I also grew up in a little ‘village’ outside Leominster, in Herefordshire. I say ‘village’ because it wasn’t much of a village by the time I was born. It had a primary school, which I went to, and a parish church. It had a few houses and farms. But it had no shops, post office or bus service. It had a pub though.
I’m not sure exactly which town you’re talking about OP, but I just wanted to chip in and say that I understand where you’re coming from, and also to recommend a book to you. It’s called Changing Lifestyles, by John Seymour. The main thrust of the book is about the disconnection between the urban and the rural, and how we have developed such an unsustainable, in every sense of the word, countryside.
I also recommend this little article.