Best villages in Great Britain to stay a week for sketching and painting

Cotswold Country in West England,
or Devonshire in the southwest of England;
Loch Lomond-Trossachs/Cairngorm National Parks in Scotland;
Snowdonia National Park, Wales.

https://www.visitdevon.co.uk

https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org

https://cairngorms.co.uk/discover-explore/

https://www.snowdonia.gov.wales

Bring your raincoat and a warm jumper even for the summer.

And read Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers (1931) about murder among the artists in a small village.

You will have a great time.

Hello from Wisconsin,

I shouldn't release the name of this place to the public. St. Just in Cornwall. For decades its neighbor, St. Ives, has been where artists go. St. Ives today has two car parks, one for 600 vehicles, the other for 900. So it is crowded to death. I mean, it is very much loved.

St. Just has a car park at the bus stop that holds maybe 3 dozen cars. The city really hasn't changed much since I was first there in 1973.

And it is very much Poldark scenery. It is near land'end. There are standing stones and stone circles in the area. Penzance and Mousehole are close.

Just a thought.

Wayne iNWI

Wayne

Where you go may best be determined by what you want to paint, I.e., animals, trees and flowers, coast and water, buildings, small villages, etc. as Emma said, there are 100s of places.

Thank you all for the great suggestions and the links for Devonshire, Scotland and Wales. We will definitely consult them. By the way, love the Dorothy Sayers tip, we are big British mystery fans! St. Just sounds wonderful --will check it out.

I'll throw in a different suggestion: the Holkham estate in Norfolk. https://www.holkham.co.uk/
I haven't been, but it's high on my wish list.

https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/ten-chocolate-box-villages-within-reach-of-london

Hopefully one or some of these villages will strike your fancy.

And as you are British mystery fans both Vera and Inspector George Gently filmed in the Northumberland area. Durham is an interesting town. Lovely river walk and view of the world heritage site cathedral.

The Pembrokeshire coastline will offer lovely coastal seascapes in Wales and Tenby always makes for a great painting with its colourful houses. You can also find great castles and ruins to paint in neighbouring Carmarthenshire.

Tenby - in Pembrokeshire (SW Wales) >https://www.tenbyvisitorguide.co.uk

For coastal landscapes without the crowds of Cornwall and Devon - Northumberland, with its stunning castles such as Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, pretty inland villages such as Ford and Etal, Cheviot cattle roaming the hills and the evocative Holy Island. Hadrian’s Wall, Beamish Open Air Museum and Durham are all possible day trips. It’s my favourite part of England.

The north Norfolk coastline comes joint second with the rugged Pembrokeshire coast around St David’s.

For old timbered buildings - Lavenham and Long Melford in Suffolk. It’s near Dedham Vale - John Constable country and he managed a few decent paintings!

For old stone buildings - Stamford, Oakham and Uppingham and all the villages around Rutland Water.

For hills - Saddleworth or Holmfirth between Manchester and Leeds (Last of the Summer Wine country) or Eskdale in the Lake District.

Another good base would be near Brighton - see Lewes for its history and the pretty villages of Alfriston, Rottingdean, Rodmell and Jevington. Seaford for the coast and the South Downs for hills.

For old timbered buildings - Lavenham and Long Melford in Suffolk.
It’s near Dedham Vale - John Constable country and he managed a few
decent paintings!

Thanks for this, Jennifer. Years ago I toured East Anglia (traveled with a Brit acquaintance, who drove, bless his heart), including Flatford in Constable country. I know, everybody's always on about the picturesque Cotswolds - and I'm sure they are lovely. But there are other "picturesque" areas in Britain. I enjoyed every place we went in our East Anglia tour - and we weren't tripping over coachloads of tourists, either.

When I look up from my laptop at this moment, I can see my framed photo of Kersey that has been on my wall for a long time, and hasn't yet outstayed its welcome.

Edited to add: I'm using the term "East Anglia" perhaps loosely, but I think it's generally accurate as to our trip, although we may have gone some places not strictly within "East Anglia" if there's some "official" definition or usage of that term, lol.

I cannot argue with Jennifer's advice, excellent choices. However it ultimately boils down to what you want to paint.

The poets, writers, and painters of the 1800s flocked en-masse to the English Lake District and for good reason. The light, the colors, the textures, all make for excellent subjects and inspiration. I am NOT an artist but try to sketch as much as I can when I go there...there is always something new to see.

Conwy, Wales. I'd want to paint scenes of the small town and of course Conwy Castle, perched on the edge of the waterfront.
Likewise, Caernarfon Castle, Wales, on the waterfront.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful responses. You've truly helped us to focus on some great places to stay.