Winchester and Stockbridge in Hampshire amongst The Sunday Times Best Places to Live

Published by The Sunday Times, the 2024 guide includes 72 locations across the UK and is released on Friday, March 15. Despite Folkestone taking the title of the best place to live in the UK, Hampshire has also solidified its spot with two places featured on the list.

There are ten places in the South East that have been published in the guide - and Winchester and Stockbridge are amongst these. The Sunday Times’s judges have visited all the locations and they take a number of factors into account including schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street. 

Previous winners of the Best Places to Live in Britain include Winchester, Hampshire (2016), Bristol (2017), York (2018), Salisbury, Wiltshire (2019), Altrincham, Cheshire (2020) Stroud, Gloucestershire (2021), Ilkley, West Yorkshire (2022) and Wadhurst, East Sussex (2023). 

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, says: “This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2024, from Dunkeld to Knutsford, Falmouth to Leeds. Wherever you are on the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.  

“These are all places where you can feel grounded as well as upwardly mobile: they have a mature sense of community, lively, supportive high streets and an eye to the future, whether that is eco-friendly measures, transport and regeneration, or imaginative inclusion of new housing.” 

The judges found that Winchester is a 'booming cathedral city is a longstanding Best Places favourite. The schools are exceptional, there’s a new sports and leisure park, and fast road and rail connections keep the city within comfortable commuting distance. The South Downs Way is on the doorstep and the beach is just a 45-minute drive away.'

The judges also said that Stockbridge is a 'tiny town on the River Test' that 'has all the ingredients to be a best place to live: shops selling delicious local produce, independent stores and some great pubs, cafés and restaurants.'

For more information about The Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide, click here.