. You can drive there from central Bristol in around 40 minutes if there's no traffic along the M4. By public transport, it's a bit more of a trek, but it is possible to get there in around two hours if you're lucky with the bus and train changes.
The entire village of Lacock is owned by the National Trust, including 90 properties, and just 1,000 people call it their home with most houses rented out to families who have lived there for several generations. Even in winter, Lacock was bursting with tourists stalking the streets steeped in history. St Cyriac's Church, tithe barn and Lacock Abbey are Grade I listed and date back to the Middle Ages.
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A stroll around Lacock Abbey's grounds and Fox Talbot Museum will cost you £11 for an adult ticket in the winter, a discounted price due to the seasonal closure of the abbey and cloister until March. The museum details the pioneering photographic work of William Henry Fox Talbot and Lacock's role within this, with a must-try camera obscura on the grounds outside the abbey.
More recently, the village has been catapulted to fame through the film and TV industry. It's been used several times for the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, including where an old cottage which served as the exterior of Harry's childhood home at Godric's Hollow where Lord Voldemort killed Harry's parents in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The most notable is Lacock Abbey which served as the interior of Hogwarts School and the cloisters inside were used for the school's corridors.
It's also made appearances on the hit ITV series Downton Abbey as well as Disney's Beauty and The Beast. Other period dramas include BBC productions of Pride and Prejudice and Cranford. The near-perfect preservation of the buildings lends itself well to historic dramas and will make anyone film like you're stepping out onto a film set - the abbey's Tudor courtyard feels so authentic.
There are three pubs in the village each with roaring open fires to make a pit stop in for a well-earned pint or two after a ramble. The most notable is Sign of An Angel, housed in a building that dates back to the 15th century and is equipped with five bedrooms and cosy seating for those just stopping for a drink or some pub grub.
The George Inn is a 14th-century public house with bags of character, with its narrow corridors and uneven floors with several Wiltshire ales available. The slightly more recent Georgian pub The Red Lion has a covered, heated beer garden as well as indoor seating.
Visitors will even be able to do a spot of shopping on Lacock's High Street where makers and designers sell gifts, food, drink and accessories, with plant sales at visitor reception. There is a second-hand bookshop that can be found in the Abbey's Tudor courtyard.
It's a wonderful trip for Bristol tourists looking for a day out to a village imbued in history, with perfectly preserved buildings dating back to medieval times.
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