The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023 revealed

24th March 2023: Wadhurst, East Sussex, has been named as the Best Place to Live by The Sunday Times. 

It tops a list of 72 locations across the UK chosen by The Sunday Times to represent the best of Britain in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide. The comprehensive guide is released online today at 6am. An abridged version will be published as a magazine supplement on Sunday.

In addition, the annual guide named 10 regional winners. 

With a population of under 5,000, Wadhurst is the smallest overall winner in the 11-year history of Best Places to Live. It was praised by judges for its “good schools, convenient transport connections, an amazingly well-stocked high street and stunning scenery”. They said that it offers “pretty much everything needed for modern life in miniature”.

“The stars of the show are the stalwarts who keep the place vibrant, especially the Wadhurst Warriors, which began life in 2004 as a group of dads fundraising for the primary school and now raise money for the whole village,” they said. 

The judges also highlighted the many activities available for children, the farmers market and the clubs, classes and community cinema at the Community Hall.

Helen Davies, the editor of Best Places to Live 2023, said: “When times are tough, where we live matters more than ever. Attractive surroundings, good neighbours and a comfortable home are the best defences when the stresses of modern life seem overwhelming.

“This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2023 from Orkney to Felixstowe, the Chew Valley to Manchester city centre. Whether you’re downsizing, trading up or getting onto the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.”

This year’s guide features more new entries than ever before. The locations making their debuts include Poundbury, the village on the edge of Dorchester planned by King Charles, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Critics at the time  called it a toy town and a feudal Disneyland, but The Sunday Times critics say that its affordable homes, renewable energy and emphasis on walkability suggest that it was ahead of its time.

The debutants also include a selection of improving seaside towns, including Folkestone in Kent, Barmouth in Wales, Felixstowe in Suffolk, Penzance in Cornwall and Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear.

The return of cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle to the list is a sign that the Covid-inspired dash for the country may have peaked and that convenience and culture are becoming priorities once again.

The Sunday Times’s expert judges have visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

The sponsor, Halifax, has provided the average house price for each location.  Kim Kinnaird, the director of Halifax Mortgages, said: “At Halifax, we know it’s where you live that really makes somewhere feel like ‘home’. What people look for when choosing where to live is a very personal choice. We know that the housing market can sometimes feel daunting when there are so many locations and things to consider. But looking at these fantastic locations is a great start, with options for different budgets and family situations, alongside an exciting blend of urban and rural living.”

Broadband speeds were provided by Thinkbroadband.com, the UK’s leading independent guide to broadband.

Previous winners of the Best Places to Live in Britain title are: Stamford, Lincolnshire (2013); Skipton, North Yorkshire (2014); Newnham, Cambridge (2015); Winchester, Hampshire (2016); Bristol (2017), York (2018), Salisbury, Wiltshire (2019), Altrincham, Cheshire (2020) Stroud, Gloucestershire (2021) and Ilkley, West Yorkshire (2022).