Shotley Peninsula named one of the best places to live in the UK
A number of places in the East have made the list
Suffolk's Shotley Peninsula has been named as one of the best places to live in the UK.
That's according to the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
Judges said of the area: "Life here revolves around the water – there’s everything from windsurfing to dinghy sailing at a choice of marinas and sailing clubs.
"Yet there’s plenty for landlubbers too in these pretty, community-minded villages which, as well as being cheaper and more understated than the fashionable destinations further up the coast, are surrounded by the beautiful countryside and ever-changing estuary views."
The best place to live in the East
Judges named Wivenhoe, in Essex, as the best place to live in the East of England in the annual guide, with judges explaining: “A welcoming community and a strong artistic tradition help this picturesque riverside town to stand out from its neighbours in the outer reaches of the Essex commuter belt.
"It has two art galleries, a high street full of independent shops and a choice of seven pubs, as well as attractive architecture that’s worthy of its beautiful estuary location.”
As well as beating out the previously mentioned Shotley Peninsula to be named the best place to live in the East, Wivenhoe also took the title over:
Ingatestone, Essex
"In this well served, picture postcard-pretty village, you can zoom home from the City on the train and be in fields of fresh air within half an hour, get a manicure in manicured countryside, all while taking advantage of the high-achieving schools in nearby Chelmsford. "
Saffron Walden, Essex
"Saffron Walden still has its medieval good looks and every 21st-century luxury too, from sourdough to sushi, juice bars to artisan chocolates.
"Detractors say the place is pricey and pleased with itself, but for beautiful architecture, proper countryside, decent transport links, coffee culture and high-achieving schools, SW is seriously hard to beat."
The Shelfords, Cambridge
"You can avoid the traffic and the tourists but keep close to Cambridge in these twin Fenland villages. Great and Little Shelford offer the best of life in Britain’s answer to Silicon Valley, but few of the downsides.
"Living in this rural idyll doesn’t come cheap but community spirit is off the scale."
Norwich, Norfolk
"This cosmopolitan cathedral city is a longstanding Best Places favourite for good reason. It’s big enough to be buzzy yet small enough to walk everywhere and the only one in England set in a national park.
"Here, medieval architecture meets modern, literary pedigree meets liveability, there’s excellent café culture and plenty of high culture.
"Add the inclusive community, emphasis on sustainability and the good schools and the appeal is obvious."
Sheringham, Norfolk
"With its blue flag beach and serious social scene, Sheringham is a proper, year-round place that’s our sweet spot on the Norfolk coast.
"Where else has Morris dancing, a steam train and hosts its own Viking festival that concludes with the burning of a longship?"
"A celebration of towns, cities and villages"
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.”