Residents of ‘world’s most romantic village’ are gearing up for Valentine’s Day

Loved-up residents of Lover, Wiltshire – dubbed the ‘most romantic village’ in the world – are set to once again celebrate Valentine’s Day in a special, and above all romantic, way

The village of Lover, Wiltshire, sounds like a pretty loved-up place to live no matter whatever the season may be, but it seems they’re particularly keen on celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Going all out ahead of the celebration of all things love, the ‘most romantic village’ in the world has long been a popular tourist spot for visitors heading there to post Valentine’s cards ahead of February 14, with their cards made extra special by the postmark “Lover”.

Although the main post office has unfortunately closed, a temporary one opens up during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, with residents working together to keep the sweet tradition going.

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Showing great affection for the tradition, a group of residents have banded together to form the Lover Community Trust, an organisation that has stamped more than 8,000 cards and letters with the words ‘Sent from Lover’ over the past five years.

With support from the Royal Mail, a team of volunteers stamp cards bearing Lover’s one-of-a-kind postmark before sending them off to lovestruck individuals all across the world.

Those taking an amorous stroll through Lover’s picturesque streets this February will find the village very much lives up to its name at this time of year, with fences and doors adorned with heart-shaped bunting, wreaths, and balloons.

The village of course has played a part in many real-life love stories over the years, with one happy local couple having moved to Lover after falling for a property there. Jill Stark, 71 and Fred, 72, were reportedly first drawn in by the village’s name, and were quite keen on the idea of becoming the ‘lovers from Lover’.

According to Jill, they’ve been helping out with the Lovers Community Trust ever since they first moved to the village, and can even see the post office from their back window.

Jill, who says they are both “so happy” living in their chosen hometown, said: “It seems to be thriving with business which is so lovely to see. Having the backing of the Royal Mail seems to have made a big difference as they’re able to get more cards to more locations all over the globe”.

The couple has found the community of Lover to be “so inclusive and welcoming”, with an “amazing vibe” and “real feeling of togetherness about the place” that they “felt that as soon as we arrived and every day since”.

Fred is equally positive about life in Lover, adding: “The name Lover really stood out to us, and although the property itself and the village were hugely important, that name really helped us make a final decision. Being the ‘lovers from Lover’ just sounded too good of an opportunity to miss so we went for it”.

He continued: “It was only when we got here that we realised it was pronounced differently to the word ‘lover’ which was actually quite funny. The village is amazing and we feel lucky to have been residents here now for over 18 years”.

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