The South West villages named 'the prettiest' in the UK

South Pool has taken the number one spot as the most beautiful village in the country. Credit: Google Maps

Some much-loved spots in the South West have appeared in a list of the top 20 'prettiest' villages in the UK.

In an article by Conde Nast Traveller - who are renowned for listing some of the most beautiful destinations in the world - villages in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset have all been recognised.

South Pool, Devon

South Pool has taken the number one spot as the most beautiful village in the country. The lifestyle travel magazine described the "changing tides of the creek" in the village as the most "noteworthy activity" .

"Savvy canoeists who’ve checked the tide charts arrive by boat and tie up to the pontoon. But others on foot can just as happily wander the water’s edge before climbing the steep steps to the pretty 14th-century St Nicholas and St Cyriac Church with its views out across the patchwork fields", it reads.

Portloe, Cornwall

Portloe has taken the number three spot. The magazine describes it as the "jewel" of the Roseland Peninsula with "piercingly turquoise sea".

"Only a handful of fishing boats now work from the cove, delivering lobster and crab, but it’s easy to imagine a time at the beginning of the 20th century when it was a heaving port", it reads.

Helford, Cornwall

Helford comes in at number 12 on the list. Described as a romantic village with "overhanging trees, bridges and hidden bays".

It says: "Arrive by ferry from the Helford Passage (boats leave from the beach in front of the Ferry Boat Inn), grab a table outside The Shipwrights Arms (where you can take your pick from over 20 types of rum) and watch the boats coming and going from the pub’s own pontoon."

Where to stay nearby: Budock Vean Hotel is one of the only places to stay nearby in Helford Passage. Covering 65 acres of sub-tropical gardens, the sprawling hotel has an indoor pool, spa and 9-hole golf course.

Southrop, Gloucestershire

Described in the article as representing the "idealised version of rural England", Southrop in Gloucestershire comes in at number 13 on the list.

Where to stay nearby: The website recommends booking a room in the Thyme hotel (the Hollywood-style room comes with a home cinema), sign up for a class at the cookery school or tuck into a feasting menu to share (perhaps pumpkin and ricotta salad followed by a leg of lamb) at the estate’s pub, The Swan.

Ilford, Wiltshire

Ilford comes in at number 14 on the list. Described as "hidden in a valley outside Bradford on Avon", the website recommends walking through to The Inn at Freshford for food and drink or joining the queue for the mobile artisan pizzeria at The Freshford Village Memorial Hall on Friday nights.

The full list is as follows:

  • South Pool, Devon

  • Cartmel, Cumbria

  • Portloe, Cornwall

  • Nether Compton, Dorset

  • Beaulieu, Hampshire

  • Ullapool, Ross and Cromarty

  • Mells, Somerset

  • Powerstock, Dorset

  • Lurgashall, Sussex

  • Solva, Pembrokeshire

  • Oxford, Suffolk

  • Helford, Cornwall

  • Southrop, Gloucestershire

  • Ilford, Wiltshire

  • Burnham Market, Norfolk

  • Hambleton, Rutland

  • Kinsale, County Cork

  • Portree, Isle of Skye

  • Alnmouth, Northumberland

  • Hutton le Hole, North Yorkshire