A 19th-century village in the heart of England that looks as if it's been cut and pasted directly from Switzerland – complete with green pastures, gabled chalets and plenty of cows – has become one of the country's most sought-after places to live.
Properties in Ilam – pronounced 'eye-lam', which sits in the southern end of the Peak District National Park in Staffordshire, rarely hit the market though because those lucky enough to live there can't bear to leave the 'chocolate box' village blueprint and the 'bonkers' beauty.
With the cobalt waters of the River Manifold coursing through it and dramatic upland countryside – including the lofty peaks of Bunster Hill (1,083ft) and Thorpe Cloud (942ft) – that mimics Switzerland's rolling rural areas, Ilam has around 400 residents – and its distinctive properties are now 'like gold-dust'.
Managed by the National Trust, the agricultural area was transformed in 1839, when wealthy landowner and soap mogul Jesse Watts-Russell commissioned a model village that mimicked the rustic Alpine communes he'd visited on his travels through Europe.
More than 175 years on, the houses on the ornate estate village Mr Watts-Russell conjured up have many of their original features, including tall chimneys, lattice-work timber gables and mullioned windows, all perfectly preserved.
Switzerland is famously expensive...and those wanting to reside in Staffordshire's copycat village will also need deep pockets.
Swiss fantasy:A gabled church in the heart of Ilam, pronounced 'eye-lam', in Staffordshire - the village was inspired by the chalets wealthy 19th century landowner Jesse Watts-Russell had admired during his travels of Europe
Around 175 years after they were first built, the Swiss-style chalets are sought after - with a four-bed fetching around £700,000, if it ever comes on the market
Peaks such as Bunster Hill (1,083 ft) and Thorpe Cloud (942 ft) plus walkers' paradise Dovedale (pictured) make this Staffordshire idyll easy on the eye
While houses share similar exteriors, they come in different layouts and sizes. A three-bedroom home might set you back £350,000, with a four-bed up to £700,000 – significantly higher than in other villages in the area.
Mark Ward, 60, has run Dove Property in Ashbourne, four miles down the road, for 25 years and describes Ilam as a 'unicorn' location, referencing regions where houses come up 'once-in-a-blue-moon' and every box is ticked – from beautiful architecture to enviable surrounds.
'Villages like Ilam are very sought after. People wait for years for homes to become available.
'Where a three-bed semi-detached property in Ashbourne may be rented out at around £1,100 to £1,200-a-month, mention it's in Ilam and suddenly it could be up to £1800-a-month.
The village has a school and a church - the restored cross in the village centre is one of the finest Gothic revival monuments in England - plus the imposing neo-Gothic Ilam Hall, now a Youth Hostel, and an Italian garden.
While there's a mix of lay-outs and sizes, many of the estate village have the same gables, mulllioned windows and tall chimneys
The village may look Swiss but those who live there, including artist Sue Prince, pictured left with her husband Terry, say there's a core of English community spirit in Ilam. Right: Celebrating the King's Coronation in 2023
Those who live there report it's a halcyon place to live, with one exception - when tourists descend.
Like the Cotswolds and Cornwall, this pretty portion of Staffordshire suffers for its beauty.
The village gets 'swamped' with visitors in the summer and on good weather weekends. Residents admit they're often left aghast at the behaviour of those who descend - with many day-trippers 'not knowing how to behave' in the countryside.
Local artist Sue Prince, 70, and her husband Terry, 75, haven't looked back since buying Beechenhill Farm on the edge of Ilam in 1984 and say the village's beauty has helped them weather difficult times in their lives.
Prince tells the Daily Mail: 'Ilam is extraordinarily beautiful. We found this farm for sale, and I didn't know anything about National Parks back then, but we drove here one Friday night and we just could not believe this place existed.'
'I'd lived all over the country and we were living on my husband's family farm at the time in a place called Marchington, about 30 minutes away, but it was lowland and totally different - this is the end of the Pennines' spine.'
Does she understand why Mr Watts-Russell wanted to create a Swiss fantasy in Staffordshire? 'Yes! The beauty is bonkers - I absolutely understand.'
Nobody moo-ves! There's even some prize cattle roaming the village pastures to add to the Swiss ambience
The village also boasts its own Bayeux Tapestry, created by villagers, that hangs in the church
The architecture may be a love letter to Switzerland and the scenery spectacular but the sense of community is a significant reason why villagers don't budge easily, says Prince.
She explains: 'We used to do organic milk production and, when you live somewhere like this in an upland landscape, in winter there would be lots of snow - we still get a bit but nothing like we used to.
'One year we were snowed in for weeks and we couldn't get our milk away, it was having to go down the drain so we bottled it and took it to neighbouring farms or we'd leave it at a gateway for somebody to pick up. In that sort of situation, everybody just steps up here.'
Modern life can mean even a place as small as Ilam isn't constantly getting together for social events but Prince says there's always an old-fashioned knees up for big occasions, such as the King's Coronation in 2023 – and the annual Manifold Show, held in the village, is 'straight out of James Herriot', referencing the semi-autobiographical books on rural life by the Yorkshire vet.
The local primary school, where around 60 children attend from Ilam and surrounding villages, is treasured, adds Prince.
'There's something about a small school that creates responsibility in children. There's nowhere to hide and they become independent and take responsibility - it's a beautiful thing.'
'Any house that does come up for sale will sell at a premium, because you can't build here. There's so few houses and residents are very long-standing - we've probably had one or two new people move in in the last five years'.
The downsides? Those visitors, says Prince. 'During the Covid pandemic, for example, the village got swamped by day visitors and it can cause problems. Day-trippers from urban areas often don't understand how the countryside works and how to behave here.'
'The downside to life in the village is that on bank holidays and sunny weekends, it's full. People from urban areas will share on social media that this is somewhere they can come.'
Downside: Residents in Ilam say, as in many English tourist attractions, they face an influx of visitors on good weather days - and not all of them respect the countryside
Dovedale, just up the road, has long been attracting nature lovers for centuries. Writing from Venice in 1817, Lord Byron recounted how boyhood visits to the region had been comparable to the rural beauty he later saw in Europe.
The British poet wrote: 'Was you ever in Dovedale? I assure you there are things in Derbyshire as noble as in Greece or Switzerland.'
Ms Prince, who rents out three holiday cottages at her farm, says times have changed sadly for those wanting to escape the madding crowds.
'We're on the doorstep of Dovedale, which is very beautiful and has stepping stones across the river.
'It can get phenomenally crowded and none of the locals will go there anymore because it's just overrun, again, with people who just don't quite know how to be in the countryside.'