Pretty UK market town ‘feels like a village’ – but has 1 problem | Travel News | Travel

With its medieval high street, independent shops and historic palace ruins, Bishop’s Waltham has all the ingredients of a quintessential English market town.

Nestled in the countryside around 12 miles from Winchester, the historic streets are lined with cafes, boutiques and local businesses. The ruins of the 12th-century Bishop’s Waltham Palace bring a healthy dose of history, while stunning walking trails and a nearby coastline scratch the itch for nature. Sharply dressed Adrian Fleetwood, 89, tells the Express he has long enjoyed coming to the area to visit his sister. “Well, I’ve known it for a very long time,” he says. “It’s lovely and it gets prizes for being lovely.”

One such accolade was the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Village of the Year, with the judges gushing over its impressive community spirit.

One Londoner who relocated to Hampshire in the 1970s and who’s lived in Bishop’s Waltham with his family for the last 45 years can’t help but agree.

He affectionately describes Bishops Waltham as “almost” a town, agreeing it is more of a village thanks to its “very good” community that has more than doubled in size since he’s moved here.

“There was so much going on my wife, my daughter and I all got involved,” he says. “I’m still involved with about five local organisations and I’m a trustee of one.”

Others point to the town’s strong community spirit. Melanie Dunford describes Bishop’s Waltham as a “lovely place” and says it remains largely driven by local people rather than visitors. “It’s not very touristy,” she tells us.

Yet beneath the picture-postcard appearance, Jeannine Hopkins, who runs a local DIY shop, says some people feel the town’s growth has altered the close-knit feel.

“I’ve lived here 32 years and I’m not local. You’ve got to be four generations down the line, really, to properly classify as a local and they don’t like the new people, irrelevant of whether they know them or not.”

She explains this is because it “used to be tiny, everybody knew everybody, everyone helped, it was a proper village community”, adding: “It’s still there, but newer people aren’t embracing it as much as I think the locals would want them to.”

Victoria, 28, who moved into town after marrying Ethan, 28, acknowledges the area has changed. She said that it used to be known as a place for older residents and it has had to “modernise” to help the younger generation, but the beautiful exterior isn’t quite cutting it.

“Everyone comes here thinking it’s a lovely little old market town village. Me and mum used to come here for a day out,” she says. “When you live here it’s completely different. There’s nothing really to do here if you’re of that age group.”

The couple were pleased to see the skatepark revamped, but they said drugs were a real problem, driven by boredom. “When you’re born and raised in this town, it’s very easy to fall into that,” Ethan says.

Only five incidents of drugs were reported to police in 2025 in Bishop’s Waltham and Soberton, according to Hampshire Constabulary statistics, but the local police station has been closed for years. Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones reopened the station on March 20, and four incidents involving drugs have been reported in March and April this year.

Ethan and Victoria were pleased to see the station back in action and suggested “the drug problem here wouldn’t be as bad” if police were present, or PCSOs had been able to detain people for longer as they awaited police patrols from neighbouring areas.

Jeannine suggested that one van had served as a hub for drugs in the town. “All the smaller villages come here for drugs. I’m not in with the young ones anymore, but it used to be really bad.”

It is a comment that hints at the balancing act facing many smaller market towns. For tourists, it is a pretty day out with plenty of independent shops. For older residents, it is a cosy community. For younger people, a lot seems left to be desired.