The UK is full of wonderful and unique towns and cities, each with their own character – but one historic market town has been named the best place to live for 2025.
Saffron Walden took the top spot in the Sunday Times’ list of best places to live for 2025 this year. With buildings steeped in history and a market dating back to 1141, the Essex town has plenty going for it. The Sunday Times included the town’s steep history, along with its bustling high street and top-notch schools, as among the reasons it took the crown for this year’s list.
And the town lies just 15 miles south of Cambridge, meaning it’s a short trip for a day out in one of the country’s most prestigious cities. People looking to leave London, which is just 45 miles away, have also made Saffron Walden their home, enjoying the town’s more rural nature, with house prices averaging at just over £607,100.
Among those who left the big smoke for Saffron Walden is India Burrett, 36, a trainee psychotherapist. She and her husband Sam, a barrister, moved to the town in 2021 from London with their twins, Bodhi and Lyra, now four. She explained: “In summer, it’s like being in the south of France with everyone milling around. It has a really great vibe.”
Diego Amaro, 21, works front of house at an independent café in the town called Chater’s. Speaking about the town, which has a population of around 16,000, he said: “Everyone’s great. [It’s] very simple, easy to get around, everything about it is gorgeous. I love it all. It’s just quaint, nice and quiet, nothing like a big city, it’s not too loud.”
But for those who live in the town, people moving in from London is not necessarily a good thing as they have noticed house prices rising. 25-year-old Rebecca Dale, a nanny, noticed people moving in from London, but said even renting in the surrounding villages was expensive for her and her partner. She told the BBC: “A four-bed house in our village (two miles from Saffron Walden), I think it’s up for £750,000 with no parking space and a tiny, tiny garden. People are definitely growing up here and then moving away because it’s just so expensive.”
Saffron Walden is top of the list of the 72 locations, with a food scene that is “defying the Essex stereotypes one aperitif and gordal olive at a time.” The town used to have a reputation for being old-fashioned and stuffy, but it’s enjoying a new lease of life as incomers bring fresh ideas, new eateries, and independent shops.
69-year-old Henry Rowe spent ten years living in Perth, Australia, but said he will always return to Saffron Walden. He explained: “Pople ask me why I came back and I say Australia has sunshine and beaches but it’s not Saffron Walden.”
The annual guide also includes the likes of the Hebridean island of Tiree, with silver sand beaches, to bustling cities including Glasgow and Sheffield. There are also some returning places, including Knutsford in Cheshire, Sevenoaks in Kent, and Market Harborough in Leicestershire. But this year the list has seen more new entries than ever, with some surprising additions such as Wembley Park in north London and the remote Welsh village of Maenclochog in Pembrokeshire.
But there are previous winners who did not make the cut this year, including Winchester in Hampshire, Altrincham in Cheshire and York. The Sunday Times explained that they did not make this year’s list “as the judges look for improving locations with a strong sense of community rather than famous names where house prices are driven by high demand.”
Expert judges visit all the locations under consideration, looking at factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds, and for the first time this year, mobile signal ahead of the shutting down of the 3G network. They also look at things such as culture, which ranges from art classes to skateboarding, as well as access to green spaces and how healthy the high street is.
Below are all the areas that have made the final list of best places to live, with Saffron Walden as the winner and then the rest in no particular order with average house prices.
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