UK's best places to live have been revealed - does your neighbourhood make the list?
24 March 2023, 15:39
The best places to live in the UK have been revealed, alongside a list of neighbourhoods broken down by region.
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The top town, Wadhurst in East Sussex, was chosen because it has "pretty much everything needed for modern life in miniature".
The list was created by the Sunday Times, whose judges looked at several factors, like schools, transport and broadband to culture, green spaces and the wellbeing of the high street.
The judges also named the best town in every region.
North East - Whitley Bay
The list makers said this north-eastern town has everything, from "a coworking hub, artisan bakery, microbrewery" and even a "wild swimming club
North West - Waterloo and Toxteth, Liverpool
Judges described the Liverpool suburb of Waterloo as a "super-seaside" area that has "fresh air along with fresh attitude".
Meanwhile "the troubles that hit Toxteth in the 1980s — and still blight its reputation — are so last century, and this buzzy, diverse district is now one of Liverpool’s most happening ’hoods," judges said.
London - Crouch End
Judges said Crouch End was a "lovely North London suburb" with the feel of a market town.
South West - Cirencester
Cirencester is "not your typical Cotswold town," judges said. That's because it "is busy all week, not just when the weekend Range Rover convoy rolls in.
"It has markets, an array of shops, parks, cafés and a smattering of culture to elevate it above the coach-party olde worlde norm."
South East - Chichester
List makers said "there is plenty of history" in Chichester, as visitors are "never far from an archaeological site or Georgian townhouse — but there’s a lot of modern culture too".
Chichester also has more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other town, the judges noted.
The Midlands - Leamington Spa
Leamington is "respectable with its golf and rugby clubs, and aspirational shops", but "innovation rather than tradition is the watchword," judges said.
Donaghadee - Northern Ireland
This is a beautiful "seaside town with its lighthouse, multicoloured houses and views across crystal-clear waters to Scotland".
Saffron Walden - East of England
Saffron Walden combines |excellent schools, a proper country feel and a handy location" which is "convenient for Cambridge commuters" yet "manageable for London".
Ruthin - Wales
This is a "handsome, historic town" with "a jumble of medieval and Victorian buildings on winding streets leading off the grand hilltop market square".
Dunkeld - Scotland
Judges said that "Dunkeld harbours its own special kind of magic. Add in a high street that would fit better in Sodermalm in Stockholm, Sweden, than Scotland and a foodie scene, and you’ve got arguably the most desirable rural village in the country.
The full list of winners and runners-up is below.
Overall winner: Wadhurst, East Sussex
East of England
Winner: Saffron Walden, Essex
Aylsham, Norfolk
Bourn, Cambridgeshire
Buckhurst Hill, Essex
Dedham Vale, Suffolk
Felixstowe, Suffolk
Norwich
London
Winner: Crouch End
Beckenham
Hackney borders N1 and E8
Earlsfield
King's Cross
Notting Hill
Woolwich
Midlands
Winner: Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Digbeth, Stirchley, Birmingham
Bishop's Castle, Shropshire
Great Malvern, Worcestershire
Market Harborough, Leicestershire
Melbourne, Derbyshire
Rutland
Northern Ireland
Winner: Donaghadee, Co Down
Ormeau, Belfast
Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh
North and North East England
Winner: Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
Holmfirth, West Yorkshire
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Leeds
Ouseburn, Newcastle
Sheffield
Thirsk, North Yorkshire
Wooler, Northumberland
North West
Winner: Liverpool
Manchester
Penrith, Cumbria
Rawtenstall, Lancashire
Sale, Greater Manchester
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Tarporley, Cheshire
Scotland
Winner: Dunkeld, Perthshire
East Linton, East Lothian
Portobello, Edinburgh
Shawlands, Glasgow
Newport-on-Tay, Fife
Orkney
Tighnabruaich, Argyll and Bute
South East England
Winner: Chichester, West Sussex
Alresford, Hampshire
Brighton and Hove, Seven Dials
Folkestone, Kent
Guildford, Surrey
Lindfield, West Sussex
Oxford
Reading, Berkshire
Reigate, Surrey
Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire
South West England
Winner: Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Bishopsteignton, Devon
Bristol
Broad Chalke, Wiltshire
The Chew Valley, Somerset
Marlborough, Wiltshire
Penzance, Cornwall
Poundbury, Dorset
Wales
Winner: Ruthin, Denbighshire
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Barmouth, Gwynedd
Pontcanna, Cardiff
Gower Peninsula, Swansea
Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Solva, Pembrokeshire
