27 January 2024 , 09:00
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A village of near impossible seeming levels of quaintness is situated on a dramatic moor.
Lustleigh is regularly referred to as 'the prettiest village in Dartmoor', which is not a bad title given the generally strong reputation of the dramatic Devon landscape. While Ashburton is packed full of cafes, Lydford rumours of ghosts and Buckfast a 1,000-year-old monastery home to an alcohol brewing holy order, Lustleigh is the place where idyllic twee-ness is taken to the next level.
Thatched cottages line the triangular village green while a tributary of the River Bovey wanders through the village. To the west of the settlement is the ridge of Lustleigh Cleave, which has magnificent views across Dartmoor. At the north end of the Cleave is the Iron Age hillfort of Hunter's Tor.
Narrow country lanes lead up to the village which is mainly populated by tired, ruddy-faced walkers who have been stomping across the moor. A good place to stop and enjoy a refreshing drink is the Cleave Public House, once a 15th-century farmhouse. Alternatively, a cup of fine tea can be had at a thatched tearoom on the green.
Many winding lanes run up to Lustleigh (Getty Images)Nearby is the Orchard, a green space given to the village as a public park which is home to the unusual Mayday Rock, a huge boulder carved with the names of every May Queen chosen in the annual Lustleigh May Day celebration.
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The event has been going on almost every year since 1905 and sees the village convert itself into a mini-fait full of games, food stalls and Morris dancing, culminating with the election of the May Queen.
The annual Lustleigh Village Show is held on the August Bank Holiday weekend and sees the village's population swell to 4,500 visitors, eight times the normal population of 600.
Like many bucolic places across the UK, Lustleigh found a significant external audience for the first time with the arrival of the railway in 1886. At its peak two railway stations served its small population. Now they are both closed, sections of the tracks instead converted into walking trails.
What really lends Lustleigh an air of a place written into a Beatrix Potter novel is the abundance of thatched cottages, many of which date back to the 16th century or earlier. The now outdated roofing practice makes the village feel as if it has been designed specifically to put on a souvenir chocolate box or to tempt American tourists to come to England.
The closest train station to Lustleigh is Newton Abbot, which can be reached via a two hour 50 minute train ride from London Paddington, with a half an hour bus at the other end. Alternatively, it is a two hour drive from Bristol.
There are plenty of guest houses to stay in and around the village, including Three Pound Cottage, which is itself thatched.