Penelope Keith's Village of the Year

Starting their quest for Britain’s best village in western England, the judges bask in stunning seaside communities and rural idylls. Penelope is by the seaside in Charmouth, Dorset, while Patrick bridges the divide between Wales and England in the Wye Valley. Juliet uncovers her inner Viking in Lydford, Devon, and Alex learns to thatch on the coast in Aberdaron, Wales.

In Devon, the Lympstone Brass Band performs for Penelope, as Alex investigates an alien invasion in Llwyngwril, North Wales. Patrick learns about the peculiar art of swede racing in Colwinston, South Wales, and Juliet helps spruce up the peaceful village of Porlock.

Penelope meets an army of volunteers on the Dorset coast in Burton Bradstock. Surf’s up for historian Alex Langlands at the world’s first surfing lake in Dolgarrog, while Juliet gets a real taste of the sea in Mousehole, Cornwall. And anything goes for Patrick in Llangwm’s museum of everything.  

In Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia, Alex gets adventurous. Penelope horses around in Charlton Horethorne, Juliet reels in the catch of the day in Polperro in Cornwall, and on the Gower Peninsula, Patrick digs for cockles in Penclawdd.

On the Jurassic coast, Penelope’s all at sea with Beer’s historic fishing fleet. Patrick is Boule-d over in Sherston in Wiltshire, and in Devon, Juliet meets Clovelly donkeys. Alex goes native in the Welsh village of Llanllyfni.

Five villages from the western zone go head-to-head for a semifinalist spot and the chance to win Village of the Year and the 10,000-pound prize money. Will it be the buildings, the scenery, or good old British eccentricity that wins the day?

Now in the southeast zone, four more short-listed villages have their chance to impress the judges. Penelope discovers eccentric events in Elstead, Surrey. Alex retraces ancient footsteps on the Norfolk coast in Happisburgh. In the heart of Berkshire in Hampstead Norreys, Patrick explores a tropical rainforest, and Juliet rounds up a flock of rare sheep in Ashwell, Hertfordshire.

Craft expert Patrick helps to update the 3,000-year-old white chalk horse of Uffington. In Kent, Penelope takes in the magnificent views of peg-tiled rooftops in Goudhurst. Archaeologist Alex travels to Suffolk and finds the Bardwell bells appealing. And in Blunham in Bedfordshire, garden designer Juliet comes out smelling like roses at their yearly floral festival.

Penelope explores a medieval masterpiece in the Kent village of Penshurst. On the Norfolk coast, Alex meets the volunteers keeping Mundesley’s beaches shipshape. Juliet tries her hand at building a traditional wall in Haddenham. And in the New Forest, Patrick falls under the spell of the ancient village of Burley.

Alex meets the residents of Rowhedge, Essex, who are making a splash in the river Colne. Patrick visits Findon, a village that’s breeding winning riders and horses. In Redbourn in Hertfordshire, Juliet breaks bread with the local miller, and Penelope attends the world custard pie championships in Coxheath in Kent.

In West Sussex, Penelope meets the harbormaster of Lindfield’s village pond. Alex travels to the heart of artist John Constable’s country in East Bergholt in Suffolk. Juliet gets green-fingered in Woburn in Bedfordshire, and Patrick swans around in Cookham, Berkshire.

Five towns culled from the southeast zone duke it out for a chance to compete in the grand final. Which one has the chops to contend for the coveted title of Village of the Year?

On her first stop in the central zone, Penelope meets Lyddington’s own Sherlock Holmes. In Eglinton in Northern Ireland, Juliet enjoys a good old-fashioned ceilidh.

Alex goes cuckoo for a water garden in Pembridge, Herefordshire. In Ulster, Juliet attends the first wife-carrying championships in Glenarm.

Penelope bonds with alpacas in Cambridgeshire, and Patrick learns what it is to be “to the manor born” in Tissington in Derbyshire.

Penelope unleashes her inner graffiti artist in Histon and Impington, and Patrick pilots a rocket in Audlem, Cheshire. Alex explores the largest village green in England.

In Lincolnshire, Penelope tracks down a seriously good sausage in Woodhall Spa. Juliet explores the blooming beautiful Broughshane in County Antrim.

From the west of Ireland to the heart of the Midlands, five villages continue to try to woo the judges for a spot in the final competition.

Alex plays king of the castle in Bamburgh, Northumberland, while Juliet takes in the beauty of the Lake District in Grasmere.

In Aberdeenshire, Penelope discovers the inspiration for great art in Catterline. On the Isle of Skye, Patrick explores a community thriving on the edge of the Atlantic.

Alex explores the smuggling stronghold of Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. Patrick dances to a Scottish tune in Acharacle.

Penelope goes back to the land in Kinloch Rannoch, Scotland. Alex draws his sword in Great Ayton, Yorkshire. Patrick attempts the local lingo in Avoch, Ross-shire.

From the north of Scotland to the heart of Lancashire, four villages have made it on to the judge’s short list, but only one will advance with a chance to win the prize.

Across 19 heats and 4 semifinals, 76 villages have been whittled down-and now only 4 remain. There’s one last chance to impress the judges and win the title.