Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages

The Cotswolds

Penelope Keith, one of Britain's best loved actors and a villager herself for 38 years, goes in search of more Hidden Villages in a new series that takes in North Yorkshire, Argyll and Bute, Pembrokeshire, and starts with the Cotswolds. Penelope's Cotswold journey starts in the celebrated village of Bibury, and an area that her old friend Jilly Cooper describes as a magnet for some of the most famous faces in the land. The tour also includes Kelmscott, the home of William Morris; Slad, the village setting of Laurie Lee's book Cider with Rosie; Down Ampney; and Hook Norton, where beer continues to be delivered by horse-drawn dray. And in Ebrington, Penelope visits a perfect village fete.

Argyll and Bute

In this episode, Penelope visits some of the most extreme villages in the show, as she indulges her love of ferries, mountains and lochs galore in seeking out some of the remarkable communities of Argyll and Bute. In Mull, she learns about the local Viking saga, celebrated by the villagers of Tarbert; before venturing north to see how the Crinan Canal created Scotland's most beautiful short cut. She visits the marble-filled Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute and watches a game of shinty in Tighnabruaich. There is also a visit to the island of Easdale, a place without roads, cars, and just one tiny ferry, that also plays host to the World Stone Skimming Championships.

North Yorkshire

Penelope Keith travels to North Yorkshire, England's largest county, and the heart of a region that's long been billed as 'God's own country' - with its dales, moors and rugged coastline. In the remote villages of Upper Swaledale, Penelope delights in the local dialect. She then visits Cracoe, the village featured in the film Calendar Girls. On the North York Moors there are Viking sword dances in Goathland, the failed seaside resort of Ravenscar, and the mystery of Captain Cook's childhood in Great Ayton. And Penelope takes to the skies over Brompton-by-Sawdon before finishing her tour at the artist's retreat of Staithes.

Pembrokeshire

In the final episode of the series, Penelope travels coast to coast across the stunning Welsh peninsula of Pembrokeshire. Although remote, this area is nonetheless a magnet for fascinating villages, clinging to cliffs and estuaries, or nestled beside beaches, farms and castles. Penelope visits Manorbier, with its tea shops and connections to both Virginia Woolf and Narnia. Then it's the waterside villages of the Cleddau Estuary, from Llangwm to Lawrenny. In the wild Preselli Hills to the north, Penelope encounters the Welsh-speaking villages of Cwm Gwaun and Mynachlogddu. There is also St Dogmaels, home of one of Britain's best food markets, and Abereiddy, one of the venues for the cliff diving World Series.

Penelope Keith's Favourite Villages