A village with a population of just 700 people has been named the best place to live in rural England.
Kingham, in Oxfordshire, won the title of England's favourite village in a contest run by Country Life magazine.
It was chosen ahead of regional winners Cerne Abbas in Dorset, Irnham in Lincolnshire, Romaldkirk in Co Durham and Aldbury in Hertfordshire.
Keith Hartley, chairman of Kingham Parish Council, said he was shocked but "totally thrilled" by the win.
'Not the prettiest'
"I'm a bit surprised because it isn't a chocolate box type of village.
"It's more of a working village than a tourist village.
"But it's got a great all-round atmosphere. It basically caters for everyone within its community."
The community in the Evenlode Valley boasts a primary school, an independent secondary school, two small industrial estates, thriving shops, a post office, two pubs, several clubs and a main-line railway station about a mile out.
The judges - novelist and actor Julian Fellowes, interior designer Olga Polizzi, author Sir Roy Strong, The Earl of Leicester and the Duchess of Devonshire - picked the regional winners from original nominations by the magazine's readers.
Ms Polizzi, the judge who nominated Kingham, said: "Perhaps it is not the prettiest village in the South East, but, overall, its characteristics are exceptional and make it an ideal place to live in.
"It is not built completely in the style of the clichéd Cotswold village, and in my view is all the better for that."
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