The Cambridgeshire village that boasts three pubs but has no shops

Most people outside of Cambridgeshire will have heard of the village of Grantchester in connection with the ITV crime drama of the same name. However, as the series is set in the 1950s, it reveals very little about life for Grantchester locals today.

That life, it seems, is highly coveted. Homes along the village’s leafy streets sold for an average price of £950,000 over the last year, according to Rightmove. Many surpass the £1 million mark.

What kind of neighbourhood will you get for this hefty price? The picture, it seems, is varied: while you will always be a stone’s throw away from a pint of beer, you’ll probably have to take the car for a pint of milk.

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Grantchester has three pubs, two coffee spots, and even a pet grooming centre. Yet it is completely devoid of shops.

The nearest shop is 1.2 miles away from the village, the Sainsbury’s Local in Kestrel Rise, Trumpington. A post office with a convenience store attached and a Waitrose are also located in Trumpington, about 1.3 miles from Grantchester.

Cambridge city lies 2.5 miles to the northeast and, of course, provides plenty of shopping opportunities.

Those who are considering making the move to this village, perhaps fancying themselves as the real-life version of James Norton’s clergyman character from the TV series, will be looking to weigh what the area provides against what it lacks.

The Blue Ball Inn, The Red Lion and The Grantchester Green Man make for a brilliant pub crawl for such a little village. The Blue Ball Inn describes itself as the oldest pub in the area, dating from 1767.

It has perfected simple and affordable dishes like chilli con carne and butternut squash macaroni and cheese.

Its website explains that all its food is also locally sourced, and continues: “The Blue Ball has always had a great reputation for the quality of its ales, and as a free house we offer excellent, award-winning ales from East Anglia's leading brewers.”

The Red Lion is a quintessential country pub, with its thatched roof and wooden beams. Its sample menu includes dishes like fish and chips, and steak with garlic butter – alongside fancier meals such as hot smoked salmon with pommes anna potato.

At The Green Man, your food will be cooked by renowned chef and author Barry Vera, who has run five-star restaurants around the world. Its website describes the food as “smart, bold and unpretentious”. The beer is also a priority here: “Real ale belongs in every great British pub,” the site states.

The Java Coffee Club, one of the village’s two coffee spots, serves coffee and homemade cakes from a van along High Street. It has a 5/5 star rating on Google, with many customers praising the “incredible” quality of the coffee.

The second spot is a cafe nestled in the lush Orchard Tea Garden along Mill Way. The orchard was planted in 1868 and the cafe’s origins derive from Mrs Stevenson, a tea lover who lived in Orchard House.

If it was a sunny day, Mrs Stevenson served tea and cakes in the garden of her home – now Orchard Tea Garden. One day in 1897, a group of Cambridge University students asked if she would serve them beneath the blossoming fruit trees of the orchard.

Nearly 130 years on, the tradition continues – albeit with a greater number of customers and more mature trees. Orchard House is now occupied by famous author Jeffrey Archer and scientist Baroness Mary Archer.

Grantchester is also said to have the world’s highest concentration of Nobel Prize winners. If brains and beer make up for a lack of shops in your eyes, perhaps this pretty village is the place for you.