Starting their quest for Britain’s best village in western England, the judges bask in stunning seaside communities and rural idylls. Penelope is by the seaside in Charmouth, Dorset, while Patrick bridges the divide between Wales and England in the Wye Valley. Juliet uncovers her inner Viking in Lydford, Devon, and Alex learns to thatch on the coast in Aberdaron, Wales.

In Devon, the Lympstone Brass Band performs for Penelope, as Alex investigates an alien invasion in Llwyngwril, North Wales. Patrick learns about the peculiar art of swede racing in Colwinston, South Wales, and Juliet helps spruce up the peaceful village of Porlock.

Penelope meets an army of volunteers on the Dorset coast in Burton Bradstock. Surf’s up for historian Alex Langlands at the world’s first surfing lake in Dolgarrog, while Juliet gets a real taste of the sea in Mousehole, Cornwall. And anything goes for Patrick in Llangwm’s museum of everything.  

In Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia, Alex gets adventurous. Penelope horses around in Charlton Horethorne, Juliet reels in the catch of the day in Polperro in Cornwall, and on the Gower Peninsula, Patrick digs for cockles in Penclawdd.

On the Jurassic coast, Penelope’s all at sea with Beer’s historic fishing fleet. Patrick is Boule-d over in Sherston in Wiltshire, and in Devon, Juliet meets Clovelly donkeys. Alex goes native in the Welsh village of Llanllyfni.

Five villages from the western zone go head-to-head for a semifinalist spot and the chance to win Village of the Year and the 10,000-pound prize money. Will it be the buildings, the scenery, or good old British eccentricity that wins the day?