Among the bobbing, windswept hills of the South Downs, the 800 residents of Alfriston village have managed to cultivate what makes rural English village life special. Those in the 900 year old village keep the patchwork buildings and their front gardens as they have been for the past five centuries.

But that does not mean they neglect the present, with a “thriving” high street inhabited by over 20 independent businesses. “For a small village it’s a really good selection of shops”, William Emmett, 38, remarked, adding that three new ones have opened up recently in the village. William has run the vintage clothes shop The Dressing Room on North Street for the last 11 years after moving down from Buckinghamshire. It is perhaps the most picturesque clothes shop you might ever see. Set inside a tiled Elizabethan building with white bay windows that look out onto a garden path bordered by mossy plant pots and hanging baskets.

“It’s a beautiful village and there’s a really nice community. I’ve got lots of friends here. It’s busy too, there’s always plenty going on,” William said. And he’s not lying – for such a tiny village there is a remarkable amount to do in the area.

In the town there is a wealth of local business – “there’s interior shops, antique shops [one of which William also owns], fashion shops, tea rooms, a jewellery shop, a really good independent book shop,” he listed.

Outside of town is the world famous opera house Glyndebourne just around the corner, as is Lewes – famous for its bonfire night celebrations. You’re also a “minutes walk away from the South Downs,” William said. The rolling hills and white cliffs have called to many who visit the idyllic village.

One place you might end up staying is The Star Hotel, right on the high street. Hotel receptionist Thomas McCallum said that you wouldn’t be alone as “lots of tourists visit” and are drawn to the village.

“It’s a secluded little area in the Downs by the south coast, surrounded by quite a lot of greenery and nature and it has loads of authentic shops amd walks around. It’s a nice little gem that people like to visit, especially in the summer.”

During the Glyndebourne festival it is particularly popular, Thomas noted, with lots of people staying in the beautiful 14th Century white and black wooden beamed hotel. It has been enthralling its travellers since the 16th Century when it was first noted in travel books, the hotel’s website boasts.

Guests tell Thomas at his reception desk how they have fallen in love with the place. It seems to inspire a slower pace of life; people often say to him that they “tend to arrive at Glyndebourne maybe two to three hours before the beginning of the opera itself just to walk the gardens.”

Thomas described how he thought visitors could best experience the town. “I would definitely say you need to dedicate at least a day just having a look around all of Alfriston.” The best way to get to know the place is to talk to “the fantastic” people in the shops, “because all the shops are usually owned by the person at the till, so they’re very dedicated and they know a lot about Alfriston itself.”

Beyond that he listed more wonders of the area like Berwick Church – gloriously painted in Sistine Chapel style by the Bloomsbury Group’s Duncan Grant in the 1940s. The totally unique building has just been renovated William said, making the paintings look even “sharper and more beautiful”. Artists retreat Charleston art gallery is also nearby, a beautiful manor house with regular exhibitions.

While it might look it, it would be wrong to say Alfriston is frozen in time. The community works hard to keep the beauty in the town and they are the reason so many make the trip over and under rolling downs to see it. Big businesses dare not come between the tight knit family who live amongst centuries old streets and well kempt rose bushes.