And so to the overall winner of the Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide: Saffron Walden, in Essex.

This genteel market town has seen off the competition of 71 other locations due to its picture-postcard medieval buildings, good state schools, emerging food scene, and cultural assets. It's also well connected on the commuter belt to either London or Cambridge, and with a new demographic moving in, it's finally shaking off its rather old-fashioned reputation to be considered a buzzy place to be.

Locals even liken its weekly Saturday market to being in the south of France, which sounds pretty good for us, if you can afford the average property asking price of £607,100 that is.

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The best places to live in the UK in 2025