Charming countryside village less than an hour from Bristol is ‘one of Britain’s 30 greatest’

Bristol is surrounded by lovely places to visit, many of them well and truly on the tourist map, but what about those villages and towns unspoiled by having too many visitors?

One hidden gem village less than an hour from Bristol has been chosen in The Telegraph’s list of ‘Britain’s 30 greatest villages – all untouched by mass tourism’.

Deep in the Mendips, the village of Mells near Frome is described as ‘chocolate-box-charming’ with an ‘achingly-cool old pub’ among its many attributes.

Dating from 1480 (but given a posh gastropub makeover in 2013), The Talbot serves local ales and cider as well as a food menu stuffed with Somerset product, from the Westcombe Cheddar in the ploughman’s to meat and game from local farms and estates.

The Talbot (named after a medieval hunting dog) is very much the hub of Mells but the village has plenty else to offer, especially stunning architecture.

Parts of Mells Manor date from the 1460s and it has been occupied by the same family since the 16th-century.

Also popular is the pretty Mells stream and Grade II-listed ruins of the Victorian Fussell’s ironworks, which once made agricultural tools.

Next to the tithe barn, the tranquil Walled Garden is a non-profit community nursery and garden with an outdoor cafe serving tea, coffee, cake and pizza.

Also of architectural interest is the triangular stone shelter designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who also designed the village bus stop.

Further proof that Mells has been untouched by mass tourism is the village shop, which is run by a group of villagers who decided to form a community social enterprise when the previous owner retired.

The shop now sells a range of local products including Bruton Dairy milk, Box House Brewery beers and bread from the village bakery.

The Telegraph writer says: “Chocolate-box-charming, tucked in tantalising Mendips countryside and home to an achingly-cool old pub, Mells scores highly in village Top Trumps.”