"We're in fairy tale territory": The unspoilt village named Britain's best kept secret

Driving out along winding country lanes and admiring two castles along the way, it already felt like we were in fairy tale territory as we headed to Malpas in Cheshire. The village is in the heart of Cheshire countryside, and our route there took us past the hill-top beauty of Beeston Castle and Peckforton Castle before we arrived at our destination.

This charming spot, close to the Shropshire and Wales borders, has been grabbing the headlines this month - thanks to being named the "best secret village to live in the UK" by The Times. Well, Malpas is not quite so under-the-radar anymore after topping the list of 20 places that the national newspaper said represent the most beautiful locations and great communities to move to.

Praising Malpas, the report said: "With a hilltop church that can be seen for miles and a smattering of half-timbered houses, Malpas scores highly for looks as well as liveliness."

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Rather timely then for us to head for a family night's break to explore the village and to stay at one of its historic pubs with rooms. The Lion at Malpas only recently reopened after an extensive refurbishment of the pub itself, the offering of hotel rooms alongside it set in a beautiful cottage garden.

The base for our stay was the wonderfully quirky "old Bakery" that looks out onto the high street, but we didn't have to worry about any noise given how quiet and tranquil village life is here. The village itself is an interesting mix of residential properties and shops, all in a hodge podge of styles.

There are black and white timber clad cottages next to rather grand looking painted Georgian mansions. We had a stroll up to St Oswald's Church at the top of the village, up here once sat Malpas' own castle.

Sadly nowadays all that remains is the Castle Motte - but this is now hidden by grass and shrubbery and there's no real public access to see it. Instead, you can admire the views all around from the village's topmost vantage point - you can see across to Welsh hills on one side and the Shropshire hills on the other.

Malpas dates back to medieval times and was once a thriving market town - but while neighbouring towns like Whitchurch exploded with development in the modern era, Malpas actually retreated back in scale to a village. Its train station closed in the 1950s, and its fairly remote location is perhaps why it has now fallen into the "best kept secret" category in recent years.

And as for the market? Sadly the once thriving retail hub which hosted weekly markets and livestock fairs died out in the middle of the 19th century.

The only remnant of the old Market Place itself, is the old Cross which sits at the centre of the village. The old Market Houses next to the church are also now residential properties.

There are two pubs in the centre also, The Crown and, across the road, The Lion. The popular Malpas chippy is also here, based in a historic black and white timber framed building.

But during our stay we were checking out the food at The Lion, and very pleased we did too. The pub, owned by Bear Inns who also have The Swan at Tarporley, has had a wonderful renovation keeping its old charms but with stylish renovation.

And, given I have two boisterous children, I was most pleased to find the pub had an entire cabinet stocked with board games to keep them occupied. We enjoyed a range of tapas dishes from the menu as starters, as there's a menu deal that you could choose 3 for £22.

The three we went for were all excellent restaurant quality dishes, never mind pub grub - deliciously meaty lamb bonbons, spicy bombay potato hash browns and a fragrantly spiced roasted aubergine and tomato dip.

For mains, we were presented with a classic, and rather giant battered cod and chips (£17.50) - although you could opt for a smaller portion for £13.50.

I decided to try a summer ratatouille with potato gnocchi (£17) and again was impressed by how the chef team here had elevated what could have been a fairly uninspiring dish into something that I could not wait to eat every last mouthful of.

There was also a full children's menu, and they were also happy to cater for my youngest's picky eating with a bowl of plain pasta and peas.

After all this food it was time to try and work some of it off, and so we venture up to the top of the high street where we'd earlier seen The Rec, the village playground. This is a brilliant spot for kids as it has a play area and huge sandpit for little ones, while it also has a large playing field and tennis courts too.

The next day we had a walk further around the village to find the Malpas Farm Shop, which stocks a range of fresh produce. There are also some really cute independent gift shops and book shops in the village too.

On our visit we were also lucky to find, on the last day of its summer season, the Magical Malpas Pick Your Own farm, with a large imaginative play centre brilliant for younger kids. At this time of year it transforms into a pumpkin picking farm, with plenty more to do in the Autumn months for visitors too.

As for being a great place to live? Well, we did fall in love with the charms of Malpas while we were there. And we couldn't help but notice there were a few gorgeous period properties up for sale in the village centre.

Sadly they were a little out of our price bracket, but it's not hard to see why people will pay half a million pounds or more for a little slice of idyllic Cheshire life here.

Travel factfile

Dianne was a guest at The Lion at Malpas, staying in the Old Bakery room which can fit up to four guests, and there are 16 boutique bedrooms to choose from at the venue. Rooms at The Lion start from £89 per night including breakfast, and there are regular seasonal offers which you can book on their website here.

Malpas is around 35 minutes from Chester, and around an hour's drive from Manchester. The nearest train station is Whitchurch, and there is a local bus service that travels from there to Malpas.