Exclusive: The pretty little UK town so posh it’s being compared to Meghan Markle’s American home….See More

EXCLUSIVE: As the quaint Somerset village is compared to Prince Harry and Meghan’s home in California, Jane Warren pays a visit to see if the reality lives up to the hype

I’m in a boutique at the bottom of the small cleft in the Somerset hills that is home to the tiny town of Bruton, and toying with a £17 recycled plastic shopping bag that declares “Our Dolce Vita bag is as close as you can get to a 6pm aperitivo”. And it’s no joke.

The bijou town of Bruton was recently dubbed “Britain’s Montecito” owing to its high count of local celebs of significant means – and is certainly the living embodiment of the good life.

On top of the hill is Osip, the uber-trendy, farm-to-table Michelin-starred former pub recently named restaurant of the year in the Good Food Guide.

Currently “going for its second star”, the venue’s stylish all-white conversion makes it feel more igloo than last orders.

Meanwhile, behind nearby hedges are the homes of lesser spotted A-listers, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Mariella Frostrup and Stella McCartney, as well as former chancellor George Osborne.

A three-bed end-of-terrace will set you back £525,000 in Bruton – add on an extra £125,000 for a bungalow and the prices rise from there.

Even the staff in the independent shops here are a cut above.

They include Debs Dufton, an elegant former “grey model” who is helping out owners Kath and Ahmed at trendy Smouk Interiors at the bottom of the pretty high street.

Debs was discovered after being “stopped” in Harrods a few decades ago.

She sends me on a short walk up the narrow high street to The Chapel – “the cultural hub of the town” – a stunning conversion of a former Methodist church which offers arts events and speciality baked goods from the on-site bakery.

It is here that fashionistas and “proper locals” come to nibble their daily cruffin (a £4.50 reworking in which a croissant is curled inside a muffin tin and switched-up with today’s flavour: Cotswolds Cream Liqueur mixed with mascarpone piped into dark chocolate.

“Bruton is such a cultural place to be,” raves Debs as I examine a £1,895 Beni Ourain rug from the High Atlas mountains, hanging on the warehouse-sized walls of Smouk. “I’m single and it’s full of arts events and things to do every night. There is a very interesting social mix of old hippy types and very sophisticated people, who are all creative.”

She particularly relishes the “world-class” Sunday jazz afternoons at the modern art gallery Hauser & Wirth, where top featured practitioners include Ian Bellamy, who lives in nearby Frome, “and is one of the top 25 jazz performers in the world”.

Hauser & Wirth is also home to a farm shop selling premium foodie treasures – such as Celeriac, Capers and Mustard Seeds Ferment (£12.95 for a 350g jar) and premium Wagyu fillet at £140 per kilo.

Back at The Chapel, as I dismember a hazelnut pain au chocolat (£4.50), I watch sought-after London artist Johny Midnight shifting a gigantic £7k canvas down a contemporary spiral staircase following his recent show of abstract oils in the Art Deco gallery space on the mezzanine level.