Saffron Walden named Best Place to Live in the UK by Sunday Times - and The Shelfords also score highly

Saffron Walden has been named the best place to live in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide, while The Shelfords has also made the top six.

The Essex market town 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 guide was released online last Friday (March 21). An abridged version was published as a magazine supplement on Sunday (23 March).

Six other locations in the East of England are included in the comprehensive guide. Chelmsford, in Essex, was chosen as regional winner, making it the second best place in the East behind Saffron Walden.

The full list of East of England locations recognised is:

Saffron Walden, Essex (national winner)
Chelmsford, Essex (regional winner)
Norwich, Norfolk
Reepham, Norfolk
The Shelfords, Cambridgeshire
Wivenhoe, Essex
Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Announcing the decision, The Sunday Times judges said: “Saffron Walden was chosen for its knockout historic looks with excellent state schools, a rich cultural offering and an exploding foodie scene. It also has convenient commuter links to both London and Cambridge.

“The genteel market town used to have a reputation for being stuffy, old-fashioned and expensive. While the property prices are still high, Saffron Walden is enjoying a swish new lease of life. Incomers are bringing fresh ideas, cool independent shops and tasty places to eat with them.

“If the traditional high street is dying, Saffron Walden is reinventing it for the 21st century.”

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said: “It is easy to feel overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, but there really is so much to celebrate as we look closer to home.

“From small gestures that lift the everyday - like verges blooming with daffodils and volunteer-run dementia cafés, to larger initiatives from repair cafés to new railway stations.”

There are more new entries than ever before in this year’s guide and no place for many previous winners including York, Winchester, in Hampshire, and Altrincham, in Cheshire.

As always, the judges looked for thriving locations with a strong sense of community rather than famous names with high house prices.

Helen continued: “What makes our guide unique is that we actually visit all the places we choose and talk to locals to find out what life is really like there.

“That means we can see what people really love about the places they live. That could be anything from exceptional schools and fast trains to beautiful houses and countryside.

“The health of the high street is important, but more than anything else, what we are looking for are towns, villages and cities with strong communities who work hard to make the best of where they live, and play hard too.

“We also consider affordability. High house prices are no barrier to inclusion - as long as they provide value for money.

“Different people will be looking for different qualities when they are choosing a place to live. One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”

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), Ilkley, West Yorkshire (2022) Wadhurst, East Sussex (2023), and North Berwick, East Lothian (2024).

Visit thetimes.com/best-places-to-live.