Nempnett Thrubwell. When you say it, it sounds like you’re either mumbling it or mispronouncing words which might have made sense once upon a time. It may sound Welsh but this little village is tucked away deep in Somerset. To get to it, you drive through a series of lanes so windy they’re ideal for losing the po-po in a chase.

One three-hour train ride from Brighton to Bristol and a car pickup out into the countryside and we were there: mesmerized by the visibility of stars and the sounds of living things. Most striking of all were the broken pieces of the moon on the lake. Why do we live in a city again?

It is proper fairytale countryside, complete with Druid mythology and a handful quirky houses that reflect the many eras Nempnett Thrubwell has stood through. Since it’s probably so out of the way you hadn’t pencilled it in on your 1001 places to visit before you die, we figured this is where we’d start our “Never thought you’d end up in…” series.

Ok, so it’s not quite in the middle of nowhere. It’s actually between Bristol and Bath, and it’s a pretty good area for us walking types who quite fancy an afternoon heading up the Mendip Hills. A four-hour stroll took us up and down some of the prettiest terrain in England and left us kicking for a roast.

We can also vouch for its potential for do-nothing-but-read-and-look-at-the-lake weekends. Blagdon Lake lies just south of the village and is ideal for some serious eye-therapy, trout fishing and skinny dipping (if you’re not too scared of pikes nabbing your…umm…‘bits’). It would be great for windsurfing too but we’re still not sure how to get our kit to pass for fishing gear.

It’s alive with history from churches of varying centuries to the nearby (absolutely miniscule) ‘city’ of Wells and with great spots for birdwatching and the number of bright blue dragonflies we walked into last summer we reckon any of the Romantics would have eaten it up.

In The Meaning of Liff, Douglas Adams and John Lloyd defined Nempnett Thrubwell as “The feeling experienced when driving off for the first time on a brand new motorcycle.” We’re kicking ourselves for not writing it first.

Check out:

Douglas Adams and John Lloyd’s The Meaning of Liff (1983) for a laugh. Take a look on Amazon.

These hot walking boots
for your journey up the Mendips