• Small villages dot the hillsides of Staffordshire's Peak District.peak district national park derbyshire england image by david hughes from Fotolia.com
  
  The bucolic image of village life is as much a part of England's psyche as high tea or Shakespearean sonnets. Nestled in central England, the county of Staffordshire is home to numerous rural communities in which half-timbered cottages and charming shops cluster around castle ruins and medieval churches--quaint reminders of a time long past. Scores of villages dot the moors and hilly terrain of Staffordshire, a county in the West Midlands region of the country.
  
  

Flash

• The village of Flash is located in the Peak District in the northern reaches of Staffordshire County. Clinging to a hillside, this tiny hamlet is also the highest village in England at 1,514 feet above sea level. While the village itself boasts no other amenities besides a pub and an inn, the River Dane flows nearby and its sparsely populated moorlands frequently see snow in the winter.
  
  

Lapley

• Named Staffordshire's "best kept small village" in 2009 by the Community Council of Staffordshire based on its well-kept churchyards, village halls and other public areas, Lapley is the home of All Saints Church, which dates from the 11th century. This village of about 1,000 people is located southwest of the town of Stafford.
  
  

Tutbury

• History buffs will enjoy the village of Tutbury--population 3,000--which is dominated by the remnants of Tutbury Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was incarcerated three times. Worth noting is Tutbury's fine collection of historic buildings and homes. Tudor, Georgian and Regency houses line the main street, and the half-timbered Dog and Partridge Inn dates from the 15th century.
  
  

Abbots Bromley

• Perhaps one of the most unique villages in Staffordshire, Abbots Bromley (population 1,500) is a quiet, unassuming place 364 days a year. However, for one day in September, the annual Horn Dance attracts visitors from all over the world. First performed in Abbots Bromley in 1226, the Horn Dance is a ritual custom that involves a group of men balancing reindeer antlers on their shoulders while dancing to accordion music through the village streets. The original purpose for the dance is unknown, but some speculate it was a pagan ritual meant to ensure a plentiful year.