Perfect British village on large country estate where no house will ever be on sale

Down a country lane that winds through green and gorgeous British countryside you'll find a picture perfect village that's like stepping back in time.

To get there by car, you need to cross a river via an old stone bridge so narrow that only one car can cross at a time.

You can even get there on foot by crossing stepping stones over a river at low tide (the river meets the sea at the wide open Ogmore beach just a few yards away).

It's not on the way anywhere, and there's no through road, so it's unlikely you'd ever end up passing through by mistake.

The village is Merthyr Mawr, and it could have been lifted straight out of the Cotswolds. Its closest town is Bridgend, in south Wales, but it's a different world.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said WalesOnline reporter Bethany Gavaghan when she first visited.

"It's home to a number of perfect thatched cottages and a 19th century stone church with a cemetery almost entirely carpeted in bluebells and snowdrops in the spring. It's magical."

To get there, your best bet is to go by car, though you can also get to it via public transport from Bridgend town centre, if you board the 303 bus and get off at Ogmore village, where it's just a short walk down the hill to thatched-roof paradise surrounded by nature.

If you're driving, you could park at Merthyr Mawr Nature Reserve's car park at one end of the village and then take a walk past the fields, woodland and into the main streets.

And if you're catching a bus, you will get to walk past the ruins of Ogmore Castle and over the stepping stones of the river that flows through the area (so long as the water level isn't too high).

Go down the footpath and over a 'wobbly' bridge (which really does wobble but doesn't put off horse riders) and you've reached Merthyr Mawr.

From your very first glimpse, it's like stepping into a fairy tale, serene with birds chirping above the prettiest houses you ever did see.

But one thing that's especially unique about the village is that all of the houses there are rented out by Merthyr Mawr Estate, so they will never be for sale.

All the buildings with thatched roofs are also listed, so they can't be changed too much.

Liam James, who works on the estate, lives in one of the thatched cottages with his chihuahuas and two kittens.

He moved out when he was 23 and worked in Italy and France for seven years, but after the pandemic he realised there was nowhere else he wanted to be.

"It was amazing growing up, it was a bit difficult not having loads of people here when I was younger, but the social aspect of it here has definitely changed," he told WalesOnline in December.

"There's a good community spirit, with new people moving here over the years.

"I do love the quietness and the feel of it here. A few of the cottages have changed and are a bit newer, but mine is still thatched - which the peacocks love because they can stand on the roof and shred it.

"It's definitely a nice place to live, and you do get some people wanting to buy even though it's all rented.

"I think my father had an offer from someone here once, but we had to say obviously that we don't sell them."

Sarah Morris is one of Merthyr Mawr's oldest residents.

Aged 66, she was born on the estate and believes she has lived there longer than anyone else.

Her childhood memories of being there were of the village before it was as well-maintained as it is now but when the sense of community was strong and it even used to have its own library. 

"We used to have quite a good social life here but it sort of died a bit of a death, and now it seems to be picking back up again," she said in 2023.

"When I was growing up, everybody who lived in the village worked on the estate.

"All the cottages then were thatched when I was a child.

"It was only after a fire took place in one of the cottages here that thatched roofs became less popular."

Sarah added: "My parents died here, so I'll die here and we're expecting our second grandson soon so he'll hopefully take on the mantle as well so that'll be the fifth generation.

"I'm standing here now just looking at the fields, and watching the sun go down and it is amazing.

"It's out in the fields, and in the countryside and it's like a little secret nugget."

The village even has free-roaming peacocks, which occasionally strut into people's homes.

And now, in woodland on the outskirts of the village, there is the springtime Forest Feastival, when the woods host several pop-up food stalls in a magical woodland setting.

The village is also home to music festival Between The Trees which takes place in August, with the aim of encouraging people to immerse themselves in nature.

Walkers Rosie Salvatore and Steph Iveson, who live closeby to Merthyr Mawr were out bright and early when I went to explore the area, and were walking through the village with their four-legged friend, Bella.

They summed it up perfectly: "It's a beautiful place, and it's so peaceful here."