The most well-known thatched cottage in the world is undoubtedly Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, located just outside of Stratford-upon-Avon. Since ancient times, the house where Shakespeare’s wife lived has been shown on calendars, biscuit tins, postcards, parlor prints, and chocolate boxes. However, it’s not difficult to find other, equally attractive cottages in Britain and Wales that have their own thatched roofs. The art of thatching may be practiced elsewhere; in addition to the Calvados region of Normandy, there are thatch-roofed homes throughout the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Scandinavia.
However, Britain really has more thatched roofs than any other country in Europe. And most tourists typically picture a typical English village as being full of thatched cottages. Nothing says conventional Britain so much as a lovely covered cabin with roses trailing around the entryway! Over the past 20 years of investigating Britain and taking thousands of photographs (nearly 300,000 at this point), I’ve seen a bounty of jaw-dropping ‘I need to live there’ cabins. These eight are among my top picks.
1. Helford, Cornwall
A brief path from the town takes you to the genuine Frenchman’s River, utilized by Du Maurier as the setting for an experience between her courageous woman and a privateer.
There’s no car activity through Helford (at least none for guests), so we had to stop within the guest car stop next to the beautiful small church, neglecting the tidal harbor. We plummeted down the slope to the harbor and found a footbridge driving over the water to the north bank, where most of the town lies. On the distant side of the footbridge was this dazzling covered house, one of numerous covered cabins within the town.
2. Anne Hathaway’s Bungalow, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Maybe the most celebrated thatched cottage in Britain and an awfully prevalent goal for tourists visiting William Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon. The house is in fact not in Stratford at all but within the neighboring town of Shottery; in any case, the town has continuously combined with the urban sprawl of Stratford over time and is effortlessly accessible on foot from the town center. Shakespeare came here to court Anne Hathaway, his first spouse, and the house is much as he would have known it, counting a house plant planted with species that were popular in Tudor times.
3. Dunster, Somerset
I was really on my way to the notable Gallox packhorse bridge in Dunster. The signposted course from the town center took me down a calm road, driving past a few lovely covered cabins. The cabins instantly inverse were just as beautiful, but this one happened to be lit by the evening sun. Dunster is well worth an expanded visit. The highlight is Dunster Castle, a medieval fortification presently possessed by the National Believe, who too keep up the historic watermill fair a stone’s throw from this cabin. At that point, there’s the Gallox Bridge, a dazzling medieval packhorse bridge, and the remains of a medieval showcase cross, both within the care of Historic England. You’ll also see the remains of a notable dovecote and the sublime medieval parish church. Dunster is one of my top pick towns in Britain and for good reason.
4. Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
I cherish this cabin, but that will be since I’ve shot it so often! Chipping Campden could be a beautiful market town within the North Cotswolds, not far from the town where we have lived for the past 14 years. We come to Chipping Campden regularly, and I must have shot this cottage at least a half-dozen times. Having captured it so regularly, I knew that the finest time of day to take photographs was the late evening when the sun was on the front facade and the cultivated, and the most excellent time of year was in summer when the purple blossoms lining the plant path were in bloom.
Further, people can find the house on the corner of Sheep Road, a simple walk from Tall Road and the pleasant advertising lobby. On the off chance that you carry on down the street, you’ll discover another four or five lovely covered cabins, similarly beautiful, but this one is my top choice.
5. Ashton-under-Hill, Worcestershire
By total chance, our satnav coordinated us up the most streets through the town. Not knowing precisely where the church was or on the off chance that it had a dedicated stopping range, we stopped along the road verge when the satnav appeared almost 10 yards from our destination. It was, as it were after we had stopped and got out of the car that we figured it out: we were standing directly before this wonderful covered cabin, and there was another, equally beautiful, straightforwardly inverse. The church, as well as the town, were well worth the visit.
6. Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
If there is a prettier village than Welford-on-Avon, I need to see it. The core of the town encompasses the noteworthy medieval church of St. Dwindle, raised, as the title proposes, by a passage across the Stream Avon within the heart of Warwickshire. The streets surrounding the church are dotted with stunningly excellent covered cabins, numerous of which make regular appearances on calendar covers. Probably the most frequently photographed house in Welford is the one, named Ten-Penny House.
7. Godshill, Isle of Wight
The picturesque covered homes that surround the All Holy People medieval ward church are what make Godshill famous. After seeing some recent photos of Godshill, I was inspired to take a picture of the town with homes in the foreground and the church tower in the backdrop. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the ideal time of day to take the picture.
I arrived in the early morning on a sunny spring day, as it were, to find that the sun was shining specifically in my face. In any case, on the off chance that I turned around and looked behind me, it was sparkling on this incredibly pleasant, covered cottage. Talk about a happy accident! Godshill has outgrown its antique, historic core, and much of the town is now peppered with unimpressive modern-day dwellings, but the range around the church is definitely worth seeing, as there are perhaps a dozen extremely lovely cottages like this one still intact.
8. Taynton, Oxfordshire
Taynton may be a little town outside Burford, Oxfordshire, the ‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’. Additionally, it is many miles down the street from our family home. In spite of its proximity, we had never visited the town. One fresh winter morning, I chose to amend that oversight and explore the historic parish church of St. John the Evangelist. I wasn’t beyond any doubt about exactly where the church was located in the village.
So I simply turned off Burford Street and stopped by the side of the road at what seemed just like the town center. As I strolled along the street, looking for a glimpse of a church tower over the trees, I found myself strolling adjacent to this excellent covered bungalow, with the brilliant winter sunlight striking the front exterior. The church overlooked for a minute, whereas I whipped out my camera and shot the cabin. You’ll be able to see within the foundation that the neighboring cabin is also thatched, in spite of the fact that these were the only two covered houses I was able to discover in the entirety of the town. As we all know, they used locally quarried Cotswold stone, known for its honey-colored tones.