Residents of a historic Merseyside village have described the reality of living in their picturesque hometown - with one man saying it feels like "always being on holiday".
Well over a thousands years old, Churchtown in Southport is full of history.
Dotted with thatched-roofed cottages and whitewashed buildings, Churchtown certainly has a rural feel.
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Churchtown is now a suburb of Southport, but it could easily have been the other way around.
The village was the main settlement but it got swallowed up by Southport, according to local historian Gladys Armstrong.
Gladys also informed the ECHO that much of Sefton and West Lancashire was created by Vikings who landed here.
And to take a look around now, you could say time has almost stood still.
ECHO readers have shared their experiences of the pretty town.
Chris Woolaston said: "Churchtown was mentioned in the Doomsday Book census of 1086, which was obviously undertaken 20 years after the Norman Conquest.
"I wouldn’t say Churchtown has been swallowed up by Southport; it is still very distinct from the rest of Southport.
"The Bold Arms pub is more than a century older than the United States of America."
Susan Rowe said: "I wouldn't say it was swallowed up by Southport. Still very much a locality in it's own right. Lots of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. Its lovely."
Oliver Netherway said: "It really is like living abroad, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Alison Lang said: "I loved living in Churchtown. I was sad when I had to leave."
Stephen Halliday said: "It's lovely, Churchtown."
Tony Hollister called it a "beautiful place".
The thatched cottages that are dotted around Churchtown are the result of the Vikings' presence in the early formation of the village.
Builders would turn an old boat upside down, put it on stilts and then create the thatched roof in the shape of the upturned boat.
At St Cuthbert's Church, which was originally built in the 12th century before being rebuilt later, stocks can still be seen today.
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