The Sunday Times Best Places to Live has named locations across the UK including in the Southwest, such as Stroud with Chalke Valley in Wiltshire coming out on top in the list.

The comprehensive guide, which includes 70 locations, is released online today.

The Sunday Times’s judges assess a wide range of factors, from schools, transport and broadband to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street. 

They celebrate improving towns, villages or city centres; attractive, well-designed homes and locations bursting with community spirit – which the pandemic has shown to be the most vital quality of all.

Stroud received praise from the judges for its Saturday farmers' market, schools as well as its "strong cultural offering".

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The judges noted that Charlton Kings in Gloucestershire has Cotswolds countryside and Cheltenham either side of it.

They describe Charlton Kings as “certainly well placed” and “a magnet for upwardly mobile young families” thanks to Balcarras School’s reputation.

Best places to live in the Southwest

Here’s the full list of best places to live in the Southwest, in alphabetical order.

  • Bridport, Dorset 
  • Bristol  
  • Budleigh Salterton, Devon
  • Chalke Valley, Wiltshire   
  • Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire 
  • Ashburton, Dartmoor 
  • Sherborne, Dorset 
  • Stroud, Gloucestershire 
  • Wellow, Somerset 

Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times Property Editor, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective. Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place. For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling. Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people? 

“Ten years ago, when we launched the inaugural list, London’s gravitational pull was strong, the WFH revolution had not yet reached our doorstep and high streets were stacked with chains. How times have changed — and how welcome that change is.  

“This year we have discovered new best places to live, from resurgent city centres in the North, rejuvenated suburbs across the country, hidden villages in the Southwest, and a commutable Scottish island. 

“We hope there is something to suit everyone.”