Best places to live in the UK revealed
The Sunday Times’s expert judges assessed a wide range of factors from schools, transport and broadband to culture and green spaces.
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Your support makes all the difference.Ilkley in West Yorkshire has topped a list of 70 locations to be named the UK’s best place to live by the Sunday Times.
The town was praised for its top schools, interesting shops, spectacular scenery and convenient rail links.
Judges were also impressed by its sports clubs and opportunities for young people, and by the energetic community spirit.
The guide also includes a list of regional winners.
The Isle of Bute was identified as the best place to live in Scotland while Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, was placed top in Wales.
The comprehensive guide is released online on Friday and an edited version will be available in the paper on Sunday.
The Sunday Times’s expert judges assessed a wide range of factors from schools, transport and broadband to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street.
Helen Davies, the Times and Sunday Times property editor, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective.
“Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place. For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling.
“Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people?”
She added: “We hope there is something to suit everyone.”
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2022 regional winners are:
– East of England, Norwich, Norfolk
– London, Crystal Palace
– Midlands, Uppingham, Rutland
– Northern Ireland, Ballycastle, County Antrim
– North and North East, Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
– North West, Trawden, Lancashire
– Scotland, Isle of Bute, Argyll
– South East, Sevenoaks, Kent
– South West, The Chalke Valley, Wiltshire
– Wales, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire
And here is a further breakdown of the places listed:
(Overall winner) Ilkley, West Yorkshire
– London
(Winner) Crystal Palace
Hanwell
King’s Cross
New Malden
Teddington
Victoria Park, Hackney
– East of England
(Winner) Norwich, Norfolk
Boxford, Suffolk
Great Massingham, Norfolk
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
St Ives, Cambridgeshire
Saffron Walden, Essex
Woodbridge, Suffolk
– North and North East
(Winner) Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
Cawthorne, South Yorkshire
Great Ayton, Cleveland Hills, North Yorkshire
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Hovingham, North Yorkshire
lkley, West Yorkshire
Leeds city centre
Morpeth, Northumberland
Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear
– Midlands
(Winner) Uppingham, Rutland
Birmingham (especially the Jewellery Quarter and King’s Heath)
Ellesmere, Shropshire
Hathersage, Derbyshire
Lincoln cliff villages, Lincolnshire
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire
– South West
(Winner) Chalke Valley, Wiltshire
Bridport, Dorset
Bristol
Budleigh Salterton, Devon
Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire
Dartmoor: Ashburton
Sherborne, Dorset
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Wellow, Somerset
– North West
(Winner) Trawden, Lancashire
Altrincham, Cheshire
Christleton, Cheshire
Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
Prestwich, Greater Manchester
West Kirby, Merseyside
– Wales
(Winner) Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire
Conwy, Gwynedd
Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan
Ruthin, Denbighshire
St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire
Usk, Monmouthshire
– Scotland
(Winner) Isle of Bute, Argyll
Braemar, Aberdeenshire
Culross, Fife
Dunblane, Stirling
Glasgow: Shawlands
Melrose, Borders
North Berwick, East Lothian
– Northern Ireland
(Winner) Ballycastle, County Antrim
Derry/Londonderry
2 Helen’s Bay, Co Down
– South East
(Winner) Sevenoaks
Brighton: Fiveways & Preston Park
Cobham, Surrey,
Cookham, Berkshire
Deal, Kent
Englefield Green, Surrey
Farnham, Surrey
Olney, Bucks
Reading, Berkshire
St Albans, Hertfordshire