The villages are within walking distance of one another

People living in two neighbouring Cambridgeshire villages say they “wouldn’t want to live anywhere else” and that living there feels like “being on holiday”. Melbourn and Meldreth are both in the south of Cambridgeshire and are roughly a four minute drive from each other, or around 20-minutes on foot.

Melbourn is the larger of the two, and is home to more than 4,600 people, whilst Meldreth has around 2,000 residents. In Melbourn, there are a variety of amenities including shops, two pubs, barbershops, and even a stunning wedding venue. Meldreth has a train station which is ideal for commuters, a shop, and a village pub called The British Queen.

As part of our Exploring Cambridgeshire series, we visited both villages and spoke to people about what it is like to live here.

Vicky Deville, 73, has lived in Melbourn for 40 years. She said that the village is “a nice place” and she “wouldn’t want to live anywhere else”. She added: “We have got all the amenities we need. There is lots and lots of groups going on for all ages.”

Vicky feels “very lucky” to live here, especially because she enjoys visiting the Melbourn Hub, which has a café with an integrated library, and hosts lots of local events. She added: “There is lots of things that go on in there. There’s all sorts of advice you can get in there and help from people.”

Hannah Trinder, a manager at one of Melbourn’s local pubs, The Dolphin, grew up in a nearby town, but later moved to Melbourn. She said: “It is nice because despite this being a village, you still have that town feel. Plus, what is really nice about living here is that the locals are all really friendly and fun.”

She said that she has made friends with a lot of locals, and that “there is such a community in this village – everyone just wants to help each other”.

Melbourn Greenway, one of 12 Greater Cambridge greenways being constructed in South Cambridgeshire, aims to provide better and safer walking and cycling routes into the city of Cambridge.

Hannah said that this is something she would definitely use because she enjoys a long walk, especially because of “the very nice countryside” that surrounds the village. Hannah sees the neighbouring village, Meldreth, as a similar style village with “nice little houses and cottages”.

A couple, Nicole and Edward, who moved from London to Meldreth, chose the “perfect village” so that they were still able to commute into London. Edward, 49, said: “It has got a pub, corner shop, post office, and butchers.” Nicole, who is 37, said that after living in London, coming to Meldreth feels like “being on holiday”.

The couple love that it is a “lived in village, so it has a sense of community” and the locals “are very friendly”. The couple say Melbourn is useful for its amenities such as the dentist but they consider each village to “have two different personalities”.

David Eldred, 84, said that he has lived in Melbourn for “the longest period of living anywhere” in his life. He added: “I’ve moved 28 times in my life because I was in the army, and now I live by myself so it is a place I should always stay.”

David lives down a remote lane, surrounded by the countryside and he enjoys walking through the fields. He said the Melbourn Greenway “would be ideal” and help to connect the surrounding areas. David moved to Melbourn because of its close proximity to Cambridge, so the village was an “ideal” solution for him.

A lady, who only gave her name as Mirka, has lived in Melbourn for around 10 years. She said that she enjoys the park to walk her dog. She said “a lot of people [from Meldreth] come here” and “my children went to Meldreth Primary School”.