Hambledon, Hampshire

Back in 2014, the residents of this pretty village in the South Downs were afflicted by flooding of almost biblical proportions — the main street was underwater for 40 days. It’s the kind of adversity that brings communities together, but thankfully it shouldn’t happen again: a £3.89m defence scheme was completed last autumn. For the most part, though, this corner of Hampshire passes happily under the radar. Looking down on the village from the National Trust wild-flower meadows of Speltham Down, little seems to have changed for centuries — and a strict local plan means that should remain the case. The long main road (divided into East Street and West Street, which meet at the stubby high street that climbs the hill to the church)