Bristol has been named in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live list.
It’s one of eight places in the South West to feature in the comprehensive guide of 72 locations across the UK.
The full list is available online now and an abridged version will be published as a magazine supplement in The Sunday Times this weekend.
Cirencester in Gloucestershire was named as the Best Place to Live in the South West, with The Sunday Times judges praising the town for the beauty of its historic buildings, its busy and useful town centre and easy access to Cotswold countryside.
Helen Davies, the editor of Best Places to Live 2023, said: “When times are tough, where we live matters more than ever. Attractive surroundings, good neighbours and a comfortable home are the best defences when the stresses of modern life seem overwhelming.
“This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2023 from Orkney to Felixstowe, the Chew Valley to Manchester city centre. Whether you’re downsizing, trading up or getting onto the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.”
This year’s guide – the 11th – features more new entries than ever before.
The Sunday Times’s expert judges have visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.
Here’s a round-up of the eight South West locations and what the judges said. Cirencester is the regional winner but the other locations are not ranked.
1. Bristol
Bristol has a popularity problem. It’s so good that everyone wants to live here — and with good reason. It has everything: it’s urban and rural, posh and gritty, homely and highbrow. But there are side-effects: terrible traffic and serious grumbles over a clean-air zone and the e-scooter scheme. It’s the UK’s most interesting and independently minded city, with something for everyone, whether it’s the gorgeous Georgian houses of Clifton, the sensible semis of Henleaze or the terraces in buzzy Bedminster.
2. Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The capital of the Cotswolds is a supremely liveable town that more than lives up to its stunning historical backdrop. It has regular markets, a thriving high street and beautiful parks that lead straight out into the surrounding countryside make it heaven for dog-lovers. The volunteer-run heated outdoor swimming pool is a particular highlight, as well as superior local culture available at the Barn Theatre and the New Brewery Arts Centre.
3. Broad Chalke, Wiltshire
With its thatched cottages, steep green hills, chalk streams and watercress beds, the village at the centre of the Chalke Valley is still showing the rest how laid-back rural life should be done. But like the ducks on the River Ebble, it takes a lot of paddling under the surface to make country living look this dreamy, with top marks for effort going to the 70 volunteers who man the Hub, the community-run shop/cafe/post office that’s at the centre of life here.
4. Chew Valley, Somerset
The picture-perfect villages in the gorgeous slice of prime English countryside that nestles between Dundry Down and the Mendips are full of character, with shops, schools, churches and village halls busy with playgroups and fitness classes. Bristol is only 10 miles to the north, and you can feel the city’s innovative, community-minded spirit in the number of interesting regenerative farming enterprises and events such as Valleyfest, a family-friendly food and music festival.