Estate agents in Saffron Walden will be pleased to learn that the Essex town has been named the best place to live in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
The genteel market town tops a list of 72 locations across the UK chosen by The Sunday Times to represent the best of Britain in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2025.
The annual guide provides great marketing material for estate agents in the top featured areas, particularly those named ten regional winners.
Regional winners:
EAST OF ENGLAND: Chelmsford, Essex
LONDON: Walthamstow
MIDLANDS: Ilmington, Warwickshire
NORTHERN IRELAND: Dundrum, Co Down
NORTH & NORTHEAST: Ilkley, West Yorkshire
NORTHWEST: Woolton, Liverpool
SCOTLAND: North Berwick, East Lothian
SOUTHEAST: Petersfield, Hampshire
SOUTHWEST: Chew Valley, Somerset
WALES: Gower Peninsula, Swansea
Judges said that Saffron Walden was chosen for its knockout historic looks with excellent state schools, a rich cultural offering and an exploding foodie scene as well as its convenient commuter links to London and Cambridge.
The market town used to have a reputation for being stuffy, old-fashioned and expensive. While the property prices are still high, SW is enjoying a swish new lease of life. Incomers are bringing fresh ideas, cool independent shops and tasty places to eat. 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.”
The Sunday Times’s expert judges visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds and mobile signal to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.
The chosen locations come in all shapes and sizes, from the Scottish Island of Tiree and the remote Welsh village of Maenclochog to vibrant market towns, and suburbs of big, lively cities such as Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and London.
There are more new entries than ever before in this year’s guide and no place for many previous winners including York, Winchester, and Altrincham. As always, the judges looked for thriving locations with a strong sense of community rather than famous names with high house prices.
Davies said: “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.”
Amanda Bryden, head of Halifax Mortgages, which sponsored the guide, commented: “We know it can be daunting buying your first home, looking to move to your next home or even getting a new mortgage for your current home. There is so much to think about even once you’ve found the right house in the right area. The best thing to do is speak to a mortgage adviser as early as you can in the process. They will be able to help you understand the mortgages available to you and how to get the best deal for your circumstances to help you focus on the exciting things that come with buying a home too.”
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).
