A key filming destination for the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, Lacock’s charming cottages and stunning countryside create the sensation of stepping into a historical drama.

The Wiltshire timber structures and magnificent towering cloisters have drawn numerous productions beyond Austen’s tale to this enchanting location.

Lacock’s renowned medieval Cloister, constructed around 1450, also houses a verdant Cloister Garth.

This striking architectural feature served as a backdrop for numerous Downton Abbey scenes and doubled as sections of Hogwarts in the original Harry Potter films. The location also featured in the BBC‘s Wolf Hall adaptation.

One TripAdvisor visitor awarded the destination five stars, saying: “An absolute must if you are in the area! A beautiful village, which you can visit by parking just across the road in the National Trust car park. The village is a pleasure to walk around, totally untouched throughout history and is quintessentially English!

“From the rows of tiny cottages, the church, the tiny bakery, the village pub and a hotel, it has everything and all these are open and running. We stayed for a couple of hours and then had a wander around the Abbey which is also impressive.”, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Another visitor described the settlement as “frozen in time”, with Explore the Cotswolds adding the location “looks a lot like it would have done 200 years ago.”

Lacock’s magnificent abbey began life as an Augustinian nunnery, shuttered during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Subsequently, John Ivory Talbot constructed the mock-Gothic hall – both structures are now under National Trust stewardship, allowing visitors to explore them during afternoon visits.

A brief walk away stands St Cyriac’s Church. Initially believed to be a Saxon worship site, it later fell under Norman ownership. The church was erected near the close of the 11th century by Edward of Salisbury and William of Eu. The dedication to St Cyriac honours a cherished Norman saint.

The church interior houses numerous later memorials to the Baynards, Bonhams, Crokes, Sharingtons, Talbots and Awdreys. However, for devotees of Harry Potter, the cloisters are the main attraction.

One enthusiast made touring the cloisters her absolute priority upon arriving in Britain.

She wrote: “Harry Potter fans NEED to do this! We’re from Canada. As soon as we landed in London, this was the very first thing we did. We did the Harry Potter Tour of London for Private Groups by Black Taxi.

“Our guide was Richard and we can’t say enough good things about him! He was absolutely incredible! Ask him how he knows so much about this…such an interesting person, so knowledgeable and passionate about it all.”